Re: Osprey Q & A

What are the chances of the chicks surviving in this dread full weather?

fish

What are the chances of the chicks surviving in this dread full weather?

Very good I would have thought. Bynack was hatched during a severe storm.

Tiger I remember and he was nicknamed "Storm" :) and Tore was "Star"

edit before they were named.

Some good-humoured controversy on the Loch of the Lowes thread today regarding whether ospreys stash fish.

One poster has been told they do, and another believes they don't....

Does anyone have an opinion, or information on the subject?

Tiger to the rescue please.

Haha, fish! couldn't have put it better myself!!

It is obviously very hard to prove whether ospreys stash fish or not. Yes I think we have seen some evidence over the years that ospreys have been known to stash fish. It would take a bit of research to find actual examples but I do think they exist.

Thanks Tiger, for your answer.

I wonder if you have any theories on why dropped fish are never retrieved, even if it would be an easy thing for the osprey to do ( e.g. fallen on grass )?

Properly a stupid question, but in that heat, don't the Ospreys need to drink water?? My garden birds drink more than eat  or so it seems.

FISH, The ospreys get there fluid from the fish. You may catch an adult osprey drinking on the lake/ loch though

A thought that has occurred - a number of bloggers have commented on the Size difference between the 3 young on the LG nest this year. Assuming the largest two keep stuffing themselves whilst the youngest's growth remains slow; does this reduce the already small window available for ringing & tagging (& in LG tradition - Naming) this years youngsters?

Vespa - I doubt it. Isn't it just for tagging that the window is really tight, as the birds have to be as nearly full-grown as possible, and yet not in danger of fledging prematurely? As I remember the discussions 2 years ago, the tagging window is only about 2 weeks. If they are just ringing, they can do that when the birds are much smaller, before fledging is anywhere near.

In the past, they have tagged the 2 largest of 3 chicks. This year, there isn't a lot of doubt which two that will be. So whatever happens, #3 will only be ringed, in which case being smaller than his siblings won't be a problem.

The way this "summer" is developing so far, the weather may be the real issue anyway. If they are going to tag as well as ring (and hence have to wait for the smaller window when #1 & #2 are big enough), I won't be at all surprised to see a repeat of 2010 with neither being possible.

Rach, some ospreys do retrieve fish they have dropped. Monty at Dyfi definitely does as Nora is apparently always dropping them from the perch. I never saw any of the LG adults retrieve a fish a juvie had dropped though, even when they were easy to spot. Maybe it's just a 'personal' thing - some do, some don't. Watching osprey fish at Spey Bay earlier this year, one dropped a fish and then went back to it on the beach as it was in full sight and crows were approaching - guess who won?! And for the record, I disagree with Tiger with regards to the stashing of fish. Having viewed Odin bring some very 'stiff' fish back to the nest last season that looked as if they had been caught quite some time ago, the view there was he'd been lounging around with them for some time after catching them - as in hours rather than days!

Thanks Sparrow! It seems crazy if they don't, though obviously they're just not able to retrieve them from some places; but when they're dropped in the open, why wouldn't they? Nice to know you've actually seen it happen too. I've never seen an osprey fish, it's definitely on my wish list!

It is stated on the LotL thread that the adult Osprey mortality rate is 10%.  

Is the overall juvenile mortality rate known in terms of percentages?