As promised, a more detailed update on last week's data on Rothes and Mallachie. Apologies for the unintentional concern I caused on Monday by not mentioning Mallachie - I'll remedy that now. Mallachie is still in The Gambia, in the same area near Sotokoi. She's moving about but isn't get caught doing anything drastically exciting - like going anywhere new, but the area she's in is good enough for her...
Rothes meanwhile had a quiet week near Varela until after 9am on 27th (Friday) when she headed S, reaching I. de Unhacomo soon after 5pm, where I'm assuming she roosted as that's the island she was near on Saturday morning at 9am. On Saturday 28th she headed SW over to Ilha de Orango - the last point of the week. I'll update everything again on Monday. - Alice
Read on for a short exciting bit from Richard:
A man from Gambia phoned our Edinburgh office last week to say that he had seen an osprey. He left his number so I have just phoned him back. About 8 days ago, he saw a bird with a leg ring, with letters LY. Now, as you'll know, one of last year's tagged birds, Nethy was ringed AY, so you can imagine our hearts leaping at the thought that .....just maybe..... he might have read the ring incorrectly. However, the man is completely confident that the ringed bird he saw was definitely LY , bah! Though he was less sure about the ring colour. I've been in touch with Roy Dennis to see if we can identify his bird, and I'll then let the man in Gambia know. He's a very interested birdwatcher of 23 years standing. It was good of him to take the time & trouble to contact us. He saw the bird near Sanyang, Gambia.
There was a beautiful, elegant drake Pinatil on Loch Garten on 30th November, only the fourth reserve record. - Richard
Regular viewers of the osprey web-cam, the red squirrel feeder-cam and followers of the blog, will recall those, all too often occasions, during the past summer and indeed in previous summers when there were interruptions to your viewing. Add to that, that annoying humming noise on the osprey nest microphone and the, at times, less than perfect picture quality etc. All these problems and vulnerabilities have one source – the generator that powers all that we do at the Loch Garten Osprey Centre, powering the lighting, all our camera systems, the TV monitors, web-cam links, nest microphones and our retail operation equipment - all are powered by a generator.
We have been inspiring people about ospreys at Loch Garten for 50 years now, for the first 30 years without power at all, for the next ten years with power from a petrol generator and for the last ten years, from a gas powered generator - at least latterly from a cleaner and greener option. However, as long as we operate with a generator, not only do we remain vulnerable to its failure, but it limits what improvements we can make to the current visitor experience and what future developments can be made. The generator is barely able to cope with and keep up with the changes in technology, for example the demand for faster, better web connections.
To have a mains power supply has been an aspiration of ours for many years - actually more a personal crusade of mine for nigh-on 20 years! It would solve so many of our problems and shortcomings, not least of all security and reliability of supply, but also improve no-end, what we currently do, and create so much more future potential for the Osprey Centre.
The benefits are multiple.
· Reliability - generators are prone to mechanical breakdown, and boy, have we had our share of these, or what? For example during the 2007 season, our gas generator died in the first week of our season. We got it back from a very expensive repair in the last week of our season. The stop gap was an on-hire diesel generator, needing filling with fuel every day and all the faff that that involved – jerry cans, spillages etc etc.
· The visitor experience - without the noise, smell and throb of a generator, the ambiance and thus the visitor experience would be greatly improved. I am sure the wildlife would approve too!
· Technological advances - with almost year-on-year additions to our technology, be it new cameras, web-cam links, the EPOS cash register system in the shop etc, we are getting to the limit of capacity. New technologies like high-definition cameras have come on stream and we would like to move with the times and up-grade our equipment, but to do so ahead of having a mains power supply would be silly.
· Enable RSPB to source and buy “green” energy from renewable sources.
Therefore, we are hoping to install mains power next year. However, it will be very expensive, to the tune of £109,000. Yes indeed, ouch! The reason for the expense is the Osprey Centre's remote location. The nearest transformer from which to take power is 2.3km away and the cable has to be trenched underground all that way.
(The map, of Rothes & Mallachie's whereabouts will be up-dated on Monday 30th, but the blog not until later next week).
Richard Thaxton Site Manager-Loch Garten
Mallachie and Rothes have both stayed put in their respective areas over the last week. Mallachie is still in the Gambia and Rothes is still in Guinea Bissau, close to the border with Senegal. They are both moving about - fishing and really getting to know their patches no doubt.
Here at Abernethy it's been a stuck in front of the computer day. Luckily it's been raining and grey so I don't mind too much and maps need producing...
With regards some of your comments - Richard is looking into getting the live webcam up and running again. The photos (2 minute updates) are still working - though it'll be dark soon... And no we've not seen any waxwings yet - it's usually December that they arrive - so we'll be looking out for them next week.
I'll update again next Monday. Have a nice week.
Right then, this weeks data is in - this week thanks to our LTV (that's Long Term Vol if you were wondering).
Rothes is still in the area around Varela in Guinea Bissau. She's had a flight out over the sea but is seemingly keeping to a pretty localised area. Mallachie is also not showing any inclination to move to a new area - the area around Jarreng Tenda and Ba Faraba Island in The Gambia is good enough for her.
Below is the first post from our LTV Douglas - we decided we couldn't let him be outside all the time...
Hi all,
I’m the current long term volunteer at RSPB Abernethy NNR and will be helping out in this wonderful Highland location until April 2010, which I’m sure will come around all too soon.
I would like to take this opportunity to let you know about some of the work undertaken and the wildlife on offer throughout the winter season on the reserve.
Since starting my placement on October 7th, as well as black and red grouse I have been lucky enough to see three male and several hen Capercallies, these magnificent birds are a target species for conservation on the reserve and indeed throughout Scotland.
So far, my work has included heather burning, wetland construction, deadwood creation, deer fence maintenance and salmon counting on the river Nethy (note from Alice as one of you asked about this - we do this by walking downstream and counting the fish, not by electrofishing), all done under the expert guidance of the enthusiastic team up here.
As my experience increases, the team have given me more responsibility for individual tasks and I would like to relate a magical experience I had on the hills just the other day. I had been asked to assess repair work needed on a section of deer fence high on a hillside and as I approached the top, a Golden Eagle rose no more than 30 feet in front of me! Now I have seen these birds before but usually just a speck in the sky, this was a mature bird and I was close enough to see the golden brown nape feathers and powerful talons and beak. I did manage a picture on my point and press camera but the one in my memory bank will stay with me forever, truly a magnificent bird.
There have been great flocks of fieldfares and redwing feeding on the rowan and hawthorn berries in the area, fattening up for what I am sure will be a very cold few months ahead.
It’s another day in the hills for me tomorrow, this time with the wardens, and I am sure I will be seeing and doing things that will appear in my forthcoming writings. Cheers for now… Douglas
Sorry not to write this update earlier - trailer wheel brake issues and a salmon count - and since it was such a fantastic day, frosty and sunny (-8 degrees C last night) it seemed justifiable to download the latest data later on - as I'm writing this at 4.30pm it's nearly dark...
Anyway I've put the data in for Rothes and Mallachie. The points I'm getting are 9am and 5pm each day. Rothes has stayed put in the area between Varela and Nhiquim - she's taking it easy and enjoying the winter sun?
Mallachie meanwhile is in the same area of the Gambia, but dodging about a bit more - she's roosting in different places (unlike Rothes who may almost have picked her favoured tree...).
Anyway so both are moving around. The next update will come through next Saturday and I'll update you all again next Monday.
On the reserve front, our Goose Roost Watch yesterday was very successful (sort of...) Richard's written a bit about it below:
The Goose roost-watch on the shore of Loch Garten last evening, was a spectacular success, attended by no-less that 85 people, a simply magnificent turn out, including ten children and many local people amongst them, and out-numbering the geese by…………….85! Yep, a complete blank on the goose-front, which was just a tad humiliating for Alice and I, but nevertheless, it was a wonderful evening. The loch was glassy-calm, giving perfect reflections of the Craigowrie hills beyond, the sunset was superb and the light at the gathering gloaming was just stunning. Add to that the frosty conditions, (which dropped to minus 8 degrees C later last night), and it all made for a beautiful hour or so at the loch side, bar the geese of course. But pah! Who needed 'em? Well, if I'm honest, one or two would have been good, to at least have had the event live up to its billing.
There were a mixture of other wildfowl including a few each of goldeneye, goosander, mallard and wigeon, plus assorted large gulls wafting in to roost. Just no geese. Yet there are, as I was vainly attempting to impress on the gathered throng last night, (some would say clutching at straws, maybe), many hundreds if not over a thousand greylag geese in the Strath right now, somewhere. Earlier in the day I had passed Loch Pityoulish a few miles away where 250+ were loafing, but who clearly opted to stay put rather than shift to Loch Garten. The bright, moonlit evenings of late might not have helped the situation either, as in such conditions, the geese can remain feeding out in fields, as moonlight enables them to be alert for predators.
But hey, we had a fun time (he says optimistically), and we are grateful to all who made the effort to come along, just sorry it was a disappointment. Alice skillfully disarmed any pending rebellion, with pacifying cups of tea & coffee, and the banter was good, and it really was a stunning end to the day, in contrast to the thrashing rain we had last week - though we did at least have geese on that occasion! What is it they say? Never work with animals and…..geese.
Anyway, that's all for now - more next week.
I've checked again for new data today (Friday 6th) but there's none available yet. It's looking like it'll become available tomorrow - as that's 7 days into November. Unfortunately I don't have access to a computer at the weekend - so it'll be Monday before I can get hold of it. Monday morning it'll be the priority job (unless something more urgent turns up...).
In the meantime, if you are around this Sunday it's the last of this year's Goost Roost Watches at Loch Garten - if you're in the area come along - it's looking like the weather will be better than last Sunday. It's on between 4 and 5pm - no guarantee of geese, but we had some last time even in the torrential rain. If we're lucky we might get to see and hear them whiffling as they come into land.
Have a nice weekend.