Loch Garten osprey diary

WHOOOOO-HOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!

Jen Clark — Sat, 25 May 2013 10:41:00 GMT

AS I TYPE, ONE OF THE OSPREY EGGS IS CHIPPING - HATCHING IS IN PROGRESS

At c. 10.10am I walked into the Centre to be greeted by much excitement . Staff, volunteers and visitors had just seen the first indication of hatching. EJ was now back on the nest, but just prior to my arrival she had been off the nest, Odin too, repelling an intruder. Whist away, the eggs were revealed and the team noticed a hole in one of the eggs and promptly pressed record on the DVD player. Slow motion play-back did indeed show a hole in the egg and a wee beak could be seen moving about inside the egg and poking out through the hole. HATCHING IS IN PROGRESS. Quite when we might see that the chick has successfully broken free of the egg remains to be seen, it could be amost immediately or it could be a few or even several hours yet. But keep watching. Here's hoping the wee mite can break free.

This is such brilliant news on so many fronts:

After losing eggs 1 and 2 to Odin's egg-kicking antics, eggs 3 and 4 have taken on an extra special importance and significance. Until now, we could not know if they were even fertilised and viable.

After the appaling wintry weather of the past few days, today the sun is shining and it's a beautiful, and safer day, to hatch. Hatching in cold, wet weather can bring perils with it, so to have warm sunshine is just perfect.

And what impecable timing, EJ and Odin, timing the hattching of their eggs to coincide with Boat of Garten's Osprey Festival. I've just nipped to Boat to let them know the great news.

So, it's an exciting great day all ''round here, so if you can, why not get your backside up to Boat of Garten, to the Festival and come and see us and witness hatching here at Osprey Centre.

The Centre's mobbed, got to go.............

Richard

Boat of Garten Osprey Festival 2013 - and what good timing, hopefully....

richard thaxton — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:03:00 GMT

Are you in our area this coming Saturday 25th May?

Then as well as coming to the Loch Garten Osprey Centre why not come along to the Boat of Garten "Wild About Boat" Osprey Festival

Today's blog post comes from our friends in Boat of Garten village with details of the upcoming Osprey Festival.

The re-opening of the Station Square in Boat of Garten is one of the highlights of the ‘Wild about Boat’ Osprey Festival. The Square now boasts the newly installed Osprey Feather and Horse & Cart sculptures as well as the Interpretation Hub installed last year – all designed and made by Michael Job of Black Ox Arts. The Station Square Heritage project was the inspiration for the setting up of Boat of Garten Community Company in 2001 and the community is delighted to see it finally completed.

The Boat of Garten Community Company Osprey Festival will have a range of wildlife-themed activities sponsored by Speyside Wildlife, celebrating The Year of Natural Scotland, the tenth anniversary of the Cairngorms National Park, the local area and its wildlife.

The Festival's hub will be in the Community Garden, where you can sign up for wildlife and woodland guided walks, a visit to the bird hide with a local guide, craft workshops, children’s art competition, African Drumming, pond dipping, plant stall and much more! There is a free shuttle bus to Loch Garten Osprey Centre provided by BSW Sawmills.

Car parking is available in the Strathspey Railway car park, but why not walk or cycle to Boat along the Speyside Way or Sustrans route, or take the steam train from Aviemore? Extra trains will be running throughout the day and the first one is at 8.30am from Aviemore, arriving in time for the Wild About Birds and Feed the Birds activities which start at 9am.

The formal opening of Station Square and the two sculptures will take place at 5pm followed by a BBQ and live jazz from Nigel’s Nonsense, with a guest appearance by John Burgess of Novia Scotia Jazz Band.

Anna Barton, chair of Boat of Garten Community Company commented, ‘We are delighted that the Company’s first project has, after 12 years, finally come to fruition and we are extremely grateful to the Cairngorm National Park Authority and Scottish Natural Heritage for their support. The re-opening of the Station Square and the installation of the Interpretation Hub and the two amazing sculptures are a fitting way for us to celebrate the National Park’s 10^th Birthday and contribute to the Year of Natural Scotland. There is something for everyone at the Festival and we hope that visitors to the Strath and our neighbouring communities will join the fun!’

Full details at www.boatofgarten.com.

BOAT OF GARTEN OSPREY FESTIVAL

‘Wild about Boat’

SATURDAY 25 MAY 2013

Join the fun at the Festival Hub in the Community Garden from 9 am, where you can find out what’s going on, sign up for the activities and ask the experts about the Osprey Village and its wildlife!

Group sizes for most of the activities are limited, so book your place! 01479 831325 or email info@boatofgarten.com

PROGRAMME

08.30 First train leaves Aviemore for Boat of Garten

09.00 Wild about Birds – visit our Bird Hide with Speyside Wildlife guide £3

09.00 Feed the Birds – top up bird & squirrel feeders with Highland Ranger* £1

Meet at the Community Hall Car Park for Feed the Birds

09.30 Train leaves Broomhill for Boat of Garten

09.30–12.30 Wild Ones Animal Mask making workshop in Church Hall* £3

09.30–12.30 Wild Art – Pavement Art competition in Church Hall* £1

09.30–12.30 Wild and Crafty workshops* £1

10.00 BSW bus to Loch Garten Donations

10.30 Walk on the Wild Side – woodlands walk with Speyside Wildlife guide £3

10.30 Train leaves Aviemore for Boat of Garten

11.00 BSW bus to Loch Garten Donations

11.00 Wild Wheels – assisted woodlands walk for the less mobile Free

12.30 Last BSW bus back from Loch Garten Donations

13.00 Wet and Wild – Pond Dipping with Highland Ranger: bring your picnic!* £1

13.00 Walk on the Wild Side – woodlands walk with Speyside Wildlife guide £3

14.30 Wild Drumming – African Drumming with Drumfun at Deshar School* £5

15.00 Plant Sale in the Community Garden

* Activities for children – under 8s to be accompanied by an adult.

Buy a day ticket for all these activities for only £10!

Going Wild

Take our walks leaflet and wander through the woods and down by the river
Hire a bike and ride out to Loch Garten
Lunch, tea & ice cream available at Boat Hotel, Andersons and the Post Office
Plenty of great locations for picnics
Let the youngsters let off steam at our newly refurbished play park

17.00 Opening of Station Square and unveiling of Sculptures

Followed by African Drumming performance* and BBQ with live jazz from Nigel’s Nonsense

19.50 Last train back to Broomhill

20.50 Last train back to Aviemore from Boat of Garten

And why is the Boat of Garten Osprey Festival good timing........BECAUSE THE LOCH GARTEN OSPREY EGGS ARE DUE TO HATCH THIS WEEKEND !!

Ideally, on Saturday 25th May, but of course, it could be Sunday, or it could be Monday or.............

RIP white/red TA (1996 - 2013)

richard thaxton — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:14:33 GMT

As reported on a previous blog, the dead osprey found back in April in Perthshire was a Loch Garten bird, a male, ringed 5th July 1996, leg-ring red/white TA on right leg. One of a brood of three young that year.

And here they are: We have managed to unearth some photos taken at the ringing way back then.

From left to right: Roy Dennis, Richard Thaxton (holding TA) and Dan Tomes - Osprey Warden 1996, 17 years ago. Don't we all look young! For my part, I started working for RSPB when I was 8 years old.......

Many thanks to any of you who came along last night to Derek Niemann's brilliant his book Birds in a Cage. There were 65 people in all, to enjoy Derek's fascinating account of the four POW pals, of whom one George Waterston, established Operation Osprey at Loch Garten back in 1959.

Delete

richard thaxton — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:33:00 GMT

Oops! Published in error, and now can't delete it.

EJ in HD goes live!

Jen Clark — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:02:00 GMT

EJ in HD...no, this is not XD's younger brother, it is our new High Definition camera that has just gone live on the web. The keener eyed amongst you will have already spotted the change over, and those of you who have visited the centre this year will have seen it on the big screen. Today we got the final part we needed to allow us to hook it up to the internet so you can all enjoy our ospreys not only in high definition but also with a wider angled view. This will be a huge benefit to you at home when the chicks get bigger and start to move around the nest a bit more. Especially when they start thinking of fledging and their more adventurous wing flaps would have previously have them out of shot. Also, with all the intruders who have been attempting nest landings over the past couple of weeks, the wider angle will allow you to see more of this action. You will also be better able to see Odin coming in with his fish deliveries. The new nest camera hangs outwards of the old nest camera, both are running simultaneously. You can still see still images from the old nest camera. Happy viewing!

Latest on Caledonia - not much to report. She has remained in a very small area, on a stretch of a river where the R. Huelva intersects the bigger river Rio Guadalquivir near Saitiponce near Seville.

Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!

Jake Tomlinson — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:33:00 GMT

... sounds like something a Dalek would say in the famous TV series Doctor Who. However, our famous pairing of EJ and Odin must also be aware and alert of any intruders to their nest.

That has certainly been the case over the last few days. "Intruders", to you and I, are ospreys that fly in the vicinity of the Loch Garten nest. Some will swoop at the nest, and attempt to mate with the female. Others may just fly past briefly, or settle in a nearby tree and watch. EJ, now in her eleventh season here and Odin, in his fifth, will strive to protect what is theirs - the eggs, the nest and each other. Over the course of the season, dozens of these said intruders will visit the nest. Some could be looking for a new nest after bad weather has damaged their nest (which is what started the EJ-Blue XD-Odin love triangle of last year, lest I remind you). Others will be young ospreys who have returned to Scotland for the first time after three years in West Africa, looking for a mate/nest, or just generally checking the site out - at this age they are still learning what's what, and it may be a couple of years until they finally breed successfully.

Over the last few days, we have seen a number of intruders. Odin chased off a couple of them before we had a chance to identify them. However, there have been a couple of occasions recently where intruders have shown up when Odin was off fishing. The first happened on Sunday afternoon (12th May). An un-ringed male attempted to land on the nest, but EJ was having none of it! As the bird approached the nest, she quickly shot-up off the eggs that she had been incubating for the past 22 days, and prevented the male from landing. He then settled in the dead tree to the right of the nest for about 5 minutes, before takiing off again after EJ made it clear he was unwelcome with her very loud, alarming call. Another intruder visited the nest while Odin was away yesterday morning (13th May). Ian, our Trail Warden and part of the Caper-watch team, was able to record some footage using the moveable camera situated to the right of the nest. This bird had been ringed as a chick, and we identified it as 'Blue DF' - a three-year old male who hatched out near Rothiemurchus. (Pictures below - apologies for the reflecting lights: they were taken from a TV screen)

I find it fascinating how ospreys are able to navigate their way from North Scotland to Africa, and then, after two or three years, instinctively make the return journey. Through ringing these magnificent birds, we know that they return to where they hatched out. But I also love to see intruding ospreys without an identifiable ring - Who are they? Where did they come from? How old are they? The mystery of an ospreys' identity all adds to the excitement of this conservation success story. The other day, I was lucky enough to attend a talk by Roy Dennis MBE, and he now thinks there are over 250 nesting pairs in Scotland - possibly 300 - fantastic numbers when you consider 50-odd years ago there was just the one pair in the UK - here at Loch Garten. So I'm sure we'll be seeing a few more intruders between now and the end of the season

I attempted to post this blog yesterday, but due to technical difficulties, was unable to post it until this morning. Good thing, actually, as I can tell you that Blue DF visited the nest again at 6 this morning. This time, instead of just sitting in the tree near the nest, he actually landed on the post just above the camera! Will this be the last we see of Blue DF? Somehow, I think not.

Blue DF - hatched out near Aviemore in 2010.

Un-ringed male - Is this the first time he has visited Loch Garten?

The song of the capercaillie........at least we know

richard thaxton — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:41:00 GMT

It's steady as we go at the osprey nest as we continue through incubation, with little to report this time around, so by way of a change, a piece about capercaillie, another of Scotland's iconic and totemic birds.

"Have you ever seen something that's now extinct?" This was a question asked of me by my then ten year old nephew, about 7 years ago now. Thankfully my answer was no and long may that be the case, but I found myself shocked by the question and it has haunted me ever since. His follow up question "how would you feel"? floored me too. I had never thought about it. So far, I had not needed to. Bereft, I guess? More than that, I could not say, but what will it feel like, for any of us, if the answer ever becomes a yes?

Currently, I hope, there will not be many people, to whom that question of his, knowingly applies. Sadly though, somewhere in the world creatures are becoming extinct probably almost on a daily basis, if only we knew it. Some of them quite literally exiting before we know they ever existed in the first place!

If you have been watching the latest blockbuster from David Attenborough, Life in Cold Blood, then you experienced such by proxy. That delightful golden frog from Panama that was featured effectively became extinct in the wild, no sooner than it was filmed for the programme – the last few were taken into captivity for safe keeping, to protect them from a deadly virus sweeping throughout Central America. Did you feel sad? Or maybe, having most likely never seen one, its fate perhaps had less or even no impact on you?

We hear so much these days about creatures who’s futures are uncertain, but whilst many a small, little-known rainforest creature will no doubt disappear for good, for now at least, most of the mega fauna - the bigger stuff, is largely still with us. Throughout the lives of all of us, creatures such as tigers, black rhino and sadly so much else, have been under threat, but mercifully most still hold on. Some are faring better than they were, others less so. However, I do not think we have yet lost anything that many of us are particularly familiar with.

Although we have already lost the Bali, Javan and Caspian subspecies of tiger, at least as a species, tigers hang on in there - just. However, they are under enormous pressures. We perhaps didn’t feel the loss of the individual races because we barely knew them, but now with television, world travel and the burgeoning interest in eco-tourism, more people these days have experienced the wonder of these and many other exotic creatures. Will we therefore feel differently if ever we lose them?

As a child I remember seeing some early black and white film footage of a Thylacine – the so-called Tasmanian tiger, but not a “real” tiger as we know them, but a marsupial wolf-like creature. The footage was of the very last one, pacing its cage in Hobart Zoo, Tasmania. The spooky thing was that there were people looking in at this captive creature, and it gave the footage all the more poignancy, to see that this now extinct animal was around in relatively recent human times, maybe not quite one’s own time, but it was seen by people of our parents or grandparents age – that last one died out in 1936.

Children, almost from the word go, know at a glance what a tiger, elephant, giraffe and panda look like. Hopefully, many will get the opportunity to see them for real, but if not, then at least on film, with the comfort of knowing that they’re still out there. On TV these days we marvel at the technological special effects used to bring dinosaurs and sabre-toothed cats “back to life”, by way of a vicarious experience. Fascinating as it may be to see recreations of animals that no one ever knew, what will it be like for future generations if they can only watch similar programmes about creatures that we know now, but they might not?

How aptly and lamentingly titled, is the book The Song of the Dodo, by David Quammen, about ecosystem decay and the loss of species - because dodos died out before recording equipment existed, so no-one knows what they sounded like, and now no-one ever will.

I think what shocked me about my nephew’s question, was how relatively powerless we can feel to save things like tigers or golden frogs. It’s not always easy to do something for far-flung species in far-flung lands. But it is not all out of sight, out of mind stuff. Some species much closer to home have uncertain futures too. For example, and most prominent for us here in Strathspey, is the capercaillie – an iconic species for Scotland and a totemic species for this area, and a huge draw for visitors. The return of the osprey to Scotland is a much vaunted and heartening conservation success story and numbers go from strength to strength. The future of capercaillie however, is much less certain.

They too are under threat. They number about 2,000 in Scotland, half the number of the few remaining Bengal tigers whose future is considered so very uncertain. For the caper on our doorstep, we owe it to future generations to try to do what we can to keep them.

Whether we like them and care about their future, or not, how might we feel were the answer ever to be “yes”, to that opening question above, from a nephew, a grandchild or great grandchild, curious and fascinated by the enigmatic capercaillie? Let us hope the answer is always an emphatic “no”.

February 2008

I wrote the above article for our local paper, back in 2008. Five years on the latest figure for the remaining capercaillie in Scotland is thought to be now just 900-1000 birds, in part likely due to more thorough survey work, but equally, reflecting further decline too.

They are facing a number of problems; loss of habitat and fragmentation of that remaining habitat, poor productivity (breeding success) owing to cold and wet periods of weather in early June when capercaillie hatch their eggs, the impact (literally) of birds colliding with deer fences, disturbance, and when a population is at a low ebb, the exacerbated but natural influences of predation.

Collectively we need to do what we can to help the remaining beleaguered capercaillie, be that working in partnership with land managers of areas where capercaillie occur, managing habitats to maintain, enhance, improve and expand them for capercaillie. These things take time and do not happen over night, but in the meantime there are other measures that we can all play a part in to help capercaillie.

For example, like attending Caper-watch at Loch Garten Osprey Centre, if you want to try to see a capercaillie. This seasonal event began 14 years ago, borne out of a conservation imperative to try to minimize the potential disturbance to capercaillie resulting from people actively searching for them early in the morning at this time of year – however unintentional or inadvertent any such disturbance might be. They are difficult birds to see, and for much of the year are, what I refer to as a bump-into-bird, a bird of chance encounter. And if you do see one, the likely view you get is of a caper’s backside as it clatters off through the trees having seen or heard you coming before you saw it.

The most reliable time to see capercaillie is in Spring, at lek sites – areas where they traditionally gather to go about their courtship ritual, cock birds sparring with each other for dominance, to secure the mating opportunities with the hens. Any disturbance during lekking, (a word of Swedish origin, for dancing), is likely to have consequences. Whilst the cocks might lek for 5-6 weeks, the number of mornings in that time when the hens attend the lek to be mated, might number just 5-6 mornings. Imagine then if disturbance were to occur on those few crucial mating-mornings, the hens might not be mated that day, or even that season if repeat disturbance were to occur on those vital mornings. Which is not going to help the fortunes of capercaillie.

As luck would have it, we see lekking capercaillie from the Osprey Centre which, back in 2000 when we started Caper-watch, gave us the opportunity to help & enable people to have the chance to see these birds, from the Centre facilities, with minimal, if any, disturbance, and in so doing play their part in capercaillie conservation.

During most Caper-watch seasons we receive c.2000+ people over the 50 mornings that we run the event (always from 1^st April to third Friday in May – this year 17^th May), averaging c.40-45 people per early morning session of 5.30am to 08.00am. So since 2000, we have helped c.26,000 people see one of Britain’s most threatened species, in a way that’s not to their detriment, negating the need to otherwise actively seek them out, leaving them in peace to go about their nuptials.

In so doing, it’s been our aim to try to change & influence people’s behaviour towards these birds, so that they are left in peace at this crucial time of year. And we are grateful to all those who have attended Caper-watch over the years and resisted the temptation to go looking elsewhere – if that’s you, then you played your part, thank you.

So-called rogue cock capercaillie crop up from time to time. These are birds that are completely fearless and confrontational, and will attack anyone or anything that comes near them. The chance for such a close-encounter can (understandably) prove irresistible, the chance to get that frame-filling photograph. But at what cost to the bird?

Normal lekking behaviour lasts for a few hours each morning during the lekking period, from first-light to around 07.30-08.00am, after which the cock birds retreat into cover to feed and rest. Lekking must be very taxing physiologically and I think we underestimate the stress these birds are under at this time of year. I’ve heard said that cock capercaillie can actually die at lekking time through sheer exhaustion, burnt out, spent, from their pumped-up exertions. The cocks will fight among themselves too, knocking the proverbial out of each other, feathers flying, all adding to the stress and physiological load the birds are under.

Imagine then, if you are tempted to go and see a reported rogue bird. Human presence provokes the rogue to lek and display, regardless of the normal timings, and these birds can end up strutting their stuff all day long, every day, for all and every person that turns up to see them at what ever time. So just when then do these birds get the chance to feed and rest? I would ask therefore, that if you do hear word of such rogue birds, that you please resist the temptation to go and see it, and that you play your part and leave the bird in peace. Thank you.

Come to Caper-watch instead. (Oh, he would say that wouldn’t he, because they make a charge…. Yes we do, a very modest one at that, that does not even come close to covering costs). Ok, yes I know it gets “mixed reviews” but we do the best we can under the circumstances presented to us by the birds each morning. Yes, birds can be tricky to see sometimes, and there can be complete no-show mornings too, but whilst views can vary from tricky and fleeting, to prolonged and stunning, the point is that the viewing has little or no negative impact on the birds themselves, they go about their business oblivious of those Caper-watch attendees enjoying seeing them.

Of other help you can be, is that if you are a dog owner, please keep your dog on a lead in areas where capercaillie occur, be that a rogue bird or otherwise. Sadly there was the unfortunate, widely publicized incident a season or so ago, where someone’s dog off a lead, shredded a male capercaillie.

Many thanks.

In our area on Monday 20th May?

richard thaxton — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:56:00 GMT

Then why not come along to the Boat of Garten Community Hall at 7.30pm to hear about.......

On Monday 20^th May, guest speaker at the Boat of Garten Community Hall summer talks programme is Derek Niemann of RSPB. His talk Birds in a Cage, based on his book of the same title, is the untold story of one of the most bizarre and enriching episodes in the history of British environmentalism.

At Warburg, Germany, in 1941, four British PoWs find an unexpected means of escape from the horrors of internment when they form a birdwatching society, and embark on an obsessive quest behind barbed wire. Through their shared love of birds, they overcome hunger, hardship, fear and stultifying boredom. Their quest draws in not only their fellow prisoners, but also some of the German guards, at great risk to them all.

Derek Niemann draws on original diaries, letters and drawings, to tell of how Conder, Barrett, Waterston and Buxton were forged by their experiences as POWs into the giants of post war wildlife conservation. Their legacy lives on, in institutions such as the RSPB and the British Wildlife Trust.

Peter Conder went on to become Director of RSPB and George Waterston established Fair Isle Bird Observatory and went on to become the Director of RSPB in Scotland (1955-1972). It was his early efforts that helped established Operation Osprey, affording protection to the ospreys returning to Strathspey in the 1950s and his vision that led to the opening of the original public osprey viewing facility, at Loch Garten in 1959.

The Osprey Centre is dedicated to the memory of George Waterston and his legacy lives on. If only he knew what his vision has become since opening in 1959. Over two million people have since visited and been thrilled and inspired by the osprey story and the Scottish conservation success story it has become. Derek’s talk will be a fascinating insight into the hardship these men faced and the part their passion for birds played in getting them through their ordeal. Try and come along if you can, or consider buying the book.

Derek Niemann is the editor of the RSPB’s children’s magazines and has written several books on nature and conservation for young readers. He lives in Bedfordshire with his family.

The talk will be given at Boat of Garten Community Hall at 7.30pm on Monday 20^th May

The details of the dead osprey found recently in Perthshire are as follow;

Ringed Loch Garten 5th July 1996, a male, ringed red/white TA on right leg. One of a brood of three young that year. Picked up dead 21st April 2013 near Loch Ordie, Perthshire. Aged 17 years. Believed to have been dead for 3 weeks or so, thought to be due to natural causes - inclement weather.

Ever had a wish, to see an osprey fish?

Kayleigh Brookes — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:32:00 GMT

Watching an osprey fishing is a magnificent experience. It is something that I did not fully appreciate until a few days ago, when I witnessed this amazing spectacle for the first time.

Recently, my colleagues and I were invited to watch ospreys fishing in the pool that EJ uses at Rothiemurchus fish farm, near Aviemore. EJ is a regular at Rothiemurchus, as she used to nest nearby. The staff there instantly know it is her when she visits, because she’s so much better at fishing than all the other ospreys!

So there we were, huddled in a hide at 5:40am, rain beating on the roof, waiting for an osprey to come and make our day. We were not disappointed! We had to wait rather a long time, but just before we were about to leave, a male showed up and treated us to a breathtaking display of aerial acrobatics and fishing finesse. Well, after a few tries anyway. It is written that adult ospreys are successful in one out of four attempts. That fact held true for this chap, and he kept dropping his catch when he got one! However, he managed to hold onto one in the end, aided by the spicules on the underside of his feet, and the fact that ospreys can reverse their outer toe to get a better grip.

It was a pleasure to watch, and we all felt extremely privileged to have witnessed it from such an advantaged position. We were able to take some quite decent photographs, which I have shared with you below.

Back on track.......

richard thaxton — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:50:00 GMT

........and steady as we go. Phew!

As you are by now aware, EJ and Odin have settled their differences, attended Relate, and have agreed to try to get along with each other and make more effort to be nice to each other. Odin's decided that eggs three and four are likely to be his, has accepted them and now dutifully shares incubation stints with EJ. Phew! It was looking like game-over for a while there, but all's well. For now.

I just thought I would share with you a couple of pictures send to me by some Loch Garten friends Ina & Oscar Vis from The Netherlands who visited us in 2011 and caught the "osprey bug", and ospreys have become their favourite birds. In March this year, they went to Florida, describing it to me as "paradise for osprey lovers", they even had a pair nesting on the roof of their hotel in the Everglades, and Oscar managed to get a few pictures to share (many thanks Oscar). Enjoy.

Amazing eh, how it manages to fly with only one and half wings! ;-)

Meantime, Spring has finally sprung, hopefully. After the first week in May, that variously saw frosts down to -6 on Tuesday, white-over with snow on Wednesday, and heavy driving sleet on Friday, we at last have had a warm and dry weekend. The Spring has though been very slow to kick-in, but redstarts are here now - listen for their song over the osprey microphone, and cuckoo, plus willow warbler- the song of which is for me anyway, the epitome of a Highland Spring. Though precious few swallows or martins and nae swifts as yet. Just as well really as there 'll be no insect food available to them yet.

Here's hoping this is the start of a sustained period of half-decent at least, if not good weather, for the summer ahead. Are we long-overdue for a good one, or what?

The latest on Caledonia is as follows; she has spent most of her time over the last week on the Huelva or the Rio Guadalquivir where it joins the Huelva. So fishing must be good! She did make a couple of trips. On 25th April she travelled 10 km E to a small stretch of water on what appears to be a quarry just S of Jarilla and returned to the Huelva by 16.00 hours. On 28th April she made a round trip W of some 45 km and at the farthest point she revisited the Embalase (reservoir) De Guadiamar which she also visited on 20 April. She was back at the Huelva by 12.00 hours.

The data now reverts to two data points per day and is available for download every 7 days. The first such report should be on 8 May.

My thanks to Mike for processing the latest data.

Webcam and Ringed Intruders

Jen Clark — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:57:48 GMT

A heads up for everyone – the webcam will be down from about 11am – 12 noon. Carnyx are doing essential maintenance but we will resume regular viewing ASAP.

Some of you may be wondering about the intruding ospreys we have been seeing at Loch Garten recently. Last week we had two ringed birds turn up at the nest. One which was Blue LK and the other which was Blue TA. Blue LK is a bird that hatched from the Tweed Valley nest in Peebles in 2009. Blue LK also goes by the name Tokyo, named by Eddlestone Primary School. We are waiting for Roy Dennis to get back to us with news on where Blue TA originated and I will let you know as soon as we hear back.

Now news of our own chick’s whereabouts. I have the latest on Caledonia.

Caledonia has been quite active over the last week. Her longest jaunt was on 20 April taking a round trip of 60 km N of the Huelva roost then W to a reservoir (Embalse De Guadiamar) at 10.00 hours, then S when at 12.00 hours she was over a small lake W of the Rio Guadiamar before flying E over Santucar La Mayor and Bormujos before arriving at the Canal De Alfonso III in Seville at 14.00 hours. She eventually returned to the Huelva roost at 16.00 hours. On 21 April she visited the Canal again and Isla Magica in Seville. On 22 April she was recorded over the centre of Seville travelling N at 35 km/hr and 51 m altitude. On 23 April she made a short round trip of 20 km E of the Huelva to a point S of El Castellan.

How do you like your eggs?

Jen Clark — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:26:25 GMT

I've been out planting trees on the wider Abernethy reserve this morning so Audrey has written a blog in my absence.

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How do you like your eggs? “In the morning!” Odin may say...

Today at 6.56 am EJ popped out egg number four after a restless night on the nest. Following egg number three on Saturday, 20 April, Odin has accepted his fatherly duties and has been without protest taking his turn at incubating. He spent most of last night on the perch below the nest, leaving at 5.15 am to look for breakfast.

At 6.56 am, it was noted that EJ was having contractions and a few minutes later egg number four was confirmed as she stood up, took a step back and flapped her wings. Hooray!

Odin came back at 7.49 am with a ten-inch brown trout and EJ went off to the perch below the nest with the fish. It looks like happy families for the Loch Garten ospreys today. Since then they’ve been seen mating successfully on the nest this morning. Just as I was typing this up, I was interrupted with the news of an intruding osprey perched on the camera tree at around 10.45 am. It was a male. We recorded him perching there and taking off after about 30 seconds. Looking closely at the footage to scrutinise his identity I can tell you it is not Blue XD. Odin and EJ were on the nest at the time and though they alarm called and mantled they did not create a big fuss over the intruder.

One of our diligent Osprey Watch volunteers, Helen, made an observation of the times between each laying. It was exactly 72 hours between eggs 1 and 2, both popping out at 1.40 pm. Between eggs two and three were 66 hours and 40 minutes, and between eggs three and four were 70 hours and 38 minutes. Both eggs three and four were laid in the morning: the two eggs that Odin accepted. This got us speculating: perhaps Odin knew his eggs would be laid in the a.m. hence disregarding the afternoon arrivals? But looking at previous records of when Odin and EJ’s eggs have been laid, our speculations were blown. Since 2009 Odin and EJ’s eggs have been laid at all times of the day and night ranging from 3.07 am to 8.12 pm. All I can say is eggspect the uneggspected!

Eggstatic News!

Jen Clark — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 09:16:00 GMT

I am eggtremely eggcited to tell you all the happy news. At 8.18am we had our third egg and just after 10am Odin brought in a fish. EJ left with the fish and we all held our breath. After a tense few minutes he has sat down and incubated the egg without any hesitation. Third time lucky! Round of applause for egg three!

Cracked Eggs and Caledonia

Jen Clark — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:20:00 GMT

Our nest is empty of eggs again this morning. EJ eventually came back to the nest yesterday and rolled her egg back into the cup and tucked it snugly under her brood patch. At around 6.30pm Odin returned to the nest to let EJ take an exercise flight and shocked us by sitting on the egg in what looked like a moment of remorse as he incubated the egg. Alas, this only lasted for a couple of minutes before he started scraping away again and the egg was kicked out of touch. It would now appear that we have another cracked egg that is buried under a pile of moss – out of sight, out of mind?

We could have another egg today or tomorrow. Despite his egg antics, Odin is behaving himself in every other respect. He has been sky dancing at first light, he is bring EJ a large fish every morning – a large rainbow trout was delivered at 9.23am today which EJ is currently eating on the perch below the nest – and has defended the nest from intruding ospreys (we had another fly over at 10.27am this morning). There have been many mating attempts with a good number of successful ones. Last night, for the first time, Odin roosted on the perch below the nest whilst EJ incubated a phantom egg on the nest. By keeping EJ well fed and defending the nest he is allowing EJ to conserve her energy and put her reserves into egg making. So all is not lost here yet, lets remain hopeful and keep our fingers crossed for a third egg.

Now to some brighter news. We have the latest on the tracking from Caledonia and unlike her parents she seems to be behaving herself!

Caledonia has been very sedentary over the last week spending most of her time around the River Huelva roost area with occasional trips to the nearby junction with the Rio Guadalquivir. However, at 10.00 hrs on 13 April she was on the Canal de Alfonso XIII near Isla Magica, on 14 April at 10.00hrs she was travelling S over the canal near Parque De Maria Luisa, Seville and at 12.00 hrs on 15 April she was flying S along the canal some 10 km S of the Huelva and near where she originally spent time on her first arrival in Seville. In all these trips she was back at the Huelva within 2 hours.

Nest Photos

Jen Clark — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:13:41 GMT

EJ is still perched under the nest with her fish. Although he is not incubating Odin has spent most of the day on the nest - EJ possibly thinks he is up there keeping her egg warm!

Our trail warden, Ian, photographed Odin under the nest yesterday so I thought I would share the photo with you, especially as it gives you an idea of where EJ is at the moment. EJ is currently perched on the perch that Odin is using in the photo. Both photos are of Odin.

Photos by Ian