Latvian Osprey Nest 2014 - Pērkons & Lauma

[Kukelke]

20:31 - Lauma back on the nest, with soft chirps urging Perkons off the eggs. Perkons gets up and flies away. Lauma tends the eggs and incubates.

[Kukelke]

RE: on the long feeding of Lauma by Perkons

I wrote: "We've seen a few morsels being fed before, also by other pairs doing it, but this lasted 8 minutes or so. I've never witnessed this before."
I've been looking for more documentation of this behaviour and it is perhaps not so very unique after all. Check the following videos:







What these cases, including this long feeding of Lauma by Perkons, have in common, as far as I can see, is that the female either sits on eggs and/or on newly hatched chicks, and doesn't get up to take the delivered fish.

So now I wonder if these are just cases of very attentive (soon-to-be) fathers, or that the females trigger this behaviour by not getting up when a fish is delivered by the male and take it from the male in order to feed herself and/or small chicks. After all a female sitting on her eggs/small chicks like this could resemble a fledgling begging for food.

[Fleur]

April 23


7:06
mating, Perkons away.


Lauma stand up and shows her
three Eggs

[lispet]

Yes, three!

[Kukelke]

Great news on the 3rd egg

9:08 - Perkons lands on the nest with more grass. Lauma chirps, gets off the eggs and flies off. Perkons incubates.


9:53 - Lauma calls for fish and Perkons takes off:

[Bea]

How wonderful - a third egg

Looks like all is going ahead like it should here

[Kukelke]

10:55 - after a few minutes of soft and not so soft chirps by Lauma, and even trying to push him off the eggs, Perkons gets the message, and Lauma takes over incubation again:

[Kukelke]

11:08 - Perkons returns with a fish (pike (esox lucius)) for Lauma. She takes it and flies off. Perkons takes over incubation while Lauma is away to eat the fish:

[Kukelke]

14:20 - fish delivery by Perkons:




14:20 - Lauma takes off with the fish:

[Kukelke]

15:14 - Perkons lands on Lauma and makes clear that he wants a 4th egg:



But I think that Lauma disagreed as she didn't look very receptive.

[Gavril]

Good evening! Congratulations sweet couple Lauma and Perkons, and all of us with the third egg! 17:37. Lauma asleep. 17:41. Perkons for a second landed in the slot and again flew away.

[Owlie]

I was thinking of our beginning at this nest cam - how we worried whether Lauma could manage to tame that stubborn pine twig without human help or not. As somebody pointed out these birds have managed in nest building for thousands years - or is it millions years -. Even if the nest looks like to lie on a living pine there are no disturbing twigs to be seen now, but a perfect osprey nest with a family growing on it!


18:27
Change of the incubating spouse

[Kukelke]

That bothersome twig is still there, on the left of the nestbowl, but eventually it will dry out and then be easier to bend or break as more construction material is added. Apart from the fact that a decent railing to protect the small chicks from falling off the nest is still lacking, it otherwise looks like a warm and cosy playground for young ospreys. I guess that the construction of an outer ring will start soon as the rest of the nest now is covered with a thick layer of grass and moss.

I've a theory btw that this grass and moss is not only for keeping the eggs and later on the chicks warm and dry, but that it also works as a kind of glue to keep the sticks together. When grass and moss start to decompose you get a rather sticky substance, hence my theory.

[Kukelke]

19:10 - Perkons is feeding Lauma again:




19:12 - Lauma gets up and grabs the fish:



After that Lauma flew off with the fish and Perkons gladly does his incubating duties again.

[Owlie]

I guess that the construction of an outer ring will start soon as the rest of the nest now is covered with a thick layer of grass and moss.

Yes, they seem to continue building of the rim when chicks grow.
I also remember from last year 'chez Uldis' and 'chez Ilmar' that I thought the chicks were moving on a surprisingly little surface in the beginning, not many steps ahead from the nest bowl. It takes time before they dare to approach the rim area - which I think Kaido did by accident 'too soon' once when Irma happened to sweep him with her wing unintended.

[snowleopard]

RE: on the long feeding of Lauma by Perkons.....

The case of Perkons feeding Lauma is fascinating as it stands out to me as different from the others you referred to. I have watched Hellgate for 3 years and last year was the first year Stan fed Iris and she had produced 5 eggs that year and was exhausted. The other instances you referred to both females had 4 eggs, one 2 chicks and 2 unhatched eggs, the other four chicks. Could those instances be because of depletion of the female by egg production? this does not explain Perkons feeding Lauma but makes it all the more unique I think.

[Kukelke]

8:10 - Lauma chirps and Perkons jumps down from the cam support:



After that change of incubation duties, and Lauma flew off.

[Kukelke]

12:17 - Perkons comes to the nest, bringing a small stick. Lauma leaves to stretch her wings, after which Perkons takes over the incubation:




12:48 - Lauma returned and had a hard time getting Perkons off the eggs. She even had to poke him in his side with her talon a few times before he got up and made way:




12:49 - Perkons understood the message and took off. Lauma continued the incubation:




13:29 - Perkons back on the nest, almost pushing Lauma of the eggs.
13:31 - Lauma got up and flew off. Perkons incubates.

[Gavril]

Good day! 13:29. Perkons returned. Gently chirped, Lauma answered and 13:31 flew out of the nest. 13:34. Lauma returned.

[Gavril]

13:36. 13:36. Lauma again not allowed Perkons enjoy the incubation... He gave her eggs and flew away.....