Blogs

No sooner had I posted a blog up-date last evening, having just pressed the publish button, when the phone rang here in the office. It was Claire calling from the Osprey Centre to tell me an osprey had just that second landed in the tree adjacent to the nest and was tucking-in to a fish supper.  Needing to see this for myself, I hurried down to the Centre, which is still in set-up disarray, but a telescope was quickly found and trained on said bird to check the leg rings and lo, there she was, EJ back again for her seventh season and appearing to be in good shape, ravenously devouring a trout.

Well, I expect you can imagine, if not feel the excitement and glee we felt. Broad smiles all around, would be putting it mildly. Euphoria more like!  And relief too.  You never know what birds you might get, and any of course would be great, but when you see an old friend, a reliable female turn up, it is a huge comfort and relief.

I popped in this early this morning to check up on her and there she was on the nest, already busy, scraping out the nest centre. John our trusty volunteer there on night duty told me that before I arrived she had been bringing in moss and sticks to the nest - looking like she means business.  She looked absolutely glorious, on the nest bathed in the low, bright early morning sunshine.

So, who's to be her mate this year?  Will the ageing VS (17 yrs) be back again, or will we get a different male.?  We'll find out in days to come.

Just a reminder of what I said before, though EJ is now back, the Osprey Centre will not open for visitors until Wednesday 1st April.  Please be patient. Sadly we already have had a few folk who have ignored our notice at the gate asking for restraint and patience, and wandered up to try for a peep.  On this occasion, we were there to manage the situation but when we are busy with our preparations, we might not always be able to do so. However inadvertent this over-enthusiasm might be, there is always the risk that EJ and whatever male osprey arrives, might be disturbed at this crucial settling-in period.  Restraint please, thanks.

Richard Thaxton - Loch Garten site manager.

We're busy, busy, busy, right now, with our continued preparations, so in haste, just a wee up-date.

Whilst ospreys have been sighted at various places around UK, including in this area, we as yet have not had any sightings at Loch Garten.

A bird was seen flying over Insh Marshes RSPB reserve last Thursday, another seen near Aviemore on Friday and another (or the same one?) at the Kessock bridge at Inverness on Friday too. These early birds just might be ospreys from much further north, heading up to Scandinavia, maybe.  Who knows?

Anyway our preparations continue. We hope to have the the live-streaming camera on the web very soon, so hopefully you'll be able to witness the moment we first get a bird - if you happen to be watching at the time!  Will it be EJ?

Though in days to come, you will hopefully see a bird arrive, please remember we do not open to visitors until Wednesday 1st April.  Thanks.

Meantime, compared to last weeks glorious weather, it has turned driech this week, but it would seem that this hasn't stopped ospreys at least, from arriving in Highland.  Curlews, oystercatchers and lapwings are back in farm & croft fields.  Song thrushes, siskins and pied wagtails are back too, not true migrants as such, but birds that leave this area in winter and re-appear about now.  Nice to see them back.  The hot spell last week, brought bumble bees out up here too, heralding the winter's passing, surely. 

It'll snow now I've said that!  More anon.

Richard Thaxton - Loch Garten site manager

It has been a fantastic week of weather up here in Strathspey, very, very Spring-like, warm, almost hot sunshine, clear blue skies and very still.  When we get conditions like this at this time of year you feel that you could expect a returning osprey at any moment.

With that in mind, if feels like a race against time to get everything done ahead of their pending arrival. So this week we have been busy installing cameras and getting the Osprey Centre up and running, in readiness for opening on 1st April. It's been wonderful to be out there doing all this in such fantastic weather.  Last year during "set-up week" we did it all in a blizzard.

No ospreys yet though, despite the brilliant weather, just rumours so far. The fish farm near Aviemore is where they usually show up first, no doubt in search of an easy meal after their long migration. The live-streaming camera will switch from the squirrel feeders to the osprey nest sometime next week, in anticipation of osprey arrivals.  This year's staff team have got a sweepstake underway, my money is on the morning of 29th.  We shall see.

Though we can expect ospreys back any day from now, the Osprey Centre does not open until 1st April.  Please be patient.  I know many of you will be planning on coming up to visit, but please resist the temptation to just pop in ahead of time.  Because we cannot ever be sure which ospreys we might get, we have to be careful and cautious at arrival time. 

Ok, if it is EJ or VS, then we can expect them to be familiar with the site, the building, the comings & goings of staff and volunteers as we get things ready for opening, but even then, how much do they recall from previous seasons?  It might take them a few days to re-acquaint and accept what they see & hear.  More importantly, if we were to get new birds, which is always quite possible, then they will not be familiar with the site etc and will, as a result, be more skittish and flighty. 

This is why we ask you to be patient and wait until we are ready to receive visitors.  An over zealous attempt to wander up to the Centre and sneak an early peep, to see if the ospreys are there, could easily spook them, and cause them to fly off.  Your patience and forbearance is therefore appreciated.  Thank you.

The Osprey Season blog 2009 will begin in earnest very soon, to be written by the new team.  Perhaps I should introduce them.  Claire from last year is back again and heads up the team, ably assited by Debbie & Maloclm, who have both worked at Caper-watch before. Ian was one of our stalwart volunteers last season, so it is good to have on the team this year, and David joins us afresh.  Alice and I will be involved too.   The first week or two can be the busiest and most fraught, so again bear with us please, when awaiting news.

Whilst we haven't any ospreys yet, the first sumer visitors have been seen.  As predicted in a recent, previous blog, wheatears were first, seen yesterday. If this weather holds for the next few days, we can expect sand martins over Loch Garten this weekend, I reckon.

As for Nethy, I am afraid we have a problem currently with the satellite data download programme so we are unable to check on her whereabouts, sorry.  We hope to be sorted by Monday.  And this lack of an up-date is, I assure you nothing to do with Alice champing at the bit, as she heads off on two weeks leave this afternoon.

If ever there was a weekend to get out and about, if you can, where ever you are, to enjoy the arrival of Spring, then this is surely it, with trees coming in to leaf, birds in song, flowers shooting - it's all happening. If the weather is good in the south, migrant birds will surely be pouring in.  Go and enjoy it and see what you can see.

Friday again, and I've just updated the map with Nethy's movements for this week. She's stuck to the same place, no sign yet of her getting the urge to move somewhere new. There were a few gaps in the data, so I'll fill them in on Monday (assuming they come though).

The weather here at Abernethy is still very spring-like, if you are working hard enough it is almost t'shirt weather. Though with only 2 weeks left of March now, there are a million things that need to be finished off. Must dash - there's some cake in the kitchen!

Have a nice weekend,

Alice

Many apologies for the tardy update of Nethy's whereabouts this week  - a mix of computer problems and being unbelievably busy - I can't believe it's only less than three weeks left of March - so much needs to be done before the 1st of April when the Osprey Centre opens up again for the new season. Richard has been calmly coping with everything (more or less!).

The map is updated with last week's data, Nethy is in a similar place to last week. No signs yet that she might head north a bit. I know other ospreys have started to head north, but with Nethy less than a year old, the urge might not be that strong for her.

Up here at Abernethy we haven't yet left the winter behind with snow showers most of Sunday (though it melted rather than settled). Spring is very much on its way though now, a yellowhammer was singing at Nethybridge this morning, dippers are singing along the R. Spey, great spotted woodpeckers are drumming like mad and goldeneye are displaying on Loch Garten.  Hooray.

Alice - Assistant Warden

Some of you have asked for me to post a few picks relating to my last blog post, I am no photographer, but here are a few shots taken by my partner Sally.

9,500 mixed cranes of five species at Arasaki, on Kyushu in southern Japan.  Hooded cranes and white-naped cranes dominate by far, but look very closely and you might be able to pick out two Common Cranes, three Sandhill Cranes and two rare Siberian Cranes.  Good luck!  In actual fact, I only know for sure that of those three scarcer species, only Siberian is in there somewhere!

The next shot shows a close up, the Siberian is the white one, an adult.  There was a sandy-colored juvenile with it, somewhere.

The other crane shot are Japanese Red-crowned Cranes at a different place - east Hokkaido island, north Japan. 

Other shots are a Steller's sea eagle sat on a post and a mixed group of Steller's and white-tailed eagles sat about on the ice, just a few of what was a scattered flock of hundreds of eagles, sat on the ice or sitting around in trees nearby.

Hope you enjoy them.

Richard Thaxton - Loch Garten site manager