Blogs

Poor EJ. Our night shift volunteers gave us the news that she hadn't eaten since 4pm the previous day. Orange VS hadn't even called in that day to mate! This is not the way to impress a female! At 9.30am an unringed male landed on EJ's back. Now re-read that sentence. An unringed male? Ring any bells?! Was this Henry? The staff were literally jumping for joy at this prospect.

Despite EJ not allowing him to mate he continued sitting on the nest for a few minutes before flying off into the distance. This gave our staff the chance to look at recorded footage of this newly arrived male. Visitors to the Centre will be aware that Henry only has his BTO ring and, unusually for an adult, has orange eyes, neither of which this male possessed. We had jumped the gun!

We waited with baited breath for either bird to return. EJ waited. The visitors waited...

.......at 12.30pm EJ was sitting low in the nest. We were mid-presentation when a visitor piped up, "Isn't that an egg?". We were so hoping that Henry would turn up before any eggs were laid. A few confusing moments followed as we thought that the visitor may have got mixed up with last year's footage, but no. They were spot on, EJ has laid her first egg!

Mid afternoon, Orange VS arrived for the first time that day with a juicy pike in claw, and resentfully handed it over to our hungry female. Unsurprisingly, given his years of experience, he took over incubation duties from EJ. Soon after he brought in a second pike. Is our rakish male settling down to role of provider? Has he finally pulled up his socks, (over his reversible outer talon)?

Will EJ get any more visitations from newly arrived suitors? Will Henry turn up before the full clutch appears and kick them out or will he accept them as his own?

Will this emotional rollercoaster subside?! Given the history of our birds we somehow doubt it! Could the Coronation Street scriptwriters have come up with a better storyline?!?

Keep a close eye on the webcam to see the up and coming twists and turns. We will endeavour to keep you updated with the latest news from Loch Garten.

The first Swallow arrived on the reserve this week; and that’s not the only treat!  To the delight of many visitors and a thoroughly over excited osprey team, a male Capercaillie displayed in front of the hide at 4 o’clock in the afternoon! 

This reflects the tremendous success of Caper-watch, which runs every morning from 5.30am to 8.00am until 20th May.  Today, four male and three female Capers were seen from the hide, the highest number recorded this season, well done to the Caper-watch team. 

We have also had sightings of Otters, Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Sandpiper around Loch Garten and Cresties and Lizards being seen along the paths in Garten Wood.

Visitors to the Osprey centre have had the added spectacle of Red Squirrels and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers on the feeders.

So to the bit you’ve all really been waiting for…Is Henry back?

Well it is definitely the most asked question from every man, woman and child in the Osprey Centre!  But no sightings of him yet in the area. We’ve had reports of a fresh wave of Osprey being seen over Southern England. Is Henry one of these late-comers? We’ll keep you posted!

To EJ and Orange VS, is he a worthy male? 

Well she doesn’t seem that convinced herself.  The bonding between her and Orange VS when nest building….well, isn’t there.  Fish are few and far between, could he support a mum and chicks? 

And Orange VS… where does he go?  He leaves EJ for long periods of time on her own, and returns with no fish. What has he been doing? Does he have another bird on the go?!

Perhaps it’s time we tied some yellow ribbons ‘round…..the ole Scots Pine.

Wednesday proved very quiet until 16.55pm. There had been no sign of Ospreys, despite news of some sightings around Aviemore. Visitors as well as volunteers were getting agitated: "Where's EJ? She's late!". Finally, half an hour to closing-time, our patience was rewarded. With no fanfare EJ landed gracefully on the nest. I do believe there were tears in the Centre. Our female was safely back from her wintering grounds, and looking amazingly healthy.

Thursday morning saw staff and volunteers all getting out of bed just that extra bit earlier. Would EJ still be around? Or even more important, would she have been joined by Henry??

Our volunteers coming off night shift greeted us with two words, Orange VS! We knew this osprey had been spotted in the area a few days previously, and was possibly the individual seen overflying the nest. There were hefty sighs and groans on watching him, once again, impressing EJ.  Now, the writer is generally a fan of the underdog but Orange VS has been a bit of a wimp in previous years. We try not to show favouritism, but Henry has always proved himself the ideal mate.

This is now the fourth year Orange VS has arrived back before Henry and true to form, mating occured straight away. Granted he performed an impressive sky dance, but she was just a little too quick to accept his advances if you ask me!  Our fear is a repeat of what happened in 2005, when Henry returned to freshly laid eggs and with a kick that any footballer would be proud of, the eggs disappeared over the side of the nest.

However, given EJ's late arrival this time Henry should turn up before any eggs are produced. Or will he? Maybe we should give Orange VS the benefit of the doubt?.. Both birds have been nest-scraping, and Orange VS has been delivering moss and sticks in earnest. The following days should prove very interesting!

Three days the Centre has been open and still no Osprey have claimed the nest! This is the first time we have opened our doors to the public with no birds yet inhabiting the nest. Where is EJ?!

By now we would have expected an Osprey to have begun scraping out the lush sward of vegetation that has grown on the nest over the winter period. Instead the only activity it has seen in recent days has been the playful antics of crested tits. We are not concerned because Osprey have been slow generally to return to the Spey area this season.

We have had three or four fly over the Centre but, until today, none have ventured near the nest. Are these males scouting the area for females? We know that our aged rogue Orange VS is back in the area for another season. Will he be throwing yet another spanner in the works this time round?!

Excitement built this morning when a female approached the nest looking as though to land but she soon disappeared without so much as a by your leave. Luckily, our visitors have been kept amused by male Capercaillie popping their heads up and down amongst the heather. No one has yet suspected the Warden and her suspiciously Capercaillie-like glove puppet....

Whilst the warden and her team of merry workers wait for the first sign of returning osprey there is much work to do in preparation for the onset of the season; dusting off the scopes, buying the teabags, airing the hide, sweeping the forest... well not quite that far.

As ever 2006 proved to be a soap opera of events, here’s a little reminder of what happened.

The season, worryingly, followed the same pattern as 2005; our regular female, EJ, arrived at the nest quickly followed by her old flame Orange VS. Henry returned 15 days later, crucially, before she had laid any eggs so, unlike 2005, there was no egg kicking contest! Orange VS once again proved to be the weaker male and was soon seen off by Henry who quickly settled back into his role as fish bringer.

EJ and Henry have now paired up for four seasons so we were hopeful for eggs. On the 14 April, our first egg was glimpsed and eight days later we had a clutch of three little Easter eggs. However the timing was so close between Orange VS’ presence and Henry’s arrival that we’re still not certain of the paternity rights. No matter as Henry played the proud father and who am I to suggest anything different.

So... 2007. As ever at this time of year the anticipation is palpable. Late February saw a few sightings in Cornwall and Wales of eagerly returning Osprey and with the spring-like weather we have been having, up until the blizzards came in a few days ago, we have been eagerly expecting them.

Will EJ and Henry return for a fifth season? Will Henry’s lackadaisical approach to the migration up to Loch Garten mean EJ has already taken up with another male? Will that other bird be our usual suspect Orange VS? Will we see Red 8T try his chances once again? Maybe more importantly, will there be a sighting of our 2004 chicks, returning to their fledging ground for the first time?

So many questions... so few answers. The only thing we can be certain of is that the upcoming days and weeks are going to be full of expectation and we will endeavour to keep you updated with news as and when it happens. In the meantime it is crucial that the site remains quiet so that when the birds do return they have a chance to settle before the eyes of the public are allowed to follow their every move.

The Osprey Centre will open to visitors for the first time this season on Sunday 1 April and as always, we look forward to welcoming you. In the meantime, if you are intending to visit us, and we hope that you are, please be patient. 

With osprey arrival imminent, it is important that the site remains as quiet and undisturbed as possible at the crucial arrival and settling-in period, in the run to the Osprey Centre opening on 1 April. Your help and co-operation with this would be very much appreciated, thank you.