I am just back from a week away and I have caught up on the news from Alice that both Rothes and Mallachie are both still in their same respective spots in France and Portugal. I really thought that by the time I returned, they might have moved on a bit by now. Still, the important thing is that both seem to be doing ok and presumably like it just where they are, and are in no hurry to press on. To get back into the swing of entering data, I just took a quick look at the latest and sure enough, Mallachie is still dotting about between the two reservoirs as reported by Alice. Similarly, Rothes remains on La Gironde river and continues to roost at Dr Jones sturgeon farm. Had we known they would stay put quite this long, we could have perhaps popped down to see them. It is all the more autumnal here now and so it presumably will be where they are too, so perhaps we will see a shift in position sometime soon.
I did see some ospreys last week though. I was in New York visiting friends, but as fun as the City was, being from the boondocks, after a few days I needed some space and to escape the throng. So I took the subway out of town to a place called Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, a wetland out near JFK airport. Almost the first bird I saw when I got off the train at Broad Channel, was an osprey, right at the moment when it dived into a tidal creek to fish and it caught one! How lucky was that? In all my time of working with ospreys, the number of times I've actually seen one catch a fish are precious few, so I was well pleased. There were several ospreys in the area, seen on and off throughout the day, and the weather was still hot & sunny over there, so it seemed like I'd gone back in time to July here. They are of course not nesting now, but I did see some nest platforms on poles.
If you are ever out there, I can recommend Jamaica Bay - lots of birds, including wildfowl and waders, herons & egrets too, plus bushes full of an array of warblers. It's a perfect oasis to escape to, when the City becomes too much. The highlight was seeing a Lesser Yellowlegs crash-land into a bush (!), in a desperate attempt to escape the clutches of the stooping Peregrine bearing down on it from above at high speed. The falcon missed, but I never did see the wader emerge from the undergrowth, it walked away unseen, embarrassed yet relieved, I suspect.
I can recommend Central Park as a birdwatching hot spot too, especially at Spring and Autumn (Fall) migration times - heaving with various species of warbler and thrush, woodpecker and nuthatch. Osprey-sized Red-tailed Hawks nest on nearby city buildings and hunt the park. I saw one perched in full view, just 25ft above a park path, ravenously ripping up a grey squirrel, prey which presumably sustains them in that location, yet it went unobserved and unappreciated by all the focussed joggers, roller-bladers and dog walkers passing back & forth beneath it. I just couldn't help myself but slip into RSPB warden mode, stopping some of them to point out the spectacle they were missing just above their heads. Most of them seemed appreciative, though it didn't occur to me to think that I'd be interfering with the joggers' timed running routines, oops.
.........anyway, Alice or I will check on Rothes & Mallachie again tomorrow and keep you informed. My thanks to Alice for doing so in my absence.
Thanks, Richard ... sounds like you had a wonderful time! Glad to hear Mallachie and Rothes are still pottering around their respective haunts.
Thank you Richard and soo nice to hear you again. Glad you had a nice hol. Sounds like fun.
For those who want to see the birds in Central Park, there is a photographer called Lincoln Karim who takes the most amazing photos. This is his site
http://www.palemale.com/
Thanks Richard: we too are surprised that our two 'girls' are still staying put for now: also thanks for the great descriptions of your trip- glad to hear you enjoyed yourself.
Lovely to have you back Richard and glad you had a good holiday. I couldn't stand all the people in New York and would also escape to the countryside. I see some of Roy's birds are almost at the end of their migration and some like Mallachie and Rothes are enjoying Spain and Portugal, why fly further than needed if the food supply is good and it is warm enough. Unlike Rothes and Mallachie many of Roy's birds gave him some scary moments over the Bay of Biscay and almost missed land. I am also following a large group of American osprey's from Rhode Island, Martha's Vinyard etc. as they migrate south too. Check out Mull sea eagels as they have information on two of this years chicks which they will be following in their quest for independence.
JILLIAN
What else catches grey squirrels? We could do with some of those hawks down south in England.
The first and only time I have seen an Osprey catch a fish was in the USA, and I have a very fuzzy picture to prove it. We had stopped to photo trains, not birds, and I was alerted by the Osprey cry so looked round at the lake behind me and saw it dive in and emerge triumphant! Meant to tag this onto Kate's Osprey Moment blog, but too busy packing for hols in Wales.
Anyway glad you are back safely, but Alice has kept up the good work and kept us bloggers on an even keel. Liz
And this is the story of Pale Male the red-tailed Hawk.
www.vanityfair.com/.../palemale200507
Thanks Richard for the update on the girls and I am glad you had a good time in NY.
Thanks so much for the update on the girls as well as information about the Ospreys in New York. I have only seen Ospreys in pictures and would love to see a live one!! I live in Wisconsin in the USA. New York is only about 865 miles and a 14 hour drive.
Maybe the girls are in their winter homes. Both seem to have chosen a place with plenty of fishing opportunities and Rothes has the bonus of roosting in a protected area on Dr. Jones's Sturgeon farm.
Welcome back Richard. You have obviously had a good break. How fantastic for you to have seen that osprey catch a fish. My brother and his wife are presently at their apartment in Portugal and it is very hot there just now (30 degrees) so perhaps Mallachie is just getting herself acclimatised. Pru
Glad to see you back Richard and that you had a nice trip to NY, What an experience, just as you got there, there was the osprey catching a fish, tremendous.
Do hope that our girls will move on soon as autumn is upon us and they really need to be in sunnier climes!!
Will catch up with the progress of Mallachie and Rothes when I get back from holiday on the 2nd October.
Thanks a lot Richard for the update. Looks like you had a great time in the Big Apple. I know what you mean when you say about all the people walking around and not being aware of what's going on right above their heads or nearby. It does annoy me and I quite enjoy it when people ask me what I'm looking at. If only they'd use their eyes and appreciate their surroundings!!!! That's me finished my ranting!!! x
Hi Richard: Alice has done you proud in your absence keeping us updated (on how much the girls like their current surroundings). How ironic that you had to travel all the way to NY to see an osprey catch a fish.
I can handle NY for about two days - it has something to do with having to lay flat on your back to see the sky. Stand still in that city for just a minute and you'll get swept along by a human tsunami that may or may not be going in the direction you want. No joke there; it happened to me at an intersection. Seems like you either love NY or hate it.
CAROL: Thanks for the link to those marvellous pix of Palemale and Lola (and the other birds) - and what a saga! I'd heard about the hawks, but hadn't realized such a fight was involved. Wow.
Hello Ricahrd, hope you're glad to be back at the office : ((. It is suprising that they are still hanging around but there's still time, isn't there?? - 30th September last year, (day of the sad news), still saw Nethy in France and then she took off like a bullet, as they say and was in Africa before we knew it. Fingers crossed for the two of them this year. They should be well "built up" for the journey ahead of them.
Welcome back, Richard! Pleased you had a great holiday - you deserve it, though fancy having to go all that way to see an osprey catch a fish! Jamaica Bay sounds a super place, and I can just picture all those people in Central Park totally oblivious of the wonderful sight above them. Alice has done a sterling job in your absence, giving us regular updates, even if time was short and she could only manage a few words- we are all really grateful to her. (AND- she took her life in her hands and manned a chainsaw!! - some girl, eh?)