She perched on the edge of her stick nest and called repeatedly. Suddenly, the male appeared in view, flew in and landed directly on her back. They mated - it lasted a few seconds - and then he flew off again without even pausing. Talk about wham, bam, thankyou Ma'am!
Yes, it's that time of year and the ospreys are back at Loch Garten. The team onsite watched 'EJ' (the female) and 'Orange VS' (a male) mate seven times in 15 minutes after he first arrived on the scene.
By anyone's reckoning, that's quite some going.
EJ and VS have a history. In the past, while EJ waited for her usual mate, 'Henry', to arrive, VS saw his chance. He didn't treat her well - to show he can provide for a brood of chicks, VS ought to supply EJ with fish. However, he didn't, because he already had another female a few miles down the road...
Conversely, once he turns up, Henry is an attentive mate, a great nest-builder and ace fish-catcher. He sends VS packing. His problem is that he comes back to Scotland a bit too late, by which time EJ has been mating with another male.
To the casual onlooker, the way that birds mate seems to be rather inefficient, requiring much flapping of wings. How does it work, exactly? Well, it's just a kiss. Without going into too much detail, the act itself involves a very brief encounter between the two birds' bottoms (birds have only one orifice there, called the 'cloaca' - Latin for 'sewer'). The wing-flapping is needed so that the male bird can defy gravity and achieve the angle needed.
Why doesn't EJ wait for reliable Henry to get back, you may wonder? EJ simply can't afford to hang about. Henry might not be coming back - migration is fraught with hazards, even for a big bird like an osprey.
EJ's urge to pass on her genes is strong, in the same way that VS is compelled to sow his wild oats. She really does have all her eggs in one basket, as it's very rare for an osprey to lay more than one clutch per year.
Does EJ remember VS and what happened last year (when she laid one clutch of eggs by VS which Henry kicked out, then another clutch by Henry from which no chicks survived)? She does remember how to find her way back from Africa to precisely the same tree, after all, but we'll never know for sure. Maybe things will be different this year, as Orange VS has lost his old mate and nest site.
It's just another reason why birds are so fascinating and unpredictable.
Re the birds & the bees - most birds I've seen mating have used the 'wham bam thank you mam' technique, but I was watching a pair of fulmars the other day and they were still going strong when I moved away several minutes later! Is this usual for this species?
That's an interesting way of thinking about it. EJ was on her nest in the snow last week and seemed OK (even if she was only standing on one leg to keep the other warm). For a smaller bird like a swallow, a cold snap could be fatal if its supply of insects vanishes. Then the birds which arrive a bit later have an advantage. It's all a gamble!