still no eggs at this nest.....perhaps still having territorial issues

the cam is back from being down and is very blurry.....I do not think they are going to nest this season....seems to be a bit late for this pair!

Quote by: soph9

the cam is back from being down and is very blurry.....I do not think they are going to nest this season....seems to be a bit late for this pair!

Soph, back in March, I asked Rob Bierregaard about this issue. Hope this helps.

MY QUESTION:

"How long do a pair of ospreys have to get their nest going.  I understand they have different nesting times depending on the area.

Last season the Cape Henlopen, DE  cam nest went on for months, intruder issues, but never had an egg.  Then the same thing went on at the Jamestown, RI nest, except they looked like they were incubating most of the time...but then would leave the nest unattended...they never did have an egg.

Now, this season the Cape Coral, FL nest...that last season had their first egg 1/25, has had an intruder issue, documented 3 on the nest, no egg yet.  They do return to the nest, but not looking like an egg is going to happen now.

Then, there is Hilton Head, NC.  Again,  intruder issues.  They have been trying, to repair the nest, but fighting with the intruder. They had their first egg last season on 3/7.  Now they are showing up, but not very much going on with nesting.
How does egg production in ospreys work, certainly not like a barn yard chicken.  I know many birds can have more than one brood a year, I just want to understand the ospreys. "


ROB'S REPLY:

"I don't know exactly how long they have to get going. We've had young fledge in mid-late August on the Vineyard, so that pair probably didn't lay until late May. It may have been a renesting after a lost clutch, or it could have been one of these turn-over in the breeding pair situations, which very often result in no nesting for that year. I suspect that most of the intruder situations occur when one of the adults doesn't return and the fight to fill the vacancy is really protracted because none of the contestants has the psychological advantage of having been there the previous year. "Home-court advantage" is really a big deal in birds.
Eggs are produced about 2-3 days apart (more if the female is not in really good condition). I suspect that they could recycle only if it's really early in the nesting season. Whether they recycle or not would depend on physiological condition, and what the levels of estrogen were in the female's blood."

JAZZEL

cam has moved left...I see an Osprey but I don't think they are nesting here!