The first movements of Rothes and Mallachie have now been posted - see the tracking page. Alice and I (well, Alice really - remember her from last year?) inputted some data earlier this evening and it seems to have worked! On the map, you can see the Osprey Centre, in the native pine forests near to Loch Garten and about 150m from the Centre ,you can see where the nest is, on a drier knoll of moranic material out in an extensive area of forest peat bog.
Rothes can be seen to have ventured around a bit, towards Loch Garten itself and towards the township of Tulloch. Rarely do we see adult ospreys fish in Loch Garten, despite the close proximity to the nest. Two reasons for that, a) there are hardly any fish in the loch, just some stunted jack pike, and b) because the water is very brown and peaty, like tea without the milk, and so seeing what few fish there are in there is very difficult. So adult ospreys just head out towards the nearby River Spey, other local lochs better for fish and of course the fish farm near Aviemore.
Just been to collect my visiting nephew from the train station, and from the platform, I saw an osprey stack, above the fish farm which is unseen behind the railway station - three ospreys all circling the waters below. Anyway, over the years, once young from our nest fledge, at first they do not know any different, so we do sometimes see instinct kicking-in and our juvenile ospreys circling Loch Garten attempting to fish there. Before long though, they soon either realise that it's not a good spot or notice their parents ignoring the loch and venturing further. We can expect to see this from Rothes and Mallachie in days and weeks to come.
In case you wondering why we do not stock Loch Garten with fish, to make it a good spot for ospreys to hunt, well, it is because the loch is part of an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) a UK Governmanet nature conservation designation, in this case, on account of the lochs natural characteristics as they are, albeit poor for fish. To stock the loch would potentially irreparably alter the natural ecology of the loch ecosystem, counter to its status as an SSSI - tempting though it is! Sadly, there is enough ecosystem change and damage going on the world over, so why would we want to add to that?
As I've mentioned the subject of designations, the Abernethy reserve must rate as one of the most heavily conservation designated places on the planet, and for very good reason. It is SSSI, NNR (National Nature Reserve), SAC (Special Area for Conservation), SPA (Special Protection Area), NSA (part of a National Scenic Area), it includes a RAMSAR Site, and is part of the CNP (Cairngorm National Park). That surely leaves you in no doubt what so ever how ultra important and precious Abernethy is for nature conservation. More on that anon.
Anyway, meantime, it's been a busy day at the Centre, with as many as six ospreys viewable on site at some points today, our family of five plus an intruder. All good learning experiences for Rothes, Mallachie and Garten, to see intruders coming in about the nest and to see them repelled by Odin and/or EJ - all good stuff for them to be witnessing, soaking up and storing, as part of their steep learning curve to help equip them, in their lives ahead.
Gosh! Rothes has really been flying around, she has ventured far. :-)
Brilliant News !!!
Taff
Richard thank you so much for alerting us to the tracking now being available. As I hadn't deleted the link for Nethy & Deshar it has just updated automatically. It's interesting to see that Rothes is flying much further afield than her younger sister even though she only fledged a few days before her and it's nice to know where they are going when they're not visible through the webcam. I can now imagine where they are instead.
Wonderful .. have got them on Google and will follow them daily ................. Congratulations to all at LG Bravo !
Wow Richard, thanks for that. I will have to read it again in the morning when, hopefully, my brain is more receptive! Our osprey chicks are just wonderful and have had the best start in their lives they could possibly hope for. EJ is an exceptional mother and Odin has proved himself to be a great provider for both EJ and the chicks. Pru
EJ mantling on the nest just now. Perhaps Odin in around with a fish. Pru
Richard, many thanks for the update on the sat tagging. have looked at the map and rothes certainly seems to be the more adventerous one at the moment. I have also looked on google earth and have eventually,reluctantly, removed nethy and deshar's routes although i have marked them.
Thanks also for the info on the different conservation designations, especially for abernethy, i never realised there were so many., although having visited abernethy on several occasions it is understandable why it is so important.
Thanks also for letting us know that things seem to be on track for our 'family' haven't seen much today due to work but reading other peoples comments have kept me up to speed.
Brilliant. Thanks Richard!
Richard, thank you for the information. I'm not sure where to log on to. We have lost the camera on the nest at the moment but I'm sure I saw all three bedded down for the night before things went awry. No its still down, never mind. I'll see what I can glean from the pages of the RSPB website to get the map up!!!! Here goes!!!
Thank you Richard and Alice for the tracking details:) As others have said, interesting Rothes has gone further afield already.
Very interesting about all the different designations there as well. Lets hope the area stays protected for ever.
Great viewing today and EJ was around for hours:)
Beg pardon, having looked properly up the page I have now located the map. Thanks once again for the info.
Richard thanks for that update. I have managed to do the google earth thingy with a bit of help from a friend.....
We could just go through the alphabet -- isn't it funny how we all know what a special place LG and surroundings are without anybody telling us. Aren't we clever :))
BTW paula pmc he he, Lesley and Keith I've replied in the previous bl0g.
Has anyone heard from Maureen and Cirrus tonight? xx
Night Night all.
Is it just me or is the live cam down??
Richard, haven't been able to log on since this morning. Great to know we can now follow the girls'adventures on Google Earth (though not wee Garten, of course). I remember eagerly following Deshar's and Nethy's forays around the area last year and urging tem to follow the road to Coylumbridge and turn right! Thank you for another of your very infomative posts. Would really love to hear one of your talks so will have to try for a different holiday time next year.
Fantastic news getting tracking operating.
Am so looking forward to the next few months.