PAST - PRESENT - AND WHO KNOWS WHAT'S NEXT!!!!!
Three issues have contributed to the cam nest not producing eggs, so far, this season.
The first and most important is the resident male did not survive migration. If the male had returned the hawks wouldn't have been a problem. He would have started repairing the nest and defending his territory.
When the female returned she had to choose a new mate, which she has. The new mate now has to establish his territory rights. This is a second issue because another young male is building a nest on a roof top 500 yards from the cam nest. This young male has also been trying to attract a female and establish his territory.
This courtship display is great to watch, but very distracting for nesting pairs. The male flies over his nesting ground with a fish, very high up, circling , hovering and calling, then drops down in a steep dive then returns to his previous hight, then repeats. The display attracts unattached ospreys, both male and female to the area. Hopefully he will find a mate this season, but he may not until next season.
Last season I watched a young male starting a nest in cell tower. Actually, he built three nests, he had that tower covered!! He also had to fight off other males that wanted the site. He did win the tower, but didn't have a mate by the end of the season. This season he returned, now has a mate, they are incubating.
I haven't observed the hawks showing any aggressive behavior toward the ospreys for well over a week. This may be because their nest failed, or they're just to busy hunting and feeding chicks. They are of course still there, just not a problem now.
From my on site observations, yesterday afternoon, the bachelor osprey seems to have a female prospect. She was on his nest several times, hopefully she'll stay and keep him busy!! The territory issues will continue, but should become less intense if he has a mate.
The cam nest pair spent most of the afternoon on the nest, nest perch ( she seems to like it ) and perched in nearby trees. The male brought in some nesting material, and they even did some bonding. There were a couple of territory incidents, but basically a quiet day.
Today started out very well…the male bringing in a lot of nesting material. Now, as I'm writing this, there's an obvious battle in progress….stay tuned…
JAZZEL
Jazzel, Thanks for all the information. It's very helpful for an amateur osprey-watcher like myself.
ReplyDeleteEileen
Jazzel, have you posted the photographs of the pair from last year? It would be fascinating to see them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, were you at Rob Bierregaard's lecture in Westport, MA the evening of May 6? He has put transmitters on two more of their birds calling them Gunner and Sanford.
My kids and I are really enjoying watching the ospreys build their nest (if a little belatedly). But now that they've built it up so high, the camera seems to be missing a lot of the action. Any chance an osprey-spy could creep up their under cover of darkness and adjust the angle of the camera? Would it risk disturbing the Ospreys?
ReplyDeletenot for nothing, but I wouldnt be surprised if this nest gets eggage soon. The nest is developing a visable bowl and the adults are around alot more. If I didnt know its May, I`d swear its late March/early April. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame the cam is out of view of all the activites to come. Too late to fix it now :-(
ReplyDeleteso I get home from the beach to find a email from Pam alerting me that theres a egg. And sure enough theres a egg. This should be fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteYes, Mickey there is an egg. I'm not sure how much fun it will be to watch... it has yet to be incubated, 6 hours and counting...but for sure a educational experience.
ReplyDelete