DAILY UPDATE ~ Loch Garten nest ~ Monday, 22 May 2017

I finally plucked up the courage to look at the webcam, knowing the third chick would not have survived the night without food.

I was lucky enough not to find a deserted nest but EJ standing there with a partly eaten fish in talon - so dreadfully sad but at least I knew she had at last fished for herself. The stoic EJ did not leave her post to fish for herself until she knew that she no longer had new life to protect.

I feel confident EJ will be fine and hope Odin is recovering somewhere. Who knows what the future will hold? Just so glad I have had the privilege of watching this wonderful pair for the last 9 years, with all their ups and downs, and in the company of others on this forum with all their fantastic captures, caring comments and fun posts. Thank you.

Thanks for your replies Jane/ Lindy. I must admit I hoped they would intervene but I knew deep down they would not and that it would have been a very carefully considered decision. I'm aware I'm simply driven by emotion and a desire to see those particular chicks survive whereas the LG staff are considering the long term welfare of the species as a whole. But still hard to watch.

I think she has a fishy beak :-*

Hi Scylla - thanks for your comment after my post yesterday. I was thinking that MC might be standing down (you, of course, were one of the main people I was thinking about in this forum of sharing, caring people) but I should have known better!

Here's EJ on HER nest - she will not give it up without a fight...

Hello to all, on this day.

Just to let you all know i am still here too, but had a mad busy day y'day IRL. I need to read back a bit.

And oh the tears....

They were a good chip of the tough ol wood (lovely EJ i mean), that they lasted as long as they did.

It is JulieM.  My husband is a fisherman so food was never the issue in our decision, maggots, worms, mealworms, waxworms you name it we had it. The issue was that once they flew we couldn't continue to feed them and we decided that if they were going to perish we wanted it to be sooner rather than later.

Every spring I try to take the box down and the robins beat me to it each year, as if to say toughen up this year it will be ok and yes this year it was.

Heart breaking as it is I am relieved it has come to an end.  What a fantastic mother EJ is - protecting to the end.    I so hope Odin is ok and will return to her.   What a sad outcome for her.    Life is fragile.

JulieM1022057803 said:

Secondly- on the "intervention " question- looking back through old LG blog posts from prev years I see that there is quite a lot of intervention at times, tidying the nest, repairing the nest etc before the ospreys return- is there some clear thought process as to what constitutes acceptable/ unacceptable intervention? Or is it just a decision making process at the time?

I find the term "intervention" misleading. Passing laws, creating preserves, setting up nest platforms, ringing chicks, educating the public, etc. are all human interventions designed to promote rebuilding the osprey population. The real question is what constitutes a negative "interference," and the answer to that is based on the risks vs. benefits of the particular case. My observation has been that wildlife agencies tend to favor the path with lower risk in the present, while many individuals tend to favor the path that has more benefits In the present. As with most issues, the best path probably lies somewhere in the middle. But what we all have in common is a passion for these amazing birds.

So, so sad to see brave EJ on the side of the now empty nest. Heart goes out to her. She will eat her fish and recover he strength and most likely stay around to defend the nest for next season. Just hoping that Odin will return,as last time, and they will be together again. Have read all the comments, thanks everyone.