Yesterday brought wind and rain but no fish, plus a blog from Chris at the VC revealing that we're all in the same boat - we do not know why GJ has become unforthcoming or what he does or where he goes.
Late evening, GJ popped in and out, "upsetting" EJ greatly:
Pandy favoured us with an insightful poem.
Last evening the cam started freezing, and after a down and an up it's been down since 00:32hr:
IMAGICAT
Thanks Sheila. I was on my phone and gave up but decided to put on my computer to try and fix it, but you saved me the bother ;)
Cam back up but the sound is just a loud buzzing.
Thanks Jane
Scene just now
I've just spoken to Chris who has got us back up with a reset. The sound is an issue he can't resolve and will try and contact Peter.
Birdies LG DU update.
She's just flown.
Empty nest - EJ has flown
and returns
Nice to see a beautiful day at LG. Sunny and a breeze. It must be so much nicer for EJ than wind and rain although the rain will help clean the feathers, I guess. From the recent blog is it fair to assume that we won't hear anything from the VC unless there is something to report, like... has she been seen on the boggy pools bathing and drinking, or is GJ sitting in camtree, or an intruder is around? EJ is preening, keeping her feathers in as fine a fettle as she can.
I notice the cam is back to squash rather than 16:9 aspect ratio. In VLC you can change it manually by clicking on Video/Aspect Ratio/ and alter from default to 16:9.
Can anyone tell me, given how many feathers EJ appears to have lost, how long it would usually take for them to be replaced. There is a large, presumably primary, feather on the nest at the moment. She has lost lots of light fluffy insulating feathers, and longer brown ones too.
Birdie's DU Summaries 2018 https://www.imagicat.com/
SheilaFE said: Can anyone tell me, given how many feathers EJ appears to have lost, how long it would usually take for them to be replaced. There is a large, presumably primary, feather on the nest at the moment. She has lost lots of light fluffy insulating feathers, and longer brown ones too.
Morning!
One of the more easier reads about Osprey moult can be found at:
https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/osprey/appearance (apologies for the lack of a posh link).
The most relevant part appears to be:
'Incomplete (occasionally complete), primarily June–February in North American populations, usually commencing on breeding grounds and concluding on overwintering grounds. Molt can begin during incubation, suspend for chick feeding, and resume after chicks have fledged..... Suspension allows individuals to take advantage of a quiet period to molt, especially females, which are typically fed by males during incubation and brood rearing.'
Not a definitive answer to your question, but I think gives us an idea about how adaptive the birds can be.
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.
Thank you CRinger! It's just that I was thinking late last night, when she was wet, and GJ deigned to land and leave, that her 'shoulder' area looked as tho a lot of the darker feathers had gone, exposing her to the rain. But it could have been a trick of the light or the way her feathers were lying.