Dining at the Nest – Tweed Valley Osprey Project



On June 20, young osprey chicks in the main hut were seen crawling in the heat and a few siblings fighting. Nothing serious, but those sharp beaks are tools that should not be ignored. Looks like leaving the battlefield, osprey style, putting your head right into the nest and turning your back to your opponent. This seems to push the attacker back. The war lasted a little longer when they joined forces and got into some serious disputes, but fortunately so far no casualties have been reported. The chickens are certainly not hungry, but there seems to be no specific reason for these conflicts because the temperature is part of the problem and perhaps because of the persistence of the forest (currently at a high level of annoyance) flying through the jungle. at the moment. They can be seen constantly screaming around the nest and although they are harmless, they are always there and will live for the next few weeks until their population declines.

The chicks face each other in a Peking fight

Osprey chicks in a nest

To avoid conflict – turn around and lower your head!

PW3 returned with a small trout for the family and Mrs. O took him to feed the children. However, PW3 changed her mind and quietly took it from Mrs. O. She didn’t seem to mind and flew with him. Ten minutes later he returned to feed himself and began to feed the little chick. He was with the others and side by side. Mrs. Oh was with the other two. PW3 seems to be of special interest to the little chick and has been seen feeding on its own for a while. It was a delightful sight for the whole family to witness. When the little one was full, he went to join his mother, and the other two and my father finished the rest of the fish, including swallowing its tail completely. No fish is wasted. Every part is delicious, including bones and scales. With a long intestine and certain enzymes, ospreys can combine every part of the food.

Ospreys feed in a nest

PW3 feeding the little chick with Mom on the back with the two

Two hours after the meal, PW3 returned to the nest with a large amount of live trout. Mrs. Oh took it from him and began to pull some from the fish’s jaws to eat. It was a hot topic and soon the chicks were interested and ready to go to feed her. There is a big difference between the cruelty of cutting a piece of fish and the absolute gentleness with which you pass this food to the beaks of young children. She has become a great mother, and when the weather changes from bad to heavy, keep her still under control. But now they are so big that their backs are stuck in the rain!

An oyster with a large trout in the nest

A great live trout

Ospreys eating fish in a hut

Gori food

Osprey chicks in a nest

Here comes my mother.

The small changes that occur as the chicks grow each day are not obvious but after 5 days the changes are more noticeable. Between June 22 and 27, the chicks have changed their ability to stand, especially on strong legs, and are significantly stronger. The feathers now show the color of their backs instead of fading.

Mrs. Oh, in a good weather, she left them unattended for a short time, and she relaxed a little, and when she came out, they slept and played corpses. When the chicks were alone, she was shown a camera on a tree to the left of the nest. As the camera progressed, we could see the nest. The old Scottish pine is completely dead, but the branches are still healthy.

A dead tree with a large nest

The dead nest tree

On June 28, the two oldest chicks were 30 days old and the youngest one was 28 days old. So far, everything is fine for this family. PW3 is proving to be an excellent fisherman and a caring father, and Ms. O is an excellent mother. It was great to see this part of the family and see how PW3 and Mrs. O grew up with parenting because they have so much experience now. We hope that they will make good progress because they have reached the halfway point before their chicks come out.

Video highlights

Stay tuned for our 2022 highlights from our YouTube playlist. Remember, you can also see our main nest camera live during the day.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries

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