I know it's very poor consolation, but as we bid farewell to EJ and wish her well through teary eyes, there is development in a little Osprey saga on the other side of the world. I've been keeping watch for a couple of weeks on the nest in Queensland, Australia, which was moved before this breeding season. There didn't ever seem to be much happening on that nest while the mother brooded her two eggs, and the camera seemed to be on a loop each day (because it's never night on the camera). However, this morning, 41 days after she laid her first egg, there was what appeared to be a broken eggshell pushed to the side of the nest.
An hour later (6.30 am Austraian Eastern time) Mother Osprey was standing, looking down at one egg and one brand new baaby osprey chick!!!!! The broken eggshell has now been cast from the nest and the whole scene is bathed in the golden rays of the morning sun.
Anyway, here is the link. www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/sitePage.cfm
Smiles, Jan.
It won't be quite the same as our girls but it will be interesting to see how this Aussie Family develops so thanks for that Wattle. It might stop osprey withdrawals. :))
Tish x
Everything in life is speaking in spite of its apparent silence.
Thanks for the new thread Jan. Will get into this one as well I'm sure:)
It's now 7.10 pm at the Queensland Osprey nest. Earlier this evening Mumma was off having a wing stretch, and I was lucky enough to see TWO tiny osprey chicks!!! ☺☺ That was quick Work, both chicks hatching on the one day. Being right on the coast, I think there will be ample fish supply to raise them both.
Hi Wattle15
Looked in earlier but Mrs. Osprey was sitting on chicks. I can't wait to see them !! They should take the hard edge of our sadness, when 'OUR' LG family go. I am going to miss them so much, especially my wee Garten.
I keep thinking of her when she was tiny and getting bullied. But she fought back...fiesty wee Scottish lass.(:0)
"Birds of a Feather".... ~( :o )
Wattle15 thanks for that can start worrying about another osprey family now. Some consolation but for me LG was just wonderful this year.
Margobird
I wouldn't take what is shown on this camera as gospel, I'm afraid! :-( Through the course of one day, I've seen two chicks out of the eggs, then being fed by Mum from a fish on the edge of the nest. THEN, I saw empty nest, nest with 2 eggs, Mumma brooding, Mumma and Dad nest building with an empty nest, and mating!!!!!! I emailed the Council a couple of days ago to say that the camera appeared to be looping, but this is just crazy!!! Now we seem to be getting random shots!
Well, it seems the gremlins have been chased out of this camera as well!!
Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of seeing both proud parents on the rim of the nest, gazing down at TWO tiny heads below them! Mum was feeding them from a fish she held in her left foot, while Dad was just to the right of her, looking on fondly. He later flew off, and one of the last frames of the evening, (which froze overnight, just as the LG camera does) showed Mum still feeding one tiny head, while the other chick had lowered it's head again, so it looked rather like an egg from above. The rest of the chicks' bodies were hidden by the light-weight bark around them. The other three frames showed Mum settled on her babies again. This nest is a lot 'younger' than that at LG, so it is much smaller and much deeper, so that Mum has a real stretch down from the rim to feed her tiny ones.
The information above the pics has been updated to include the first hatching, which I alerted Council to in a congatulatory email on 12 August, but not the second hatching yet. the dates may be a bit confusing, because we are on Australian Eastern Standard Time here, and a the moment is is nearly 8.00 am on Friday, 14 August.
Thanks, Wattle. So its not just our webcams that have gremlins. As the ospreys there do not migrate, do they stay as a family group when adult, or just disperse?
I'm not sure, Lindybird, but I expect they would dispurse. While The Ospreys here don't need to migrate, they would range around quite a bit following seasonal currents (and fish). There would not be many suitable nesting sites in any one area, either.
Thanks Wattle15 for the info this will be something for me to watch when I come from holiday and our dear family at Loch Garten have all departed. Feed terribly sad that today is my last day for watching them.