While last month it was the males that made the news during the two Osprey mornings of 2 June and 23 June, July is now the time for females to be in the spotlight.
Both Mouche (PR4) in France, and Chronos (ex-PS9) in Germany, have again bred successfully. In the department of Moselle, Dominique Lorentz reports that Mouche and her partner AM06 fledged 2 young just before July 8, around the same time and on the same nest as last year. In the State of Baden-Württemberg, Daniel Schmidt-Rothmund tells us the 3 chicks of Chronos and her male (recently baptized Kepler) fledged a little before July 17, also around the same time and on the same platform as last year. With these 5 chicks produced in 2024 by two of our females (plus the 5 already fledged in 2023), we hope to see some interesting returns in the years to come!
In the Three-Lakes region in Switzerland, an unringed female (baptised Vicky after her prominent V-shaped collar which makes her easy to recognize) has been hanging about since at least July 4, when she was first photographed by Claudine Waespe and Urs Meier. She has been seen regularly ever since, and she may even have been around much earlier, as a reliable local inhabitant had already told us in May that he often sees one Osprey in the area, and at times two. To find out more what this female was up to, and see if she might be interacting with some of our males, a “mini-Osprey morning” was undertaken on July 14, thanks to the participation of 19 observers – a remarkable turn-out for a month when so many bird-watchers tend to be away on holiday. We know that Vicky has already met Racine (F29) at least once, and possibly also Arthur (F12). However, for the moment she seems to prefer keeping to herself. She is clearly single and likely still immature – the ideal kind of “profile” which could increase the chances of seeing her back in the region and looking for a mate next year.
This summer there have also been more observations than usual of “foreign” Osprey, particularly around the Three-Lakes region, and a few also in the vicinity of the Doubs River. The presence of reintroduced males might well have a positive influence in this respect, and obviously the more territorial males there are, the greater the chances that they will attract the attention of female “floaters”.
The first migrants are already starting to fly south across Switzerland, which makes it more difficult to tell the difference between Osprey summering in the region, and those which are just passing through. However, this is always a good time for surprises, so please continue to share or post on www.ornitho.ch all observations, mentioning the time when you see one and, if possible, whether the bird is ringed or not. Summer is here at last!
