Rare polygamy saga playing out for Tweed Valley ospreys
Osprey watchers are being treated to a rarely seen saga playing out at a nest in the Tweed Valley.
This fascinating behaviour of two female ospreys and one male who have set up a home as a trio – a form of polygamy known as polygyny with a male breeding with multiple females.
“So far things are looking good. The females seem amicable and tolerant with both having mated with the male bird and laying four eggs between them.
“The only tension witnessed so far has been on the arrival of a fish delivery from the male as the two females both make a grab it. Mrs O usually wins the fish and flies off to feed but has been seen to return with a portion remaining and letting the other female have it,” says Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Diane Bennett.
The cameras set up as part of The Tweed Valley Osprey Project are providing a fascinating insight into the natural behaviour between the adult birds – Mrs O, a female who has previously nested at the site and a new female and young male – as the partnership and nesting behaviour develops during the season.
“This nest behaviour with all the birds in the same nest is very rare and as far as we know it is the first time this has ever been on a livestream camera with most other research involving such a set-up previously conducted though distant observation,” says Diane.
The background and identity of the new arrivals is unclear as while they both have British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) rings to generate information on the survival, productivity, and movements of bird, they are not fitted with coloured, alphanumeric Darvic rings that allows researchers to identify individual birds.
The Tweed Valley Osprey viewing centre at Glentress is accessible to all users. Ospreys have been coming to breed here since the 1990s and we fund and managed the project and are supported by a team of volunteers. The project aims to protect and provide safe places for them to settle and nest.
The eggs are expected to hatch in coming weeks which will only bring further excitement and intrigue.
The Tweed Valley polygyny saga can be viewed on our website or in person at the Wildlife Hub at Glentress Forest in Peebles between 10:00 am - 4:00 pm each day, where the camera is streaming live onto the big screen. Volunteers on duty most of the time, to interpret what is happening with the osprey family.
“Getting to watch this saga close up as the season unfolds is exciting both for the drama but also for the important research insights it will allow,” adds Diane.
You can find the livestream on the Tweed Valley osprey project website, or regular updates and video clips of behaviour and snapshots of the birds taken from the livestream are added to Tweed Valley Osprey Project Facebook Page which can be followed, to see how they progress though the season.