Monday, May 27, 2013

I was watching a male in a tree eating a fish, as the female on the nest was food begging vociferously. He ate the whole fish and then preened a bit, as she continued her cries for food. Finally he flew off and came back in less than two minutes with a fish for her, delivered it to her and quickly took over incubation duties. Males must feed themselves first, not out of selfishness (an anthropomorphic projection of human motivation) but so they can remain strong enough to be a good provider.
On the other hand, I was watching one of the nests whose male is caring for two females on two nests. He was eating a fish as one of his females was soliciting food loudly...and half way thru his fish he delivered the remains to her. She left with it and he took over incubation duties, but within a few minutes, he jumped up and flew off. She was not done eating, but had to return to the nest, bringing the fish with her. She dropped the fish remains on the edge of the nest and resumed incubating. It's what she has to do. This must be getting difficult for both females, who do not get enough food, enough time away from incubating. It will only get worse when the chicks hatch and he could potentially have eight mouths to feed...if there are 3 chicks and a female on both nests...in addition to feeding himself. I am hoping for some very small broods and some females that are willing to hunt.

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