Bird Watching: Osprey season 2010 - Two chicks in a shallow nest., 1 by MargaretK

MargaretK wrote:
The size difference between the two chicks is quite marked. Before I arrived Pete saw the bigger chick beating up the smaller one. It is also getting most of the food. I think we have to hope that the smaller one is able to get enough to promote growth. In the Osprey world, the greater the number of chicks in the nest, the lesser the chances of the youngest (and smallest) surviving, both because of bullying and not being robust enough to be able to position itself to get food. Even though there is only a 3 or 4 day age difference between these two (I haven't tried to see if it was the 1st or 2nd hatchling that died), the bigger one is getting most of the attention. It's not uncommon for three chicks to survive until fledging (and beyond) and there's a nest somewhere in the north-east USA that has successfully raised 4 chicks.

In this shot, Big Hook is about to feed the larger one.

This message was edited Oct 10, 2010 8:38 AM