Daily Update~Loch Garten Nest ~Wednesday 13 May 2015

Lynette D said:

Lovely to see a lot of new names coming up on the blog

That's been the only plus side of the debacle, LYNETTE.  The only thing is, I understand that we may not have greeted one (at least) member when things were "kicking off", so if you ever see a new member don't hesitate to welcome them :-)

SO!!!  WHO WAS THAT?!  A FEMALE???

Alarm calling off cam. EJ is joining in by alarm calling, mantling and fending off an unwanted intruder.

I can't see any darvic ring......or fish.

Whoever that was got short shrift big time!.

I think EJ was protecting herself rather than attacking the attacker, but we could see hardly anything.

(This will be late being posted, as my snapshots folder just collapsed under its own weight :o )

I agree Scylla but she was certainly advising them not to land!.

As far as I know ospreys can travel without a fish for a long time when they are migrating.  Now, they use a lot of energy then.  So perhaps EJ isn't in just as need of a fish as we think when she is doing  nothing but sitting on the nest barely moving.  She probably doesn't require the '3 meals a day' idea that we have.  I would like to hear Tiger's opinion on this.

Val C said:

As far as I know ospreys can travel without a fish for a long time when they are migrating.  Now, they use a lot of energy then.  So perhaps EJ isn't in just as need of a fish as we think when she is doing  nothing but sitting on the nest barely moving.  She probably doesn't require the '3 meals a day' idea that we have.  I would like to hear Tiger's opinion on this.

When ospreys are migrating they have to be able to go without eating for at least ten days maybe up to 20. Otherwise they would never be able to cross the Sahara and other big barriers.

They cannot plan on catching fish as they might be none available.

I understand that on migration all the energy comes from fat supplies and they use a different type of metabolism than when they are in normal breeding mode.

I feel sure that there is a Paul Wildlifewriter on this very topic.

I do not see any need to be concerned about EJ just now. 

I notice you didn't solicit my opinion, VAL, and I don't blame you one bit ;-D ... but what you say does make sense to me.  I assumed that her hormonal state meant that she requires regular nourishment, don't know where I got that from tho.

People can always have a look through Paul Wildlifewriter's bogs

Val C said:

As far as I know ospreys can travel without a fish for a long time when they are migrating.  Now, they use a lot of energy then.  So perhaps EJ isn't in just as need of a fish as we think when she is doing  nothing but sitting on the nest barely moving.  She probably doesn't require the '3 meals a day' idea that we have.

That would be very reassuring, Valc. Hadn't really thought about the migration, but we know from the tracking that they can travel long distances without stopping. So hopefully the old girl's in much better nick than (some of us, anyway) have been imagining. (No offence meant, EJ - just acknowledging your maturity, and vast experience....) Obviously, having just learned to speak Osprey, I am talking to EJ here as one old bird to another...