Keith and Ann closed last month with some lovely chat and osprey news. It is this kind of coverage that we must have if The Gabfest is to be able to continue.
The Gabfest does have a purpose - a reason for being. That purpose is to educate about wildlife in general and ospreys in particular. We do that by following the osprey we care about with pictures and narrative, and by entertaining ourselves with other topics of interest to us. If we are interested others probably will be also. They will thus be drawn to our site where they will get to know the osprey we love.
Pictures are not necessary to make an interesting post. I was hooked before I ever saw a cam simply by reading the entries on The Main Blog. They did not use pictures then. Through the years many Gabbers have added to our thread with simple observations and comments.. The posts of one Gabber in particular are greatly missed. SUGAR'S early morning observations of the Loch Garten nest were a joy to read.
It is to be hoped that we can have many reports, comments and observations this summer, both with and without pictures, as we enjoy the antics of our favorite osprey.
The medium sized eggs could be real boiled eggs or just plastic eggs. I really cannot tell.
Maybe they are attracted to the sweet chocolate smell! I know i would be :)
The good news is they are now saying that chocolate is good for us in several different ways. But it still has all those calories! :(
From Facebook
Quote from Facebook "Three very different expressions - Glesni looking daggers, Blue24 looking wide-eyed innocence and Monty in the middle looking slightly cross-eyed ('what have I done') smile emoticon"
Meanwhile, back at the ranch. When I have checked in on Loch garten, EJ is chirping & looking about or just sitting quietly on her three eggs
At least Monty keeps his two females in different nests.
Vanessa Greene wrote a magnificent article where she watched a male keep both his females in the one nest where they shared his fish and incubation duties. One of them cleared off after the single egg hatched.
She also documented a similar case of two females residing in the one nest with a male where six eggs were laid but none hatched.
I followed her site two years back where a male kept two nests and fledged all six chicks. I corresponded with her at the time as was interested. He was kept busy and both females assisted with fishing duties once the chicks could be left. Both nests were on the opposite side of the river bank. On other occasions she mentions five she has observed where the male has kept two nests and both nests have failed with no chicks.
So the odds are stacked against either Glesni/Blue 24 but then Vanessa was surprised when her male kept two nests and produced six chicks.
I wont publish the entire article as ShielaFE has kindly published it on Dyfi Osprey Project Thread - It is a very interesting document for those interested and also mentions on moralistic views sometimes expressed. Worth a read.
"decency" - a very humanistic word, don't you think?
Also a very interesting book report, Keith. I will try to find the article and bring the link here to the Gabfest.
I did find the article and an interesting one it is. Here is th link. Scroll down to the second article. www.facebook.com/permalink.php;id=218968924786696