UPDATED, 6.8.2008: Northern webcam records white-tailed eagle attacking osprey nest

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By Tiina Hirsimäki
     
      A camera set up next to an osprey's nest by Voitto Pulkkinen of Oulunsalo recorded an attack by a white-tailed eagle against one of the osprey young in the nest on the northern island of Hailuoto on Sunday.
      The bird, which hatched in early June, survived the attack.*
      However, the worldwide spread of the pictures of the struggle via the Internet brought dozens of concerned messages to Pulkinen.
      “People have been worried about the fate of the bird. However, we need to allow nature to take its course. That is why we cannot intervene”, Pulkkinen says.
     
There are more than 300 nesting pairs of white-tailed eagles in Finland, and 1,200 pairs of ospreys.
     
According to Torsten Stjernberg of the Finnish Museum of Natural History, white-tailed eagles settled in the area in the north of the Baltic Sea in the present decade.
      He says that the attack is not unique, as white-tailed eagles have been known to go after the young of ospreys.
      “White-tailed eagles and ospreys sometimes nest near each other, and a competitive situation prevails between them”, Stjernberg explains.
      “When a white-tailed eagle takes residence in an area, ospreys in the vicinity tend to move further away. Nevertheless, there is enough space for both to live.”
      He believes that the young osprey survived the attack either because the eagle was interrupted, or because the bird in the nest was strong enough to defend itself.
      “The white-tailed eagle is a strong bird. If it is going after prey, it usually kills it.”
     
A fully-grown white-tailed eagle weighs between 4.5 and 6.5 kilos, while a mature osprey weighs between 1.2 and 2.2 kilos.
      Without seeing it close-up, Torsten Stjernberg will not speculate as to the long-term chances of survival for the young osprey.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 5.8.2008
     
     
*UPDATE WEDNESDAY: The young osprey did not survive a second attack by a white-tailed eagle, Voitto Pulkkinen reported on Tuesday.
      The webcam set up by the osprey’s nest recorded the new attack, in which the eagle grabbed its victim by the throat, killed it, and took it away, leaving behind just a pile of feathers.


Links:
  Osprey webcam

TIINA HIRSIMÄKI / Helsingin Sanomat
tiina.hirsimaki@hs.fi