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Interesting....
Facebook post from Dr. Eric
Montana Osprey Cams
Hi everyone,
We know there is a lot of angst about Iris, and Louis' behavior with her. Louis has mated with her the last several years without sticking around and help feed her. A single osprey can't raise chicks on her own, so Iris' breeding attempts have failed the last few years.
Although it is easy to get mad at Louis, and think about his behavior in human terms, some more important questions are why is this happening, and why aren't there unattached males trying to pair up with Iris?
We suspect the underlying reasons have to do with osprey population declines along parts of the Clark Fork River. For the past several breeding seasons we have been concerned by a 60-70% decline in successful nests in areas that have traditionally done pretty well. In ospreys, as with most birds, young males tend to return to breed fairly close to where they were born, while young females tend to disperse farther from their natal areas. So declining osprey populations near Iris' nest means that there is not a good supply of unattached, available males. If there were, Iris would have had a new mate quite a while ago.
So then the question becomes why are we seeing declining osprey populations in some stretches of the Clark Fork River? We are not sure, but we suspect that several things, all human-caused, may be playing a role: 1) Climate change is here. The rivers here are becoming very low and hot during the summer. Many of the species of trout that ospreys feed on are in trouble. So declining food supplies may be part of the problem. 2) In some areas of the Clark Fork the remaining fish are high in arsenic and mercury - very toxic elements. 3) Baling twine and monofilament fishing line. These dangerous twines and fishing lines tangle up and kill A LOT of ospreys. Already this spring we have been involved in too many rescues! (More on that in another post).
So although it is easy to make Louis the scapegoat in all this, the underlying causes most likely have more to do with how humans are changing the environment around here in ways that are harming ospreys. If you want to find out more about our thoughts on this, and see some of our data that back up our thoughts, please watch the lecture that Rob Domenech and I gave earlier this month. A youtube link to the talk is posted below.
Possibly not the news you wanted to hear, but it is important to understand some of the reasons that we are seeing what we are seeing with Iris.
Sincerely, Erick Greene and the Montana Osprey Project
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ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, THE LORD GOD MADE THEM ALL
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FAQ
Iris laid her 1st egg today:
Just drop dead gorgeous capture, Beth!!