Osprey Update: June 26

And then there were two.

The male (above) is bringing back a small fish and gotten the 2 nestlings excited, as they sit up in unison to be fed.

"Nature, red in tooth and claw": On June 25th when we went up to the osprey platform to band the nestlings we were all startled to see that one of the nestlings had died. All 3 were observed the afternoon before and they seemed vigorous. In fact however, when the dead nestling was removed I could see that it was comparatively small and very thin. It seems to be a simple case of being out competed for food. This is not an unusual occurrence when there are three nestlings. The only positive comment to be made is that the chance of survival for the remaining two nestlings is increased.