Blogs

12.05  Am just watching dear EJ all on her own and I must say she looks a bit lost!  "Where is everybody?". I saw her and Mallachie (?) sharing a fish earlier and then she had the rest all to herself.  I hope she feels proud and considers that this Spring/Summer has been a job well done! :o) x

Thanks for the newupdate (whoever you are?!) - this makes this blog site really "official" and way superior above others.  Really great and thinks to everyone involved in this. x

Thanks, Katie.

Maybe I'll now be able to sort out the difference between Blogs, Forums and Groups - and even to see the pictures in the Galleries!

As I came online, 12:34, there was one osprey on the nest - ?Garten.

... No, it must be EJ (ring on right leg not left!)

12.54p.m. Glorious 'close-up' of one of the girls (could see tracker on her back) on cam, made my day!!

Good to see the camera 'panner' spotting all the birds. Well done.

1257 28/7

Thanks for that Katie. Most of us are gradually finding our way around. Back at the nest lots of great close ups in the last half hour. Also fish delivery. Its all happening today. Now 13:00 and 2 on the nest. One eating and 1 waiting. Compulsive viewing.

13:04 and I think it is Mallachie eating the fish. It was Rothes who was on the nest with her but she has now gone.

Thanks, Katie.  Don't know how adventurous I'll be - think I'm doing well to have got set to post at all.  Looking at the nest just now.  Is that Rothes devouring a fish?  The close-up view is brilliant.  Thanks to all involved.

13.39 - Thanks Katie. It's all a bit bewildering at the moment but I'm sure we'll all get used to it and make the most of what is on offer :)

I'm looking forward to the google tracking as I wasn't around for that last year but I have since seen Nethy & Dashar's recordings and have read some of the blogs. I'm currently enjoying the fantastic close up of Mallachie (I'm guessing) eating her lunch. We are so lucky and appreciate everything you guys do for us :-) Thank you.

Sorry Katie, didn't mean to be "rude" but honestly didn't see your name there.  Did you sneak it in or was it my eyesight? LOL :o) x

Well have just looked in again and 2 girls on the nest both with a fish I think, one has a backpack but sorry I am not too good at identifying them.  After seeing nobody yesterday I have been lucky to see more of them today.  Thanks Katie for the update we certainly are well looked after on this site and it is something special so thanks again to all of you at LG.  I have said before that I love all the ospreys but this family are so special and am so going to miss them when they leave.

14.13 Two Ospreys on the nest, I think it's Garten and "someone else", someone else is eating!

Katie, THANKS :)

Thanks so much Katie.

Great views of a couple of the girls this morning:)

14:39 and Garten is getting impatient at not getting any of the fish. Much wing flapping and hovering to try and distract Mallachie but to no avail. Now she is trying to move the furniture around. Epic stuff.

Hello everyone and Richard, Claire and Debby at Loch Garten. Just arrived on the Isle of Skye for the next stage of my holiday and seen two sea eagels flying over the cliffs near Portree.

On Monday i visited Loch Garten and the wonderful osprey family. I was so excited after travelling for 600 miles and got to the centre just before opening. My husband and I joined the RSPB as we said we would and we had a lovely chat with Richard, Claire and Debby. Unfortunately during the morning none of the birds went on the nest but I could see EJ on a branch of the tree by herself after eating a large part of a fish. The three girls were seen together in a tree and, later on, Garten by herself. Twice we saw two flying in the distance, but were unable to say who they were. It was lovely to see the nest, camera tree and dead tree they use and get a true sense of direction and the surrounding beautiful forest and mountains. The centre was excellent and had lots of useful information. Later on I saw some reindeer and visited the fish farm where the ospreys may get their rainbow trout take-away. Also saw the famous Tesco.

I have now seen how busy and dedicated the staff are at LG at would like to thank them for making my first visit so special, I know it is going to be the highlight of my 2 weeks touring Scotland, I am sorry that I don't live nearer and able to visit them each week as I know I would do.

RICHARD, CLAIRE and DEBBY, MANY THANKS YET AGAIN FOR A WONDERFUL TIME - IT WAS LIKE CHRISTMAS FOR ME.

JILLIAN

REPLY:  Thank you Jillian for those kind comments.  And our thanks to you and Stephen for joining RSPB here at Loch Garten.  Much appreciated. -  Richard.

Wow such a good close up at the moment,  is it Garten with a big fish to herself.  She is certainly enjoying it.  Been lucky today lots to see.  Thanks to whoever is operating the camera.

3pm, someone on the nest having a fish. No backpack visible so either Garten or EJ? Great view, thanks!

15:10 At last Garten has got her share of the fish. Great camera work zooming in on Garten and the fish. Today has been one of the best days for viewing the family since they fledged. FAB

Thanks to whoever has changed things around so the time is now printed out on each post. Much appreciated, saves me trying to remember, let alone manage to put the right time down! I seem to have a blind spot where that's concerned.

Paula:  many thanks (I'm reading the blog after my comment to you), yes, it makes sense it was  Odin. Glad you responded to my question.

The close up shots reallly were GREAT weren't they. I took 'print screen' shots from the STILL camera and dumped them into Word to deal with later. Had to go out shopping and bill paying, but I'm back now.

15.25 What a  glorious view of Glorious Garten !!!!     :)      :) Thanks camera man.

Wonderful picture of Garten - she's getting so frustrated with that piece of fish which keeps getting tangled in her talons.  She keeps looking up as if to say "hope nobody's watching me with this stupid bit of fish" LOL She is just wonderul to watch and such a character. x

15.58 Garten must be shattered. She's spent the last hour fighting with Mallachie's leftovers. It seems a tough fish but she's not giving up!

16.08 Sure that's Garten eating on nest as def one of the young ones as white round edges of feathers on back and no tracker sticking out from back

Elf

Great close up of Garten  working on the fish. She is  expending a lot of energy trying to eat that fish . :)   She is managing although  she is getting the pieces torn up  a little slower than she would probably want.

4:30 p.m. .UK Time. Morning/afternoon all! Thanks Katie - and also I'd like to echo the thanks to the camera operator for great close ups!! Garten has a challenge there.

Someone must have read my thoughts as I now see the time of the comments is included (as before)  It makes it so much easier to know where you have read up to before if away for a couple of days or so.  Still finding my way around the site, but there seems to be plenty of interesting bits added on.

Is it just me but I'm very confused about where we 'converse' about our beloved osprey family - here, in reply to posts from the LG team (which was perfect), or in one of the many forums, groups etc etc we are now presented with.  It's taken me several days to get back  - wasn't accepted on the new website at first - had to reregister but then could re-use a nickname because it had been used before (by me) - sure I'm not the only one.  Anyway - great to be back at last.  If my last comment didn't make it through, can anyone tell me whether any of the girls has caught her own fish yet?

Just in case you may not have noticed.................

For those out there that have got into the habit of putting a timestamp on, the blog has been adjusted so that it now logs the day, date & time :-)

From what I can make out there is only a minute or two delay, hat's off to the IT team :-)

17:00 ?Garten on the nest, eating fish.  Joined by Mallachie, I think (it's the punk hairstyle!), who wants share but Garten (or is it EJ or Odin?) isn't intending to share.

5 p.m. UK time. Wow - a real tussle going on over that tough fish. Is that Rothes or Mallachie who finally got a hold of it?

5:05 Staff question: I'm really confused by the forum options. Clicked on forum at the top of this page; made several posts under Loch Garten Bloggers, but now there's a staff entry on that page saying it's not the appropriate place for chatting and giving a link to another area that has mutiple options. Am I the only person who's so clueless?

Duh: Shoulda followed Katie's link, but even then, find all those options time consuming and a bit overwhelming. Also, I'm still wondering what Loch Garten Bloggers page is for, if not for Loch Garten Bloggers.... Sorry to be so stupid.

Why don't we see the same comments here as are posted under Richard's identical message on the blog button?  Are these the most recent and all the others 'archived', or are there two different threads?  I'm afraid that the new website is still a bit complicated for my old brain.  I'm sure our wonderful young osprey girls could do better.

Thank you for the new blog. Trying hard with this new system - does seem a bit cumbersome but I am sure I will get better. Lovely views of Garten this afternoon - it did look a tough old fish. Is Odin fishing less to encourage the youngsters to get off their branches?

17.42

Hi Tish, as you can see I have managed to change my nickname back to revdtricia, not sure why that changed to Fogden (my surname) on the new site.

I always wonder when people mention house and tree sparrows becoming rare as they are so numerous around here, often have both at the same time on my feeding station.

We rebuilt our house five years ago and always had house sparrows nesting in a broken corner of the porch. We now have special metal roofing tiles (because it gets quite windy down on Romney Marsh) and we must have about 20 pairs of house sparrows that have managed to squeeze under the edges and into the roof space. I wake up some mornings and think that they have hobnailed boots on up there.

We have also had baby robins, wrens, blue, tits, great tits (in a nesting box that was waiting to go up!), collared doves in a pre-formed swallow nest, gold finches, blackbirds and starlings. It really has been a busy year.

We used to have green woodpeckers nesting in one of big willow trees but the starlings have taken over the hole this year.

Have just checked in on the nest and empty apart from one very small bird but can't make out what it is from this angle.

yes, thanks about the time stamp on the postings. Thanks for pointing it out Paula:)

Been watching on and off for a couple of hours while a couple of the girls tug away at a tough fish!

Oh dear . Come in after a long day and I must say I think I need to study all this a bit more.  I like the blog where everybody chats but the forums a groups I don't understand.  I press buttions and get lost.  SO I might just watch and read the blog that I hope I'm on now.

Might take a bit of time.  My brain has to get tuned in.  Jane is really good at it XX  I saw Garten earlier on the nest.  Amazing birds.  THats all I want and to write with others about them.  

Poor little Holly Hobby.  I hope she or Mrs H can gert rid of that egg.  It can't be comfy for Holly and of course it may be instinct on Mrs H 's part to keep roosting the egg.

Oh dear, did I send before I'd finished:    I started:  No no no no no Annette. You are most definitely NOT the only 'clueless' blogger around. Be of good cheer. I just hope you caught all the action on the nest late morning and early pm (our time) continuing untlil quite recently.  :)    :)

Cam man did us proud with glorious  close ups.

Just take your time and LOTS of breathers as  you try out this or that on the new site and just don't despair.

revdtricia

Your garden sounds beautiful..  I'd never get any work done.  Lucky you :)))  Now I have this mental picture of sparrows marching about with tackity boots on LOL

good evening everyone just caught up with the blogs, thanks for the updates through out the day/nght. have just seen ?mallachie land on nest then ej has just landed with a whopper of a fish which ?mallachie claimed ,now someone else on nest possibly garten as unable to see tag.

Three on the nest!

Three on the nest!

Three beauties on the nest.    PLease keep them all safe  XXX

Wot ???????  good at what??????????? no no, you need to talk to Tiger if you think I'm good at anything Tish. Believe me, I've had my moments.

But today has been EXCELLENT and Cam Man has really REALLY done us proud with close up shots of Royal Rothes, Marvellous Mallachie, and Glorious Garten, as I've named them. I've taken 'print screen' shots from the STILL camera and dumped them in Word. Later I'll pop them into Photoshop to make them jpgs and when the gallery thing is glitch free I'm going to 'up' them to my gallery.

Be of good cheer ! (I'm saying that to everyone today - think I'm stuck in a time warp) Just slowly slowly take your time and do ONE thing at a time in regard to Forums/Groups (at least there is only one 'group' of interest to us (Loch Garten Ospreys). Remember, we all have ALL WINTER  (shuder) to find our way around the site. Prioity one?? ENJOY THE LIVE VIDEO FEED.  Broad smile.  :)

Had a lovely afternoon again at Loch Garten. I also became a member and received a lovely pack and signed print.   A big thank you to the young man working at the centre, who kindly filled in my application form for me - (I forgot my glasses) and the volunteer who was so helpful!

I also bought a copy of Roy Dennis's beautiful book which I am delighted with.

I must also commend Richard Thaxton for his very informative talk on the Abernethy Forest last night. I learned a lot.......I did not realise the RSPB was involved in so many aspects of preservation of our countryside

REPLY:  Thanks Elizabeth, for those kind comments.  Thanks too for joining RSPB at Loch Garten, marvellous.   -  Richard

I have been so lucky today in seeing the girls.  I think it is Garten eating while the other girl is more interested in preening at the moment.  Yes I am glad there is a time stamp again.  I seem to be able to remember what time the last post was that I read easily but finding my way around is still confusing me a bit.  

Glad to be able to see 2 birds on the nest this evening: usually these days, there is no-one there when I pop in.  We seem to have recovered our old membership now, as most people have found their way around (some of us with difficulty) so I look forward to reading all the blogs & comments. Notice we now have times & dates on our comments, thanks! Can't seem to get any photos that have been posted on the forums, but expect that's teething problems. Thanks for your blog, Katie.

Cirrus, right click on the still image and save it to your hard drive and that way you won't have to do anything with it in Word and you won't lose any of the quality.

All three chicks are on the nest at the moment. I thought it was going to be fisticuffs a short time ago when Garten came in about and looked longingly at Rothes' huge fish (where did that come from?) but no, she flopped herself down onto the nest and Mallachie followed suit. Both are looking longingly at Rothes. It's almost as if they're expecting her to feed them.

What a lovely picture of two girls sitting in the nest and one gorging itself.  Two little osprey heads looking at the fish then turning away in sequence.  Adorable..  

Marvellous......two 'backpackers' on the nest and they look absolutely beautiful.  Needless to say it is Rothes who is munching away and Mallachie waiting ont the sidelines. It looks like a VERY BIG fish so I am sure there will be plenty left for her. Is Garten hiding with 'Mum' on a tree getting fed. LOL

Thank you Richard for your, as ever, informative report. I saw the 'team' of Redstart ' cleaners' in the nest on Sunday. I would like to say that it is not only rare insects that can be found at LG....I think there is a rare and wonderful breed of humans there as well. Always ready to help!!!!! :o)

Katie....thanks for the instructions on how to 'surf' around site.  I can see the HELP page being the most visited....I certainly will visit, in fact I will still be visiting when EJ and Odin (hopefully) come back next year. ha ha ha.

Garten has joined Rothes and Mallachie in nest. Mallachie and Garten lying close together, probably planning how to get the fish (yes she is still eating) from Rothes.

Annete  I don't get it either but dinna fash yersel'  ::)))

Still eating whoever it is and the other girl has laid down in the nest obviously full.  I feel so lucky tolday as I have seen them quite a few times.

Gaerten and Rothers I think have been stuffing themselves for a wee while now.  When will the rain cease.   Garden buts are all full fish pond flooding and ducks in burn are having a rare old time.  Shame we couldn't export the lot of water we've this year so far.  JUst cowp the planet a wee bit.  Sorree just being slly now.  Night Night!!  Yawn

20.32 - Does anyone know if any of the young birds have had a go at fishing for themselves or if they have been flying over the water yet?

Do they learn to fish from their parents or does it come naturally?

REPLY: Don't think any of them has brought in their own fish yet, but have to say that it's unlikely anyway as it invites competition and squabbles from sisters.  They are more likely to eat a fish quietly by themselves somewhere. 

Fishing will be largely instinctive but with elements of learned behaviour - watching and seeing other ospreys do it at at favoured fishing spots - like the local fish farm, or Findhorn Bay.  Go there at this time of year and you can see fledged ospreys from our nest and other nests in the district, with perhaps as many as half a dozen birds, in a stack, like at Heathrow, all waiitng for their slot, to go in and try to fish.  -  Richard

My first blog on the new system so just testing if I'm "blogging" ok. Also to ask do we know if the sisters are catching their own fish now,or is Mum and Dad still providing everything? Are their current movements being tracked yet as to where and how far they are flying?

REPLY They are being tracked with some immediate local movements so far.  Will report on this as soon as we can, once the tracking page and map page are up & ready.  -  Richard

Don't know if it is Rothes or Mallachie but whoever is still eating.  That fish seems to go on forever must have been a large one.

I must admit I agree with you tish and a few others as well, this doesn't seem to be as straight forward as the "old" blog :-(      I also must find some time to work out how to get my head round this new system as I posted a blog last night and I have no idea where it has ended up LOL!!

Anyways, I see the 2 children are feeding, well at least it looks like that unless one of them is picking up the makings of the nest ha ha!

22.00  I have seen the three girls on the nest eating over the last hour or so, did anyone notice who brought the fish, seemed to be more than one fish over that time. Have any of the girls brought fish to the nest yet.  

I have very mixed feelings .. Sad we won't see the Ospreys but eager to know the tracking info ... Am I odd here .. I don't think so :)

Taff

Libby I logged in a couple of times this afternoon. A couple of times Garten was  struggling  to  tear up the tough fish. Then another time Garten and Rothes ( I think) both had a fish. So it appears Odin and EJ are  still bringing in enough food  to feed the entire  neighborhood.  LOL

7:14 p.m. California time; 3:15 a.m. in UK

Evening all! Just in from galivanting around the countryside and find the usual faint white blur on the camera. Will check in again in another while when you guys get closer to the sun.

7:51 SoCal/3:51 UK. Unable to get connection with LG camera. Message below screen says "connecting to media," then "ready" - but nothing on screen (eg: logo/white blur of nest)

4:21 UK: Still no connection to camera.

4:41 UK. Still no camera and Jackie on Facebook also reports no picture. Message now says "buffering" with no % noted.  Maybe they're working on it?  

5:11 UK time. Still no webcam at LG.

At LOTL, one chick at nest and calling with another nearby. Now chick-in-the-nest has taken off and can hear calls in the distance. Gee. Makes me realize how much I miss those distinctive screeches from the LG girls!  :-)

Actually, I am tracking something right now - I'm on Google Earth following my granddaughter's flight from LAX to Prescott, Arizona - amazing!! She's got 30 minutes to go before she lands!

6 a.m. UK Time.

At LG, still no webcam

At LOTL, lights, camera but no action (well, no osprey on nest right now)

Granddaughter arrived okay in Arizona.

Signing off - night night from California. Do hope LG webcam is up and running soon for your guys!

Good morning everyone, I plugged in for my early morning fix of the "birdies" before I go to work, and the camera does not appear to be working, or is it me? There seems to be many places now to leave messages, just signed up last night, and there is lots and lots to read.

Annette's probably already posted (but it's not up yet) but Houston, we have a problem. Webcam is down :-( Who pulled the plug out?

Well an empty nest at LG just now, but a super view of a snoozing hobby chick from the NF. Mum must be out hunting for breakfast.

Catch you all later after work ...

Oh dear, still camera but no video - is it just me?  Says it's buffering but nothing happens.

Paula:   Thanks for advice but:    A right click only gives me options to

Save picture as

Email picture

Go to my pictures

Set as a background

Copy

Add to favourites

Convert to pdf or

Convert to existing pdf

So, what do I do please? (see what I mean Tish :)  )

Do you mean pop straight into my pictures?

For a moment there we had 'lights', 'camera' and action !!!!

The action was three sisters all 'looking' as if it is great to be alive and have all this freedom :o)))

Boy am I going to miss them. :o(

Well done at LG for getting our picture back and what a picture !!   Three Ospreys with what looks like a fish each, who supplied those has the Tesco delivery van been round ??

The Hobby chick is getting big now and obviously the 2nd egg didn't hatch, but does anyone know what happens to an unhatched egg ?  Best wishes to every one.

09:03

'Film' now showing......"To Eat or Not To Eat"...starring Rothes, Mallachie and Garten, the Three Supremes.

Rothes and Mallachie eating, Garten as usual waiting OR is she......did 'Mum' EJ, feed her on the perching tree? Keep watching :o ))

All three youngsters on the nest as I write, lovely to see them looking so healthy and strong. Have not got much time left to see them as I am off on holiday tomorrow and by the time I return they will surely have left. On reading the blogs I feel quite relieved that I am not the only one having trouble getting to grips with this blogging game..... must be something to do with my generation,as I realised when I recognised the tune of Housewives choice on one of the videos!! Oh no, switched screens to check on nest and the camera is not working.....

Morning everyone! Looks like Mallachie and Rothes on nest - Mallachie having talon problems with the fish again? Rothes looking on (in amusement?).  Think that's the right way round! x  Must do a bit of work now whilst keeping one eye on the girls! x

09.44a.m. Just had my first 'fix' of the day...two beauties on the nest.

Hello everybody, I was out all day yesterday so missed a lot of the action. I've just posted a blog on the Group as I couldn't get through here. But now OK.   Just saw all three girls on the nest, but now only Garten and Mallachie or is it Rothes. Richard, your reply to Dave44 about them fishing at Findhorn. Surely the owners of the fish farm must get exsasparated at times, watching their stock go down, or do they stock up accordingly knowing that this sort of thing is going to happpen with the ospreys?????????? It must be quite comical at times watching them all waiting to dive for their fish!!!!

REPLY: The owners of the fish farm actually promote osprey watching on their site , just charge a couple of quid for people to go in and watch them hunt. So the ospreys get all the fish they need, the owners of the fish farm make some extra money and we get the chance to watch the spectacle of ospreys fishing. One of those win-win situations. David.

It looks as though someone is about to take off, shall I shan't I. Its the waiting game again!!

Cirrus / Jane

Right click and "Save picture as" and a window will pop up, give the picture a name and click "save" and it will be saved to your computer. Just remember where it's saved to!

David, thanks for the reply to Lynette about the fish farms. We visited Rothiemurcus when we went to LG a couple of weeks back and we spotted some ospreys in the skies but didn't see any fishing, though one clearly caught one behind the trees. I think I read that they keep two of the fish pens open purposely for the ospreys. Surely they don't fish in those tiny rectangular pens?? I'd have thought they'd have been too small? Blimey that would be some sight to see if they did. We wanted to stay a while longer but our son had finished his bag of fish food and wanted to go...and made enough noise about it :-( Next time we'll be taking his Nintendo DS with us!!!

Thats fantastic Dave, thanks for that information. It looks as though Garten has woken up again and Rothes or Mallachie ia rhinking about moving off again.

2 girls on the nest and what a beautiful sight they are.  I laughed at Richard comment about them stacking up like planes to go and fish.    Well done to the owners of the fish farm as this means they have a ready supply nearby and £2 would be well worth it to go and seem them fishing.  Have a good day all.

Think it is Garten tackling a fish at the moment.  Wonder who brought that one in.

A lovely close up of either Mallachie or Rothes feeding. Can't quite see it all as its a corner shot but still great.

Fabulous close-up of Rothes, (possibly Mallachie) eating her fish ... thank you to whoever is in charge of the camera zoom! We have to cherish every moment like this before the girls go off on their long journey south.

Beautiful close up of one of the tagged girls but I still can't identify them.  Thanks to the camera person.

I have just been watching beautiful close up video of an equally beautiful young osprey, eating a fish. Many thanks to whoever was on the camera.

One osprey on the nest at the moment. Since yesterday they seem to be constantly eating. The supply of fish does not seem to have decreased much. At this rate they will be too heavy to fly to Africa. FAB

Wonderful camerawork for the tree :o)  Is that Garten anyone?  Cannot see any backpack. x

Realise now it must have been EJ? As Mallachie or Rothes (help!!!!!!!!!.........aaaahhhh) has joined her x

REPLY - EJ was perched on the camera tree finishing off the fish and Rothes came to sit next to her!  Claire.

Thanks for the info about the fish farm David- 3 cheers for the owners, who have found a useful solution to this problem, and show how it is possible for man and the wild to live side by side, if we can only put our thinking caps on occasionally.  Thanks for the close ups on the webcams today, the girls look great (still never sure which is which but who cares, they are wonderful).

I've been watching Rothes  and Garten I think on a branch but what a beautiful camera angle and looks like you've got some good weather up there.  

Great close ups of Garten and Mallachie or is it Rothes in a tree. They really are the most stunningly beautiful birds. FAB

What a great shot of either Rothes or Mallachie

Wonderful footage of Rothes?  Best ever x

Great views, thanks camera person!!

Paula: Thanks, I've worked it out. Wish I had realised yesterday I could have done that. Direct to hard drive. Never mind. More exciting shots today !!!  Thanks Cam Man.

HOO  RAH !  Got MY birdie mag from the RSPB today - just ! Yeah, late mail. And on page 45 (which it just fell open at when I opened the mag !!) is a picture of EJ picking up an Enormous fish. (Well, it's certainly not Odin and looks by the bib to be female [you're such an excellent teacher Richard ] so why not EJ ! )  It really does look like a wet EJ   :)

Goll-ee ! I've just finished the article in the RSPB mag !! It's all about Ospreys and Loch Garten !!!!!!  Wow  !!

See, I told you it was EJ with the fish !!!!!!!!    It's a wonderful article and has three blokes sitting in EJ's nest !!!!!!!!!But unless Richard is sporting a beard these days I don't think Richard is one of them.

Just observed that the 2nd Hobby egg is still on the nest !  Surely this is a bit risky, if it gets broken now it would be very unpleasant. I did have the vague recollection that the adult disposed of unhatched eggs.  If someone out there knows any details please tell me what the usual behaviour is in these circumstances !!!

Maureen hope you saw my long ramble to you earlier on today.  I received your message but could not see where to reply on that page.  It is on the page above the post I did last night on the "people" page, don't want you to think I have not replied.  I am not sure I am ever going to get the hang of things properly but I live in hopes.  

I did manage to see 2 of the girls this morning, one having a meal but the nest is empty again now.  Mrs Hobby has chick tucked under her at the moment as we have some rain at the moment.  There was a wonderful close up of one of the girls this morning and I spent a while watching one of the young osprey at Loch of the Lowes trying to sort out a fish.  It seemed to have got it stuck in its talons and I had to laugh as it took a while for it to sort it out all the while getting more and more frustrated with it.  Got there in the end and eventually started its meal.  These ospreys really do make for good viewing don't they.

What a lovely view!1 Is that the nest tree on the left?

cirrus if you have vista there is utility called snipping tool which lets you put a picture into the application that you want. If you go to all programs/accessories and then just click the snipping tool shortcut. It also lets you then edit the picture or prose in the application that you have put it in.

I am constantly amazed at the amount of fish being brought to the nest this year! Last year the supply was very poor from the male OVS and EJ struggled to keep both chicks fed and then left early followed very soon after by the male and we had very hungry chicks for several days. Looks like Odin knows his stuff this year and we will have fit, healthy and well-fed ospreys making their migrations next month.

PS somebody mentioned Raymond Baxter, Concorde and Fairford on the blog comments. As long-standing osprey watchers will remember from last year, Fairford was where Nethy rested for a few weeks before venturing on for Africa.

www.rspb.org.uk/.../Nethy.aspx

Is it just me but I can't seem to log into the "groups" site, just a funny message comes up which means very little to me not being a computer whiz.

Thanks for the wonderful views/camera action this morning.

Rothes, at one point, was looking RIGHT into the camera and I felt she was looking at me!

I know I have said it before; I don't know what it is but there is something completely magical and captivating about these birds:)

Thank you George G but I'm stuck with Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 2. (Heavy sigh). Think I remembered all the waffle. I have to use Photoshop or Fireworks.

Any other ideas now that you know that?

GaryS you are quite right there is something magical and cativating about ospreys.  You have to agree this family are really something special.

3:30 p.m. in UK. Morning all! Lovely view of surrounding area and nice to know there's been some action at the nest for you guys. What pretty country....

I received my RSPB Magazine today and there is a lovely section on Loch Garten -- those of you who are RSPB members will soon get your copy if you have'nt had it already.

Excellent view from the camera at present ... but not an Osprey in sight !

Taff .. 16:04

I just saw a  fabulous  wide view of the area  near the  nest. Thanks!! It is certainly a  beautiful area. Is there a body of water  beyond the  thicket  of  trees in the  distance? That is the  direction that  both EJ and Odin usually come from when they are  delivering a fish to the nest.

REPLY - There is not a body of water there. Odin tends to come back into the nest from the north, so we think he is fishing on the River Spey.  Claire.

Carol:  I've left a message for you on your personal page. Not being sure how the system works I don't know if you'll get notified and I don't know how often you visit your page. Thanks.

Right. Here Goes! I've been keeping up with the blog but, like some others, got a bit tangled up in the registration process and forums.  Have much appreciated the zooming when helpful, with the lovely shots of ospreys devouring fish, one enormous one.  I'm off on holiday in a couple of days, Galloway, Carrbridge and Tobermory.  Will be at LG next week and hope to get sight of at least one of our ospreys for real.  Last time we were there, a few years ago, we saw the male bringing a fish to the nest for one of the young.  The female had already departed.  We will be prepared for any weather - at the moment we seem to be having an awful lot of the Atlantic dumped on Somerset.

What was all that about?

EJ getting very agitated, looked like she was defending the (empty) nest.

Then Mallachie arrived and EJ left!

Thanks you to the camera man again for that super picture of Rothes I think.  I can sit and watch these birds for a long time!!

Rothes or Mallachie on the nest.

No, sorry, I have now seen back of head, and it is probably Rothes!

R & M now both "defending" nest!

Both Rothes and Mallachie on the nest

Mallachie and Rothes both annoyed at an intruder, I presume, as they were both mantling, and I could see their mouths going. It still seems strange not to hear them when they do this.

I see both Rothes and Mallachie have been added to the list on Google Earth already.

Good Morning Annette!! Loch Garten is very beautiful.  

Maureen  Holly Hobby is adorable. But where is the Egg??  ::

T Shirt with Ospreys Rule  or something.  THey are  "can't find a good anough adjective to describe them".

Garten comes in to join them. All 3 girls are on the nest. FAB

All three girls are standing on the nest now.. Rothes is the largest and I think more like EJ.  Then Mallachie who is smaller than baby Garten .  Great picture.  

3 on the nest now but I can't tell who's who.  I really admire all of you who (a) can tell them apart even at a little distance and (b) can do all sorts of wonderful tthings on your computers.  Lovely to see the surrounding area when the camers pulls back for a longer shot.  Don't want to wish away the summer away(what summer? - we've just had torrential rain and thunder here in Co Down), but I'm really looking forward to getting to Nethy Bridge at the beginning of October.  Just sorry the Centre will be closed.

It looks as though all three girls are sitting tight on the nest at the moment. Certainly there are two of them. Weather must be a bit iffy up there, is it???? It has been raining for most of the day down here in Northamptonshire.

Thank you for putting Rothes and Mallachie on Google Earth.  I see you have put up colour codes for Nethy and Deshar also.  Does that mean that you will be keeping their routes on the map?  I hope so.  Pru

It's been a great day for views of the girls although all quiet at the moment.  Can anyone tell me the best thing to do to get a screenshot.  Tried Screenhunter but didn't work.  just something very simple will do. Paula you had some good screenshots - perhaps you can help?  x

I am delighted to see the connection between Nethy and Concorde being made. One of the problems about asking quiz questions is that it is often all to easy to Google the answer. However back on April 9 2009 in another place I asked what was the connection between Nethy and April 9th with the prize of "Scottish Ospreys from extinction to survival" as a prize. I somehow thought this would prove to be fairly doable problem given that the answer had featured in these blogs. See www.rspb.org.uk/.../STOP-PRESS-_2D00_-The-map-is-to-be-updated-soon.aspx

Anyway at the end of the day no one had won but as soon as I gave one or two hints two people got the answer almost simultaneously and I think both enjoyed getting copies of this most educational book.

I still have a few more copies so maybe I might set a similar puzzle in the future! :)

As others have said, thanks for putting the codes on Google Earth:)

Google Earth now all set up for the tracking data. It is strange to see Garten and Mallachie names along with Nethy and Deshar. Thunderbirds are go. FAB Virgil

Lynette the weather up here on Speyside has been really nice today once again contrary to BBC web site.Sunny and breezy with our local buzzards having a great time soaring above.

Just seen 2 of the girls on the nest, one eating and one watching.   The weather certainly looks better there than it is here in Poole.  The torrential rain we were promised this afternoon has arrived at last and it is throwing it down at the moment.  Poor Mrs Hobby and chick in the New Forest hope it doesn't go on too long.

All 3 girls on the nest at the moment, what a gloriious sight.

4 on the nest briefly. Now 3 and a large fish

Now all 4 on the nest. There must be an intruder around as much mantling and flapping going on. Wish we had sound as screeching would be very vocal. Wonderful viewing and I am just making the most of it. FAB

Garten eating and her sisters are waiting impatiently for their turn.

PHEW!!!! This new site is fabulous but SO MUCH to read and too much to remember in one go!!!! Me being such a nosey person must see what everyone else is saying :o ))))                  

I think I will stick to this blog page until our family have gone.

EJ and two of her 'girls' on nest at the moment.......only one of them eating and I bet her name begins with  R!!! It is wonderful to see them looking so self assured. I am sure they will make it xxx

Margobird, I got your reply , thanks very much. Will give a fuller reply when I 'Refresh' my brain.

TISH, the failed egg is still there....don't know what will hapen to it.

JJJ....you still have the 'baby' Hobby to see fledging.

Can't seem to get the Google Earth link to work.  Should it be up and running?  Still 3 on the nest, looking good in the evening light.

I wish I lived in Scotland so I could come and visit you more often and could go and watch at the places you named where they are fisihing.  Would be great to see that!!

I think we have to think about moving to Scotland again. We have been thinking about it, but never really did, because of what you leave behind, your family. But we still haven't given up on the thoughyt, sso you never know. If we move there, it would be likely it is somewhere in the area of the ospreys and the reindeer.

Sorry, it is not EJ at the front of the nest I think it is Mallachie.  The others wait so patiently now...remember when they used to fight???

WWhen you see Mallachie and Rothes standing together as they are now Rothes is definitely the larger girl.  Luv them XXXX

ME AGAIN, sorry!!! Well this is a first for me to observe... it is GARTEN who is munching on a very large fish.

Oh dear, Malachie and Rothes don't look very happy, it looks like wee sis has a fish all to herself !! It is probably just as well that the sound is off !

What a treat such a good picture of I think EJ and 2 of her girls in the setting sun.  Just can't get over how beautiful these birds are and what a lot they have to learn in such a short time.  

Maureen I did laugh at your comment about refreshing your brain, I am really not sure how much more I can refresh mine.  I feel quite tired by the end of the day trying how to remember something I did the day before and which I have completely forgotten the next time I try to do it.  It will get better won't it.

It's lovely watching the girls in the evening sun.  Someone is tucking into a huge fish, whilst the sisters watch respectfully.

I see we're getting there with Google Earth.  Although the links aren't live yet, if I go to Google Earth Rothes and Mallachie are showing using my last year's connections.  I still find it distressing to see Deshar's route, but I know I shouldn't be so soft!  Will have to untick his 'box' every time I open up Google Earth.

Alan (Petrie) please explain what you mean? About Rothes, Mallachie and GoogleEarth. My GE only show Deshar adn Nethy and I untick the box cos I don't want to see Deshar lost in the northe Atlantic.

Cirrus - go onto the still picture.  Right click onto it and the choose "save picture as".  You can then open your documents menu.  I open "my pictures" then you can name the picture and save it direct onto your hard drive. Hope this helps

Garten is still eating the fish with Mallachie and Rothes looking on and waiting their turn. Beautiful scene at LG. This is compulsive viewing.

Visiting Loch Garten tomorrow probably last of the season - soon the young will be travelling further from the nest and staying away longer. Hope to see all five tomorrow. It has been a great season in Scotland seeing more Ospreys this year than ever before. Is EJ fishing at her old haunt at Rothiemurchus.

Wonderful to see Rothes and Mallachie all set up for us on Google Earth!  Thanks so much LG Team!  Now there's time to get those having troubles with Google Earth up to speed so they don't miss out.

Cirrus, the new birds should be showing up in the 'Places' area on the left of screen, under 'Loch Garten Ospreys' along with Nethy and Deshar.  If they're not there, try refreshing your page.  you might be seeing the image stored on you computer.  Hope you've got the girls now.

ALAN PETRIE tell me that isn't thunderbirds?  It is isn'st it?  LOL:)

Got my Google earth updated and ready to add the three sisters. The two sea eagle youngsters are still being tracked and are no longer on Mull. This is the link to explain how to set up Google Earth for Mara and Breagha. If you can follow this, then will be easier to add the osprey sisters when they have set it up.

www.rspb.org.uk/.../googleearth.asp

OK Alan (Petrie) - I've  looked this evening and yes it does show Rothes and Mallachie which slightly boggles my mind since I have not input any information! I shall keep 'un ticking' the Deshar an Nethy boxes each time I open GE for my peace of mnd.

Debbie, yes, thank you so much. I suppose we are all now trying t grab as many snaps of the family as we can before they leave.

Just about midnight in the UK and all I can get is a bright blue picture with the RSPB logo. Sigh.

2:40 UK time; 6:40 p.m. in California. Oh goody. Webcam was blue w/black stripes earlier - now I can just see the fuzzy nest against the very black background. Let's hope it stays up so I can get an early morning look at the nest, maybe even some ospreys!

4:11 UK time. Getting sorta light - can make out the post to the left of the nest, but the girls must be snoozing somewhere else.

5 a.m. UK time. The webcam has just gone down again, having been up most of the night. This is soooooooo frustrating.

5.05 UK time. Well the camera has been up most of the night; just went down again for about three minutes (did someone arrive and trip over the plug?) Anyway, back on again now with nice clear views of the nest. No ospreys in sight.....

And, of course, as soon as I hit Add a bird appeared on the nest and is mantling as another performs a flyover. It's either Mallachie or Rothes and has a firm grip on a fish. WOW. Incoming osprey lands right on chick with fish, then flies off, but doesn't manage to snag the fish on the way out. High drama - well, for a minute at least!

It's lovely to read of their ever growing world away from the nest. Can't say I've had much fun coping with the new blogs - all very confusing, and just to log onto them I had to come up with a different name from the one I've been using all year.

6 10 a.m. UK time. Morning all!

Nice clear morning at LG and two birds just left the nest. Bunni in Vancouver and I decided piggy Garten was the first, judging from her possessiveness with a fish - which I didn't see arrive. She was then joined by either Mallachie or Rothes (I think Mallachie). Not sure who it was who landed on Garten earlier in an attempt to snatch the fish away!  Anyway, Garten took off a few minutes ago (didn't see if she took her fish with her - wouldn't be at all surprised!). The second chick sat for a minute or two then she also took off. My connection has been unusually slow and it's a bit like watching old-time movies, lots of jerking. Anyway, do hope you all have wonderful viewing today! I'm off to my nest now (but not clutching any fish).

Good morning everyone, it looks like we have visitors on the nest, probably finding bits of food or grubs etc. It looks like the girls are out and about at present.

Just found this program about Roy Dennis and  LG on radio 4

www.bbc.co.uk/.../A_Life_With_..._Series_5_Ospreys

Empty nest at the moment although I did see Garten and I think Mallachie earlier. Cirrus sorry I did not get back to you but glad you got it sorted. Google Earth was updated automatically by the RSPB link. I had to set it up from scratch on my laptop so the instructions are quite clear. Tish yes it is Thunderbirds. In another life my name was Alan Tracy. FAB

JMW There is an EDIT button somewhere on your personal page that should allow you to change your name. If necessary ask Tiger or Alan how you'd do that.

Carol,  thank you for the instructions for the tracking web site but I am stuck!  I did everything as it said but when I clicked on my places it wasn't there, I would be grateful for any hints where I may have gone wrong best wishes Liz

What a fantastic view of ? rothes eating a fish, is it possible that she could have caught it herself Richard or do you think dad will have supplied it ??

At present looking at Mallachie (maybe) eating the remains of last nights dinner, possibly, isn't she gorgeous.

Brilliant - I've just looked at the tracking data on Google earth and found Rothes and Mallachie 'in place'.  Although it saddened me to do it, I've hidden the traces for Nethy and Deshar (which I still looked at from time to time, and can do again if I want to compare routes), so that I'm all set up to follow our two fledglings this year.  Thanks team for getting us ready - technically if not emotionally - for their big trip.

Just tuned in to the New Forest at exactly the right moment to see some very tender moments.  Little "Holly Hobby/Hobbit" wandering around - in comes Mum with food - quick feed - Mum then tries to brood baby but baby refuses to go underneath!  So - they end up sitting side-by-side in the sunshine and keep looking at each other.  Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh - wonderful x

Thank you so much for that link to radio 4, curlew2.  I've just had a lovely time listening to the interview.  Great stuff!!!

I asked yesterday about the Fish Farm but it must’ve gotten lost in cyberspace. I read somewhere that Rothiemurchus deliberately keep two of their pens open especially for the Ospreys. Now I’m not sure if these were the same pens that were open where you feed the fish but they’re pretty small. Surely the Ospreys don’t fish in them?? If they do that would be a fantastic thing to see. When we were there the other week after visiting LG we saw a couple of ospreys flying around but neither did any fishing. Saying that we think one caught a fish in the loch behind the trees but we didn’t see it happen....because it was behind the trees! The next time we’re over we will try and spend longer at Rothiemurchus and will be armed with our son’s Nintendo DS! That fish food didn’t last long :-(

11.04 - EJ just arrived with a whopper and Garten just about flattened her when she came dive bombing in hot on her heels!

Garten on nest tearing up a large fish.  When I first logged on a few minutes ago there was another osprey there which could have been the adult who had just delivered the fish.  I didn't see the fish till it flew off.

Thank you Carol for the Mull link.  I had to change my computer this year and needed that reminder.  All set up now. Link for following LG ospreys on the Forum under Ask an Expert/Google Earth.  I took a long time finding that again as I couldn't remember which Forum it was in.  Just noticed the Search Box at the top of the page.  This might help!!!

Now there are two on the nest, it looks like Garten and possibly EJ but of course it could be one of her two sisters.  By the way I had an email from Cirrus , re be a friend. I have replied in the affirmative. Thanks Cirrus. I am getting used to the blogging now so all those who say they are finding it frustrating at times, persevere, because you'll get there in the end.   Just looking at Mrs Hobby, she is/was sitting on the nest but has now got up leaving chick on his/her own again. Probably gone to get lunch!!!!!!!!!!!! The chick is growing up fast, but the other egg still unhatched, must be a dud one.

Garten and EJ  Magic. Just came in and was greeted by that lovely scene!  

Thank's Curlew2, Roy Dennis's program brought a tear to my eye.

Is it EJ eating a whopper whilst Garten looks on. No doubt she''ll let her have some later!!!!!!!!!