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LOCH GARTEN Daily Obs & Captures MAY 2021

scylla
01/05/2021 01:42

On the 15th of March the 360 cam went live and an Osprey landed on the nest.  It didn't take too long for a pair to begin bonding:

Male: BlueAX6 "Axel" - Ringed at a nest in Glen Affric on 1st July 2016, he was the only survivor of 3 eggs.

Female: Unringed "Mistle" - a very beautiful specimen, according to our long view.

(Unofficial names - LG will decide on names if deemed appropriate.)

This inexperienced couple is bonding well - Axel has been a good provider, they're both enthusiastic nestbuilders, the only element that requires more work is the mating technique.

EDIT 01 JUNE - Axel & Mistle deserted the nest in May, apparently spooked by intruders.  As there has been very little activity since then, this thread will continue to the end of the 2021 season, unless dictated otherwise by ospreys.

Photo ©RSPB LochGarten

Cam info kindly provided by Peter @ Carnyx.tv:

There is an identical camera and microphone on this nest as the HD camera at Llyn Clywedog (Osprey). However the nest was struck by lightning. This took out the camera, the camera power supply and the WiFi link back to the centre. We managed to replace the power supply and Wifi but it was too late in the season to climb to the nest.

IMAGICAT

  • 08/05/2021 13:22
    Have a lovely holiday CC. I hope you see some osprey!

    Birdie's DU Summaries 2018   https://www.imagicat.com/

  • 08/05/2021 13:29
    I have seen some concern about the lack of fish the male is providing the female at this time. But, in my view this is not unusual. We know the age of the male and from various inferences can infer this may well be his first time attempting to breed. The female’s age is unknown, but the fact that she has chosen this nest in 2021 also suggests that this may be her first breeding attempt – if she had bred successfully before the vast majority of females return to the nest where they previously successfully raised young.
    Many experienced contributors to this chat will have already read ‘the bible’ of Osprey behaviour – Poole (1989) Ospreys – a natural and unnatural history. But I think for newer contributors it might be worth me quoting from his tome………… ‘During courtship, females in older pairs of Ospreys are fed more than those in younger pairs.’ I highly recommend this book. There is a graph on Page 92 of the first edition that illustrates his argument very well.
    So, in short, hopefully they will breed successfully this year and next year we look forward to an ‘experienced pair’ where the female will get more food during courtship.

    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. 

  • 08/05/2021 13:35
    ............. folllowing on from my last post............. I think that a reasonable inference that can be drawn from Sheila's excellent observation that the female returned to the nest with some of the fish and allowed the male to take it from her and fly off with it suggests that she is not exactly starving at the moment..

    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. 

  • 08/05/2021 14:00
    13.59-Axel has returned having eaten the fish. Mistle remains on the nest.

    Birdie's DU Summaries 2018   https://www.imagicat.com/

  • 08/05/2021 14:11
    From what we see now I think the male didn't finish the entrire fish and left the tail for the female. I respect him more and more.

    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. 

  • 08/05/2021 15:26 in reply to CRinger
    Axel has tried to take it off her a few times, to no avail. The camperson has been scanning the area.
  • 08/05/2021 15:30
    I think they make an excellent pair - both appear to have a 'no nonsense' attitude.

    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. 

  • 08/05/2021 16:18 in reply to CRinger

    What an effort from everyone this morning, thank you all Open mouth Hugging 

    Here's a precis of the morning intrusion and fish delivery (for which, thank goodness!):

    ,

    I haven't done anything since - if anyone thinks I should cover something in particular, please tell me... oops, well I know there is, gotta do Mistle bringing back fish, but... Blush 

    ,

    IMAGICAT

  • 08/05/2021 16:24
    PS - I've had a go at the sound but don't think there's anything there besides "system".

    IMAGICAT