I have tried hard to avoid the Cowlitz PUD Osprey Nest. The sibling rivalry increased because of the lack of fish brought in. The stronger chick got more strong and the weaker one more weak. The more dominant chick kept the other one from having any food yesterday. The day before it had only 1 meal out of 4 deliveries – or was that yesterday? At any rate, it was denied food. Its body became dehydrated in the hot sun. It is always horrific when chicks die of starvation.
There were two fish deliveries this morning but the weakest one was just too ill to even try and eat.
I checked at the nest at 12 noon and the little one has died.
It is unclear how the other chick will fare, actually. These chicks are developmentally delayed physically because of the lack of nutrition. I can only hope that there will be enough prey for this one to move forward, gain weight and fledge.
It remains unclear as to what the problem is regarding ‘enough fish’. Is it possible that there is simply not enough fish in this area to sustain this nest? is there other competition between Ospreys and Bald Eagles? or is Wattsworth the issue? does he have another nest? what is going on? I do wonder.
It is time to take a deep breath and exhale. Let us hope that the death of the little one will actually mean something – mean that this one will fledge.
Thank you for joining me. It It has been a tense day today with K3 flying into Bradfield – but he is OK – the death at this nest – and the news of a tornado near Ithaca that killed several osprey chicks. What a year it has been. Take care all!
Thank you to the Cowlings PUD for their streaming cam where I took my screen shot.
The featured image shows the fat little bottoms of the two chicks just three days ago.