Hi Gary,
Yes, our Ospreys are non-migratory and stay together throughout the year.
They were recently split and are now known as the Eastern Osprey Pandion
cristatus. There are two other species, the American and European species.
The split is published in Wink, M., Sauer-Gurth, H. and Witt, H-H (2004)
'Phylogenetic differentiation of the Osprey Pandion haliaetus inferred from
nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene.' In Raptors
Worldwide (Editors RD Chancellor and B-U Meyburg) pp. 511-516. WWGBP/MME,
Budapest.
The non-migratory nature of the Australasian species would likely lead to
stronger pair bonding due to constant reinforcement. The evidence that our
Ospreys pair for long periods, if not for life, is still scanty and it may
be more flexible that it appears at present. Divorce is likely to occur if
one bird of a pair doesn't meet its mate's expectations such as a male that
I observed in New South Wales, Australia. He did not provision the female
with enough food to allow her to breed and even attempted to mate with her
after she had flown out and caught a large mullet for herself. He had been
hit by a motor vehicle and rehabilitated so this may have reduced his
ability to be a good mate. She apparently divorced him and successfully
produced young with a new mate.
Regards
Greg Clancy
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