Mark-6, although finding Marker 6 an awkward nest platform, has unobstructed views out the mouth and up to the head of Island Creek.
2021-What I Knew Then, What I Know Now-2026
Note: With Ospreys, it’s all about the nest. Male Ospreys select the site, maybe gussy it up a bit with some sticks, then keen and circle above, advertising. They plunge toward the nest, swooping out of the dive as near as nerves allow. At first, in courtship, the dive is to convince a female to lay her eggs there. Once she’s in the nest, dives accompany fish deliveries and announce his prowess as far as his keening can reach. If matters progress to egg laying, this nest will imprint an exact address on both of them. Nest Site Fidelity, according to ornithologists, is a bigger deal to Osprey pairs than one another. They’ll meet back up next spring and the next and the next. But it’s not necessarily a forever after pact between the two of them. It has more to do with the success of the nest, measured by chicks fledged.
Nest Site Fidelity might define thereafter, but partnering proved the Gang of Six’s winning strategy. The two prevailing males fought for their claim to a platform alongside a female, also staking her claim.
Mark-6 had a partner. Perhaps less aggressive than the two females who allied with a male to claim a nest platform, or more poorly informed about the importance of a nest. Mark-6’s nest consisted of an occasional bundle of sticks poking from the top of the triangle. His girlfriend gamely visited, but preferred Marker 7, which as an odd-number was square, with the added advantage of being the other side of the creek from the rest of the gang.
She was small for a female, compact like Mark 6. And also like him, a beauty. Her markings differed from the others, more dark feathers about her face, down her breast and stomach. She looked exotic next to the familiar, whiter faced, lacey necklaced females of Island Creek, including Mrs. Perfect and Mrs. Bennet. Ethel had a more pronounced bib than her neighbors, but it barely feathered her crop.
Mating on Marker 6 proved tricky, but possible, unlike nest building, or transferring fish, which had a significantly greater success rate atop Marker 7. So they mated there as well. She even brought a few sticks to the square marker. But Mark-6 did not relocate. So, the inevitable occurred. In late April, the exotic little female went into labor without a nest.
Previous Episode 2021-1: A Telescope, Anthropomorphism
Upcoming Episode 2021-3: Birds Labor Too
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