EJ

Hazel b said:

Keith Brockie is on Facebook and is a friend of a friend of mine. So I can get a request to him if people want me to ask.

 

It would be great if you could, Tiger.

We know that head markings are consistent in adult ospreys, and I'm wondering if that is something which carries over from juvenile plumage (ie would Star's 'cross' and Storm's 'volcano' help to identify them if/ when they return as adults, even if we get a repeat of last year and they aren't ringed) Ringing date photos/ sketches of returned adults would be a good indicator of this, and there are enough ringed birds breeding now that it ought to be possible, if photos were taken.

So could someone formulate the question you want me to put to Keith Brockie?

Tiger I would love to know  which chick ( youngest/oldest) EJ was in her nest . And did he take any pictures of her ringing?  It would be fascinating to see  her markings as a juvenile and now .  

My reason for asking which chick she was is there is a widely held belief that the oldest has the best chance of survival.  If EJ was the middle or youngest that would dispell that theory to  a point. 

Thanks !!

I will see what I can do.

Well if you want an example of a weak chick who made it look no further than  5R    He was regarded as a weak chick who was very dependent on his dad as late as September 5th. Yet two years later he came back as this magnificent creature   and claimed the title of being the first osprey born in England to return in 150 years.

Rothiemurchus was also a late chick and he does not show much weakness today.

However it may not work for everyone. See   Bluebeard's chick in 2004.

Your "magnificent creature" link is broken, Tiger :'(

scylla said:

Your "magnificent creature" link is broken, Tiger :'(

Thank you. Not any longer! :)

There was a discussion this morning over on the Dyfi site about the lineage of Red 6J the bird that was the mum of the first Welsh osprey chick to fledge back in 2004.

As a result I have been looking through various records and Green 7B came up again. She was the infamous osprey that ousted EJ from her blissful happiness with OVS in 2003. Maybe an excellent move as EJ made her way to Loch Garten.

Now I have found two amazing twists to this story.

Green 7B was actually the female at Loch Garten in 2002 before she was ousted by Olive.

Now Green 7B  was often described as Ollie's grandaughter but I knew no more. Apparently there was a male hatched in the Loch Garten nest in  1991 who later came back to nest 150km from Loch Garten. Then in 2000 this male fathered  Green 7B.

Of course Ollie was the male in residence at Loch Garten from 1990 to 2001.

Another litle bit of history filled in.

It seems that EJ first went fishing

2008  17 June

2009  21 June

2010   27 June

2011   25 June

EJ still protecting her chicks from the rain, even though they are due to fledge.

EJ - 12th July 2011 - The day her daughter, Tore, fledged: