[kawwauser]

last year we had a new pair of ospreys building a nest in a very popular site,the nest was taken over by a pair of greylags,this nest was high up in a tree, the greylags fought off the ospreys and produced 5 young,it was hoped this was a one off but today i visited the resereve and found the greylag is back on the nest and has been sitting since 17/03/11

[Tiger_mz]

Originally Posted by kawwauser

last year we had a new pair of ospreys building a nest in a very popular site,the nest was taken over by a pair of greylags,this nest was high up in a tree, the greylags fought off the ospreys and produced 5 young,it was hoped this was a one off but today i visited the resereve and found the greylag is back on the nest and has been sitting since 17/03/11

What did the ospreys do? Did they not nest at all?

[Mal Taylor]

Originally Posted by kawwauser

last year we had a new pair of ospreys building a nest in a very popular site,the nest was taken over by a pair of greylags,this nest was high up in a tree, the greylags fought off the ospreys and produced 5 young,it was hoped this was a one off but today i visited the resereve and found the greylag is back on the nest and has been sitting since 17/03/11

Hi

A year or two ago Ospreys at Rutland had to evict a pair of Greylags that had taken up residence. They were successful in doing so, and I think went on to breed. I suppose with Greylags breeding a little earlier than Ospreys this must be a fairly common event. I have heard that where this has happenned previously bin lids have been placed in unoccupied Osprey nests to prevent Greylags in particular from using them, and then removed just prior to the Ospreys predicted return. A Greylag that has been sitting on eggs for any length of time would take some shifting.
Please let us know how it turns out.

[kawwauser]

lst year the ospreys tried dislodging the greylag but were unsucsessfull,the pair did not breed but stayed around all season,here is a pic from yesterday

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d9...r/greylosp.jpg

[kawwauser]

one osprey has returned to this site and had a look at the nest but the greylag is still sitting

[Lmc3598]

I've read that it some places in America Canada geese are being culled because they kick ospreys out of their nests and a few incidents of chucking out the eggs as well. A goose woul dislodge an osprey no probs with it's huge bulk.

If you are worried about the ospreys it may be time to get a little human interference. Maybe not killing them, maybe just moving them away. You could of course let nature take it's toll.

[kawwauser]

update on the greylag,the ospreys failed to remove the greylag again and the goose hatched 6 goslings which left the nest a couple of days ago,a new female greylag has now landed on the nest and was seen tidying it up,hopefully this behaviour wont spread

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/kawwauser/gr1.jpg

in this pic the birds to the right are cormorants which are confusing some people who think they are perched ospreys

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/kawwauser/gr2.jpg

[delia todd]

LOL kawwauser - you have to admire them really, don't you. Until you mentioned this, I'd thought geese only nested on the ground.

D

[Tiger_mz]

Here is an interesting story of a gosling in an osprey nest.

[Marmot]

Delia has pointed this out to me as if this is where I am thinking of we actaully visited last year and the Greylag was in residence. As we are visting the area in a few weeks time we will be paying a visit.

Can I ask if the terrapin is still there?

[kawwauser]

that is an interesting story about the gosling,marmot the terrapin was seen last week climbing out the water beside the osprey nest