This thread is a total experiment! I thought of it because a few nights ago, a lot of of useful information about ospreys was being posted in the LG Diary comments, but because of the blog format, it will be out of sight once a new blog is posted, and easily forgotten.
The idea for this thread:
· To provide a place for people to ask questions about ospreys at Loch Garten, or ospreys in general, which members of the Forum will answer to the best of their ability. NB Questions directed to the team at Loch Garten, should still be posted in the Comments area of the Loch Garten Osprey Diary.
· To preserve the answers for future reference
Asking Questions
For clarity, please only ask one question at a time.
Replying to Questions
Try to be specific, giving links to the relevant information where possible, or quote your sources. If you are giving your own opinions, recollections or theories, please make that clear.
If the question you are answering is not the last post in the thread, please use the Quote facility to include the question in your answer.
General
To make it easier to search for the topic in the future, use the Tags field. For example, if your question is “Is Odin really Scandinavian?” enter “Odin” in Tags.
Thanks for the year by year observatons of White EJ Sue. However, I cannot find EJ's biography page. Error message comes up. Could you possible give me the URL instead of the link you posted? Thanks.
Unknown said: Thanks for the year by year observatons of White EJ Sue. However, I cannot find EJ's biography page. Error message comes up. Could you possible give me the URL instead of the link you posted? Thanks.
Here you are. See White EJ. All the rest of the birds at the bottom of that page.
Tiger Signature
Tiger: Thanks for the birds links, I noticed that those I have in my spreadsheets were not working anymore, with the website makeover.
ChloeB & Tiger's Osprey Data Site
Sat track schedule Spring 2014
LG 7 days; RW & SWT nil; LDOP varies
This document contains a lot of information about ospreys in general in all aspects of their life.
I was going to answer some of the queries on the daily update, about the chicks size and googled 'osprey chick development metabolic rate' and found it there. Q and A is probably the best place for this.
Osprey profile
Someone asked a question elsewhere about the best place to see ospreys fishing. Clearly this is not the fish farm.
So how do I see one, are there any particular places that they like to fish? Near reeds, around the edge or in the centre of the lake etc? What are the best times of day to see them, what kind of body language/ noises should I look out for to indicate there is an Osprey nearby.
False alarm!
As a matter of interest about uncertainties......... when Henry landed on the LG nest for the first time opinion was divided as to his sex. He was unusual because of his eye colour. Roy was contacted, the colour ring details were given. A return call some 15 mins later advised that the log book had been consulted and the news was that Henry's 'sex' as a chick was a '?.' Thankfully, the mystery was resolved simultaneously with the phone call - Henry had mated with the female.
Some people think Ospreys are a matter of life and death. I don't like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.
CRinger Thanks for the info on the original thoughts on the sex of Henry. I had no idea this was the case. Of course we have similar thoughts on Rothes who was identified as being female at ringing/tagging in 2009. Will she turn out to be a he?
I was intrigued by your comment on eye colour "He (Henry) was unusual because of his eye colour". Had he retained the bright yellow eye colour indicating a chick?
Birdie's DU Summaries 2018 https://www.imagicat.com/
SheilaFE
It's the other way round; juvenile ospreys have orange eyes, which normally turn yellow as they mature. However a few, including Henry and currently, Monty at the Dyfi nest, keep the orange eyes as adults.
One from me.
Do Ospreys ever catch and eat any prey other than fish?
Andrew