May 25, 2007
The Male Osprey
We wanted to update our cam watchers on what is happening at the Blackwater nest and also at several other cam nests now that hatching season has arrived.
First, be sure to check out the Connecticut Audubon Osprey Cam where they apparently have two chicks. Note that they had four eggs in total. Folks have reported seeing the male osprey feeding the female, and we've also heard that sometimes the mother takes the food from the male then passes it to the chicks. This couple is an entertaining pair to watch; in fact they're the ones that brought the blue teddy bear to the nest last year.
Also, the Wilmington, North Carolina Osprey Cam has chicks. Unfortunately it appears that not long after hatching, one of the birds sprayed the lens with whitewash, but a good rain might clear that up.
In Kentucky, they have three chicks on their Osprey Cam now. They appear to be the oldest chicks among the cams we've covered.
And here's another Finnish Osprey Cam for you to check out. Three eggs were laid at the beginning of May, so keep an eye on that one. Quite an amazing view.
And finally, you can keep an eye on the ever-colorful EJ and Henry at the Osprey Cam in Loch Garten Scotland, where EJ has amazingly laid a full second clutch of eggs.
Our Male? A New Male?
Here at Blackwater Refuge, we're slowly resigning ourselves to the reality that we will be seeing our first chickless summer since we came online in 2001. As I mentioned on the cam page a few days ago, the day after our resident female's three eggs were punctured by a crow, a male was seen on the nest. This could have been the male that photographer Bob Quinn saw sitting in the marsh across the road from the Osprey Cam on the day we lost the eggs. Around the time the male returned, we saw the intruder female making new attempts to get on the nest.
So the obvious question is: Is this our missing male and has he taken up with the new female, thus abandoning our resident female and their eggs? We had mentioned in an earlier web log that normally ospreys mate for life and are extremely loyal to their nests. But biologists are aware that sometimes osprey males will take up with a second female at a second nest.
But our male had a good mate and they had successfully defended their nest and produced three seemingly healthy eggs, so why would the second female be any attraction, especially if she didn't even have a nest of her own? We honestly don't know. But if this is our male, he has obviously lost interest in raising chicks with the original female. Maybe the aggressiveness of the intruder female played a part in our male jumping ship.
Our resident female does appear to still be defending the nest from the intruder female, so we are still seeing tension at the nest. Our friend Georgena Terry was at Blackwater Refuge for a bike tour this week, and captured this photo showing what appears to be the resident female in the nest and the intruder on the camera arm. The intruder has a slightly more noticeable necklace (brown coloring) on her chest, and that is about the only way we can tell the difference between the females.
At some point, these three ospreys will have to work it out amongst themselves as to who is a couple and who belongs at the nest. They might do it by the end of this season or it might not be settled until next year when the first birds back will be able to claim the nest.
All we can say is that if this is in fact our male, we hope our poor resident female manages to find a new "hubby" because this bird is not a good partner, and she needs to find a male that will be a dependable provider for her chicks.
Even though we will not have chicks at the Blackwater Refuge cam, we'll continue to leave the cam online throughout the summer and fall so we can watch any bird life that hangs out there. I'll also keep the Osprey Cam Web Log running for a little while longer as we follow the action here and at other osprey cams.
Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
(contact)