No time to prepare a detailed synopsis of yesterday's discouraging events, which included matings and intrusions (with support from male) but no fish, despite EJ leaving the nest and her egg for a couple of quite long periods.
This sums up most of our feelings (me having said that I was not worried):
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Edit
A couple of videos added to yesterday's DU, covering EJ's long break during which the male defended, and EJ tending the nestcup followed by a quick fly-around.
IMAGICAT
IF she did fish she's obviously eaten elsewhere.
LG confirm that she's not eaten within their sight. Certainly not on the 'usual' perch beneath the nest.
Birdies LG DU update.
^^^ Agreed Scylla....and I am also trying to work out if her crop is fuller.
What do others think?
I don't think she's eaten - her crop, sadly, looks rather hollow. It's not a good sight but at least we know if she is forced to fish she is more than capable of it. I can only assume that she feels that sooner or later her young suitor will get the idea he needs to feed her to keep her! She is certainly showing patience.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
I agree with regard to her crop and her behaviour in protecting this egg overnight and when males try to mate surely suggests that if she had fished then she would bring that fish straight back to the nest and eat it within sight of the nest. Empty crop + behaviour = Still 1 hungry EJ.
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.
Mike B said:LG confirm that she's not eaten within their sight
A reluctant Thank You for that unwelcome info, MIKE :(
Do we think that the next tranche of males will be young first-returners next month?
I think the answer to your question Scylla is almost certainly, unfortunately. There may be an odd experienced male who has been blown off course. If he is a 'Strathspey' regular and finds his nest occupied and can't get rid of the new resident then he may just appear at LG. A bit of a long shot, but not beyond the realm of possibilities.......... but from what we have seen at LG at least some of the inexperienced males have already arrived. :-(
No fish.
"Birds are, quite simply, little miracles - and as such they require care and consideration."
Magnus Ullman
My Flickr account is here
No fish and I am not surprised as it all seems to be in his crop!
I have noticed that he mostly flies in from the trees beyond, not a perch near the nest. Could it be possible that this and the other males have nests nearby hence no interest in this nest or feeding EJ? Just a thought!
Thanks, CRinger :) ... ... ... :(
Karen W said:Could it be possible that this and the other males have nests nearby hence no interest in this nest or feeding EJ?
You mean that EJ is a floozie on the side? I hadn't thought of that :o
Here is the short, sad record of the last event on the nest - EJ continues to call vainly :'(
It is very difficult to interpret behaviour when you have difficulty identifying the males as they are not ringed and only have 1 view of the nest from the camera and cannot see the surrounding perches and the sky but........... if you try and put yourself in the 'mind' of a male from a nearby nest whose female is on eggs, so he may want to try and mate with other females on other nests then I would probably give her a fish, pretending to be a male who could provide for any chicks, then attempt to mate. What I would not do is start bringing sticks back to the nest - this would be a waste of energy. I would also not spend time on the nest defending it and chasing away other males - again a waste of my energy. My 'take' is that the males we have seen on the nest so far, at least 1 of whom was bringing sticks to the nest like it was going out of fashion and perhaps the same male defending it against an intruding male, are all 'inexperienced males' looking to breed for the first time and are not experienced males from nearby nests.