This was posted to the Hog Island Site this eve. Apparently there has been an attack on Hellgate this eve:Evening to all and I hope you are all well and at peace. I watched the intruder attack on Iris and Louis over at Hellgate nest and have to say I've never really seen anything like it before outside of the early season challenges for nests and mates but here the nest and partnership is established so very odd. It is true that the fishing is very challenging given the high water in the river. In 2011 a similar torrent lasting 7 weeks led to the deaths of an estimated 95% of osprey chicks in the area, either through starvation or siblicide. Two of the three chicks in the nest of Iris and her then mate Stanley died. Not only is the river a challenge but there is a large eagle population in the area and they routinely follow fishing osprey and are adept at stealing fish midair. Osprey are skilled fishers and while eagles are not, they are skilled thieves and when catches are few they become another major impediment to success. For all this I've never heard of osprey attacking nests looking for fish. It will be fascinating to hear if Dr Greene has an explanation for this behavior. Here's a picture of the Clark Fork River as it looked in 2011, imagine trying to find, much less catch a fish in this.
Nothing is certain in their world. Nite
Unable to post video, but have read there were multiple attacks on Louis and Iris by another osprey possibly looking for fish. Louis was knocked off nest and at one time there is a photo of him upside down above nest during his defense of his family. It was reported he was back on nest by 9:01 CDST. And I believe all are well here!