Good evening. This is the weekly osprey news, brought to you by Katie from the Web Team.
Well, we've not heard from Mallachie again this week, so her whereabouts remains a mystery. As Richard mentioned in his last blog post, it's possible the transmitter has stopped working or fallen off, so please do not despair. Maybe she'll turn up in the UK again in a couple of years?
Rothes seems to have had a steady, rather unspectacular week - at least as far as we can tell from the 9 am and 5 pm snapshots of her location, altitude and speed. She's stayed pretty much in the same small area - near Varela in Guinea-Bissau, so I've added only one new point.
Weather forecasts for the location seem to show that it gets up to about 33 degrees C (91 F) during the day, and down to 23 C (73 F) at night.
By contrast, here at The Lodge, we're 'enjoying' temperatures ranging from +1 C at the warmest, down to about -5 C at night, with about 4-5 inches of snow still in place. Anyone for a snowball fight? (I'm sure that Scots and northerners will scoff at that, but it's making life interesting down here in t'south).
Here's the view from our office window:
So, if you're bored of winter weather and would like to see the climate Rothes is experiencing, have a look at the photos on the Panoramio website. And sigh...
Thanks for the update Katie. Delighted Rothes is still enjoying her wintering grounds. I too hope we see or hear of Mallachie having returned to the Highlands to breed in a couple of years time, along with Rothes and Garten too, of course. Lovely view from your office window.
Good to have you posting again, Katie! (but of course we still appreciate the LG team!). Thanks for the update - we are not worrying about Mallachie - well, maybe a little bit - well, yes we are really, but all we can do is wait anyway! Good to hear Rothes is still active and sunning herself in G. Bissau. Lovely view and reminder of the Lodge - and good to know you are coping in the frozen south!
Thank you Katie. We can just hope that Mallachie is safe and very glad to hear Rothes is still doing fine! Have a very Happy Christmas.
Thank you very much for the update Katie. Rothes seems to be very much at home near Varela and who can blame her. Mallachie probably got fed up of that thing on her back and chewed through the thread.
Looking forward now to the new season and I hope it will be as successful as 2009.
Thanks for the update Katie.........Hope you and the rest of the team have a lovely Christmas and a Very Happy New Year.
Appreciate it Katie, Thanks. All the Best to you for the Season.
I knew those birds were clever enough to get to places like where the photos were taken ... thanks Kate for the update and we shall all keep our fingers crossed now for both Nethy and Mallachie ... not forgetting Garten of course.
Thanks Katie, for the unexpected update! Hope everyone has a great Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year.
Thanks very much for the update!! In the past when a bird perished the tag continued to transmit data, but showed the location at ground level. So, it is "very" possible that Mallachie's tag fell off or stopped working.
Happy Holidays to you and every one at the garden.
Katie, what a surprise update
Thank you so much for your surprise update. Have a very Happy Christmas with a fantastic 2010 to follow.
Thank you so much, Katie. i wasn't expecting anything from the LG team until next year. the picture looks so lovely, probably far distant from the reality. Here in my part of Shropshire we must be the only people to have escaped the snow so far, but the frost and ice are widespread. I live just 400 yards from a wonderful lake, home to so many birds, including winter migrants. I'm so lucky. This morning, as I worked at home, I glanced up and saw five or six swans in flight, pure white against the brilliant blue sky, and later, I walked down to the water's edge to look for the faithful pair of Goldeneye that come to the same corner of the lake every year. There they were. How wonderful birds are.
Like everyone else, I would love to believe that Mallachie and Nethy are still alive. The trackers are so good in some respects, but they can never tell us what happens to the birds we never see again. perhaps one day someone will come up with a piece of tech. that fills that tantalising and important gap in our knowledge. Meanwhile that picuture of a bedragggled Mallachie taken in Spain will stay on my computer for a long time yet.
Merry Christmas to you all, and a wonderful Hogmanay !
Thank you for the update Katie. We all very much appreciate the time everyone takes to keep us informed. In Devon we've pretty much escaped most of the snow but are suffering badly from thick ice due to day time rain freezing overnight. Merry christmas and Happy New Year to all the team.
Thanks so much Katie lovely to have an update. I am trying to be positive about Mallachie and Nethy of course and maybe in a couple of years we will see them or they will be seen again. It is good to know that Rothes is doing OK. Lovely weather she is having too.
What a view from the office window it looks really beautiful in the snow.
A very Happy Christmas and gave a great New Year celebration.
Thanks Katie for the unexpected but very welcome update. Hope you and all at HQ have a great festive period whatever the weather.