Thanks JKR
I was afraid to turn on my computer this morning... long night watching Cherry alone
I read that once osprey chicks are approx. 6 weeks the parents will sleep often on a local limb
but Cherry is only about 4 weeks old. The way she was shivering and peeping last night I believe she was cold and needed mom
Also I am wondering who will teach her to fish as that normally is the males job entirely and Mom will go and rest up and feed herself
preparing for the migration to Central/South America. (speaking of which we should put pressure on ALL countries to ban pesticides, esp. DDT as that could have been the demise for the osprey and eagles). DDT is still used in some countries where these raptors migrate.

So would love to hear a biologists perspective on all of this.
What an amazing species!

I'm so pleased to see cherry's full crop this morning, Mum is standing at top of the nest and cherry is directly underneath - nope she's move for poopshot, preening and waddles over to be in Mum's shade.


I looked at some recordings I did early this morning and I'm thinking Jazzel is more than likely correct about cherrys wing (carpal ) tips. She tries to extend her wing out, but unfortunately I don't see it fully extended ( the left one/right if she's facing cam )

There's obviously some problem with Cherry wing span and I'm hoping she'll be fine, does anyone else have any opinions' regarding Cherry's wings. I can't bear to think of the outcome if Cherry doesn't have full use of her/his wings

I enlarge pic's of Cherry's wing stretch - taken from vid







Cheery lays near Mum

Junie, I'm not sure what to think about Cherry's wings at this stage. I think it's better to wait until she's older and stable enough to stand on her own feet to do a proper wing stretch before we reach any conclusion. At the moment she is only learning to stand upright. All I know about the blood feathers is that they are extremely heavy which may be the cause of her not tucking her wings in fully. We also have to remember that she doesn't get the full parental care that a normal osprey chick would have and meals aren't as regular which may have contributed to her being a bit weaker than normal.

11:59 a.m.
Mom and Cherry near the edge of the nest.

Thanks JKR wisely said... re. Cherry's wing.
I showed an ornithologist friend and they suggested the exact thing that you are...
every bird is different as far as development. I have often also seen Cherry with her wings tucked in close and
looking more 'normal'.
Let's hope for the best!
This family have had enough trauma!

I am still concerned about how Cherry will learn to fish. That is always the Dad's job.
SO there is probably someone out there who has seen this before and knows what will happen?!?!
Will Mom just stick around? She may not have time to fatten up then before her trip south...:huh:

for sharing your nest with all the folk in the UK, we have all been concerned for Cherry's wing, can anyone tell me please, why the very tip of the wing is tinged blue? Hope Mum gets her enough food but wish the male would take a more active part, hopefully he's still around and just being a lazy husband Eileen.

12:52 pm
Mom is on high alert and screeching at an intruder somewhere near her nest.


Welcome Eileen uk The blue is her blood feathers which is the blood shaft which nourishes the flight feathers as they grow.

I looked high and low for another picture of a chick with the same blue showing on it's wings. Unfortunately, I could only find one of a chick that was being rescued from a bunch of baling twine. I'm sure the chick is okay. If you look closely at it's wing tips they look the same as Cherry's. The link to this article telling of the challenges faced by all osprey this year : http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/mo ... s/C41/L41/

JKR et al - a thought regarding the male not showing up on the nest.

According to the rangers statements there are two males near the nest and as Jazzle said, Mom leaves and returns with a fish too quickly for her to have done the fishing. Which would indicate the male is providing the fish, just not a nest delivery. Also, the unattached male would be the cause of Mom's alarms.

Last year there were two chicks and they fought - nasty fights. Delivering fish to the nest was hazardous to the parents. The parent(s) acted like they were afraid to land on the nest. At the end they just sort of threw the fish at the nest and let the chicks battle it out. My point of presenting this back story is, perhaps this male has learned the hard way - stay off the nest after the chicks start to grow.

BET, I've had all kinds of thoughts about the male. He could very well be fishing and providing Mom with a few fish.
What I do know of the wetland area, having grown up in Creston, is that Mom doesn't always have to dive for those fish. A lot of the area is very shallow where she can make a catch with her talons without diving into deep water. The bigger trout she brings in come from deeper water and the last couple she brought in she was soaking wet so she had been diving for them.

I'm sure the CVWMA will provide updates when then have the time to do so.

2:30 pm
No sign of Mom. Cherry has been walking around the nest clucking like a little chicken.