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.
Isn't each egg fertilised when it travels down the oviduct, meaning that XD couldn't be the father of more than the first one - or is the male's sperm retained by the female for later use (as it were) or is it replaced with each subsequent mating?
Throw in the fact that his partner returned (in the two years we know about) in April it strikes me as a totally logical early season daliance if his objective is solely to pass on his genes in as many offspring as possible. 08(97) (Rutland) was accused of "playing away" in 2008 however if this accusation was correct he made the mistake of doing it whilst trying to maintain a nest, Surely XD's tactics are far better (given his objective). One or two young & finished in plenty of time for S06 to return!!
This is a very interesting discussion, and beats the anthropomorphic diversion on other threads. It seems to me that all the evidence points to normal hormonal activity in both EJ and ZD, and the absence of conscious decision making. Moral issues do not come into the activities on the LG nest - there are no social mores to be considered in the world of European Ospreys!
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
LOL I don't think ANYONE could put ANYTHING over on our EJ :)
ChloeB & Tiger's Osprey Data
www.madsci.org/.../853889466.Zo.r.html
This is quite a general description of fertilisation which isn't bad....... the eggs are fertilised 1 at a time............ I think the important thing is timing........ if EJ doesn't lay for10 days or more the chances are that they may well be Odins. If she were to start laying in a week or earlier, my guess would be that at least the first would be Blue XDs.....
I dont think youy are out of your dwepth at all b&b - surely that is what posting is about...... putting an idea or opinion forward based on your experiences and letting ither people think about it - thank you so much to everyone who has contributed so far!!!
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.
In Roy Dennis book "A Life of Ospreys" -page 64 -..."The number of copulations reaches a peak about 4-8 days before 1st egg is laid."
As far as I am aware other species can lay fertile eggs 10 days or more after copulation. We may never know the actual answer to this question as very specific genetic comparisons would be necessary to confirm parent.
One Life - Live It!!
I have asked on DPOF as well. See what they make of it.
Tiger Signature
This is a really fascinating thread. Thank you for setting the ball rolling CRinger....or should that should be egg? No, on second thoughts, eggs don't roll very far :)
deleted as out of my depth :)
Me too, B&B :-)
Unknown said:<p>This is a very interesting discussion, and beats the anthropomorphic diversion on other threads.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div>
Oh, the conflict between left and right brain ;-D The picture will always be vivid in my mind of XD energetically and <i>earnestly</i> arranging huge sticks on the nest. Whatever his motives he wasn't aware of them, he was just doing what he had to do. I couldn't help adoring him and fearing for him and the future of EJ's nest.
IMAGICAT