Rachel! From Mod:Poppy Mod • 10 hours ago
Please, unfold for more information and words From Steve Kress!
Well, what a night, osprey friends!
Rachel's plan, staying closer to Bailey during the night, worked perfectly. She fought off several owl attacks, starting at 1:56 am EDT! We don't know yet, whether Bailey was harmed during the combat; she might have some bruises. We have to wait for sunlight and her activities. Audubon most probably will refrain from interference, since the incident was not cause by human activities.
For those who need to see the footage, search on Youtube for "Arlene Beech". That is Homebird's account with many clips. But watch on your own discretion!
RACHEL YOU ARE A ROCK AND YOU ROCK!
This is an excerpt of National Audubon Societie's latest blog post, inluding words from Steve Kress:
"We once again asked Steve Kress, who works on Hog Island and is Audubon's vice president of conservation and director of seabird restoration program, for his thoughts on this latest news. Here's what he wrote back in an email:
'There is a lot of insight about how individual predators learn new and ingenious ways to capture prey. What is surprising here is that Rachel seems to be learning new ways to defend her remaining chick. Predator-prey interfaces are often thought to be driven by selection favoring specific behaviors that then become genetically hard-wired, but if Rachel is changing her behavior by perching lower and closer to her chick, it appears she is learning from her experience and adapting her behavior to be a more successful parent. The camera is once again showing new and very exciting insight to bird behavior."