Rfalconcam Forum

I am still following this Osprey webcam... the ranger's report from this morning is so enticing! The young male seems like a bit of a comedian as he learns his parenting role, while the more-than-expert mother continues to take her job very seriously... here's the news... (how DID he manage to bring in a 'sizeable rock'???)

Slainte!
Bobbie

--------

Osprey Diary 10th May
by Osprey Team


It is hard to believe that it could be as little as ten days until our first osprey chick might hatch! Things have progressed so fast, and there has been so much drama this season - we can only hope that it’s smooth sailing from here on.

In the last couple of days, we’ve had some interesting observations. The female osprey has a damaged talon on her left foot (second toe) which isn’t a big problem right now, but hopefully will regrow by the time she has to feed herself again. The male has brought a sizeable rock to the nest, along with his talons full of moss. The male has a distinct dislike of the Canada geese near his nest, and on Sunday morning he was seen dive-bombing one in the water no less than nineteen times!

Elsewhere on the reserve, our Blue Tit female has started incubating at least six eggs - the male is starting to bring her food in the nest box. There are more new Mallard ducklings on the loch, and the grebes are nesting. The woods around are carpeted with white flowers of wood anemone and sorrel, and the meadow is brightening with primroses and cowslips. The willows and alders around the loch are in full leaf, the hawthorn is in blossom, and even the sleepy old oaks are budding. The wonder of spring is upon us.

Emma Rawling

Perthshire Ranger

Terrific pix right now on the Osprey camera - someone in there preening away - no idea who, but great to watch! Thanks to Donna, here is the link again...

http://www.thewebbroadcastingcorporation.com/swt/swt.php

Bobbie, that's one of the babies.  :clap:

Thought it might be... thanks! Of course I will get nothing done for the rest of the afternoon as I view the proceedings... what an amazing story, huh? Don't even want to think about Mom's southward migration... still - she is already part of Wildlife History.

Jeanne, I see you are viewing the Osprey Cam now - aren't those images super?! I love the guy with the fish, making all the noise - tho what he has to complain about, I do not know!

His Mother should have told him: "It's rude to talk with your mouth full!"

http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ (http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/) Bobbie, here's something you may enjoy.

Thanks, Donna - just signed up!

http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/webcams/loch-of-lowes/ (http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/webcams/loch-of-lowes/)  Wildlife cam Loch of Lowes

Whoa! Are they back?? I check every now and then as we await - with great trepidation! - the return of the great, the legendary Lady of Lowes for one more season... seems like to much to ask for, but one always has hope.

Try to watch the night-time cams when they get Pine Martens... lovely critters, and rare enough. I have seen only one.

Back in March, I hope she comes back too Bobbie. She went through a lot last season.

She returned last March, Donna? I could not remember... Not sure I can look!

It was on this day last year that the remarkable Lady of Lowes returned to her nest-site, having done so for so many years. I am watching with fearful anticipation. Wish her well, everyone!

Oh yes, I do hope she returns! She started off not well last year but shocked us all. Come on Lady, we're rootin for ya!

 :pray: :wave:

From the Scottish Wildlife Trust...

One year ago today
Posted on March 23, 2011 by nmcgovern


Dear bloggers,

As I’m sure you’ll all remember, one year ago today we were delighted to confirm that our resident female osprey had returned for the 20th year!  Needless to say, we were gobsmacked.  Most readers of this blog are, of course, very familiar with the bird now commonly known as ‘Lady’, however a quick recap of this individual osprey’s ‘lifetime of achievements’ never fails to impress us.

So, exactly how impressive can one old bird be?  We say – let the statistics speak for themselves:

Species: Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
Estimated age: 25 years (the average lifespan of an osprey is 8 years)
Number of eggs lain in her lifetime: 58
Number of chicks fledged from her nest: 46
Estimated number of miles travelled in her lifetime: 120,000 miles (3000 miles x 2 (from West Africa to Perthshire and back again) every year for approximately the last 20 years)

It might be interesting to note that, despite being thought to be 25 years old, ‘Lady’ has migrated back to the UK (or at least certainly back to Loch of the Lowes) only 20 times.  This is because young ospreys make their first migration to West Africa when they fledge from their mother’s nest, and they don’t return until they are sexually matured between three and five years later.   

Last year, our osprey was seen landing on the nest at 2 pm so the eyes of our staff and volunteers are turned to the skies at Lowes for any sign of a magnificent bird in flight.  Our HD nest camera is currently under repair, but please rest assured we are doing all we can to fix this problem and identify any other alternatives so that people can view the nest as soon as possible.  Although we can’t be sure, we expect an osprey might return in another few days.  In 2009, she returned on 20th March.  In 2008, she was back on 30th March.  And while we remain hopeful of her return, we must of course prepare ourselves for the fact that she might not be back.  She is an incredibly old bird after all.  Last year, she suffered from an illness on the nest and experts thought she was unlikely to recover.  Although she did rally her spirits and go on to complete the breeding season, leaving for Africa on 4th August, her fate remains unknown since then.

At Loch of the Lowes, we remain hopeful, but it could be that we welcome a new bird to the nest this year – to begin a new era of osprey breeding here.  As always, we will keep you up-to-date as events unfold.

 :pray:  God speed!  ;D

The webcam is now live as they await the return of the ospreys... any time now, they say, but whether The Lady will be among us again, no one knows. We can but hope...

http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/webcams/loch-of-lowes2/ (http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/webcams/loch-of-lowes2/)

 :thanks2: for the link! ;D

Unidentified osprey pays a visit to the nest

Posted on March 28, 2011 by lotladmin


We’re excited to let you know that within the last two hours an unidentified osprey has paid a visit to our nest.  At around 12.10 pm today, an osprey popped up in view, landing on the nest for a few short minutes before taking off again.

Unfortunately, as the visit was so brief, we are unable to make a positive ID.  However we are hopeful that it could have been our resident female osprey, known by many as ‘Lady’, because the bird did not appear to have a leg ring.

As always, we will be watching over the nest and we hope to make a positive identification of any bird which arrives and then proceeds to take ownership of the nest, occupying it for a prolonged period of time.

 :pray:  Fingers crossed!  ;D

Come on "LADY" luck!

Osprey update – 29th March 2011, 8am
Posted on March 29, 2011 by jonathan

We’re all on the edge of our seats this morning at Loch of the Lowes, as the events on the nest since my last post yesterday have made for some really exciting bird watching.  After we closed up the Visitor Centre last night, we received reports to our dedicated email address ospreys@swt.org.uk from web cam watchers that a bird returned back to the nest at 5:55pm.  According to these reports the bird stayed on the nest, enjoying a fish for over an hour.  We’re looking back through our recorded footage to get the exact times and watch this bird’s behaviour.

We know that some of you out there are hopeful that this bird could be our resident female osprey, ‘Lady’.  We hope so too, however while this bird looks like and is behaving like our female  we cannot confirm the identity of this bird until we get a close-up image of its right eye.  As our resident female is not ringed, she is identifiable by a distinctive mark in her iris.  This morning we arrived particularly early to the visitor centre to try and achieve a positive ID, however just as we were adjusting the camera the bird flew off the nest.

This is absolutely amazing! The Lady of the Lowes has returned! I can hardly believe it. I am so excited! (Did you guess?) Never even saw the place or the Lady, but she has got into my heart somehow. Here's the update...

Osprey update – 28th March 2011, 9:50am
Posted on March 29, 2011 by jonathan

Hi all,

I am delighted to tell you that after detailed inspection of close-up images of the bird’s iris via the HD camera, we are able to confirm that the bird currently on the nest is indeed ‘Lady’.

All the staff and volunteers here at Loch of the Lowes are overjoyed at her return and we look forward to bringing you news of her progress throughout the season.

We now eagerly await the return of her partner.

We are aware of the ongoing problems with the picture quality and lack of sound on the webcam, and hope that these will be rectified soon.

Jonathan

Forgot to send the webcam link, so excited was I - and there she is on the nest right now... woo-hoo!

http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/webcams/loch-of-lowes2/ (http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/webcams/loch-of-lowes2/)

They do seem to be having the odd camera prob but things do not look bad at the moment (GMT 09.27, Tuesday 29 March 2011)

She is truly phenomenal!   :bow: :bow: :notworthy: :notworthy: 

What a wonderful surprise!  :clap: :clap:

Isn't it, Carly? She sure is. I hardly dared hope she would make it back for one more year, but she has.

(DO mind re keeping their webcam on, everyone. I left it open and suddenly heard this weird noise coming from my nice new Big Mac - only the webcam buzzing, phew! So just have little peeks and then click it off... if you get me.)

 :yahoo: :the_wave:  This is wonderful news!!!  :2thumbsup: :thumbsup: ;D

This is the best news aside from RM laying her eggs and Beauty about to!! Thanks Miss Bobbie. Go Lady!!

 :thumbsup:

Wonderful news!!  That is one tough Lady!  :clap:

What a bird!  :bow:

I followed the Loch of the Lowes Osprey blog and streaming video last year, and am so excited that Lady is back! What an incredible wildlife story. Here's hoping that her mate returns soon.

:yahoo:

Three's a crowd at Loch of the Lowes?

Visitors at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve and Visitor Centre have been treated to seeing not one, not two, but three ospreys today. The three birds have been spotted together since the charity confirmed earlier that the osprey thought to be oldest breeding female of its kind ever recorded in the UK has returned for the 21st consecutive year.

(c) Graeme HartThe identity of the two newly spotted ospreys remain unconfirmed, however wildlife experts have suggested that they could either be the usual mate of the resident female osprey and a new female interloper or a new pair looking to oust the old bird from her nest. Ospreys at Lowes 29/3/11 (c) Graeme Hart   

Robert Potter, Scottish Wildlife Trust’s North East Reserve Manager, said: "Seeing these additional two ospreys around the reserve is an unexpected but marvellous sign of the wildlife which is thriving here at Loch of the Lowes. This morning we were thrilled to confirm that our resident female osprey was back again this year. The other birds now spotted in the area certainly add another level of intrigue to the unfolding drama.

"One possibility is that one of these birds could be the male mate of our resident female from last year. In this case, the other bird could be an interloping female or ‘love rival’ who will be trying to tempt the male away from our female and take ownership of the nest.

Osprey in nest; osprey overhead, at Lowes 29/03/11  (c) Graeme Hart

"Another possibility is that these two birds are already pair-bonded as a mating unit. In this case, they could also be trying to take over the nest. In any case, our old osprey is holding her ground. All three have been seen flying closely together around the visitor centre, and our osprey seems to see the pair off as they then flew down to the other side of the Loch."

Just saw another Osprey swoop down on Lady. She shielded her nest with her wings to let that other know...THIS IS MINE!!  :clap: I hope no battles there with her. She doesn't need this. She looks tough though.

Thanks, Donna - had not been able to check throughout the day, so I am happy to hear re this. Just look fierce, Lady - we've got your back!

I just checked the forum before going to class and saw the great news that Lady is back!  I hope she will hold tough!  Wow wow wow!!!  I am teary and thrilled at the same time!  She came back!!!!!!!!!!!

I am soooo pleased to hear back from so many of you, sharing my excitement at the return of the Lady of Lowes. Thanks for that. And as I won't be able to do much checking from now on as I get ready to return to ROC as of Monday, I will very much look forward to any of your updates. That one from Donna re three ospreys was something! Hope Lady teaches 'em all a lesson.

Slainte!

Bobbie

Oh, you are not alone in being excited about the Lady's return.  What a magnificent bird!

Hopefully, I'll get to see you if and when I get there Bobby! Workin it! :)

I for one am thrilled she is back. You go girl. Now if your mister will just come and help you defend your nest. So we can watch you again this year. She is just amazing.

Just heard a blip about her on NPR morning edition...

World fame! The BBC has been covering it too. I continue to marvel.

Here's today's report... lots going on there... hope the Lady does not expend all her energy seeing off interlopers...


Afternoon folks,

Here’s today’s news…

Osprey update:

We arrived this morning at 9am to find our resident female at the nest tucking into a large fish. After closer inspection we believe the fish to have been a rainbow trout – these are found in nearby Butterstone Loch and make an excellent meal for an osprey regaining its strength after a 3,000 odd mile migration.

She didn’t hang around for long though, leaving the nest (with fish) at 9:02 for nearly two hours, returning at 10:53. Maybe she just fancied a change of scenery whilst enjoying her ‘breakfast’.

Shortly after returning at 10:55, still carrying half of the fish, our female was joined by an uninvited guest. Another osprey landed on the nest – unringed, so not her partner 7Y, it stood at the edge of the nest whilst our female spread her wings to protect both the nest and the remains of her fish. This behaviour, known as ‘mantling’ is a typical defensive posture for a female osprey defending her nest site, lying somewhere between driving the intruder off and accepting its presence. The stand-off ended at 11:15 when both birds flew off and our resident female quickly returned to re-assert her authority.

The nest site remained quiet over the next few hours until 14:36 when another interloper landed on the branch behind the nest. There were also two other ospreys flying around in the vicinity so at this point we could see four ospreys – the most so far this season.

As with the earlier visitor, the bird on the branch was unringed, so not our female’s partner of last year. Our female repeated her ‘mantling’ display, but then surprisingly at 14:41 flew off, leaving both the remains of her earlier fish and the nest unguarded. The bird on the branch then proceeded to drop down onto the nest before flying off with the fish.

This ‘theft’ was the last action of note with our female returning to the nest minus fish shortly afterwards. Undoubtedly though, this will have been the first of many dramas to unfold over the coming months.

OY..Poor Lady!

Donna, is this the same "Lady" osprey that had such a tough time last year, and had to make the long migration?

Yes Margaret, the same Lady! She made it.

Thank you, Donna.  Wasn't sure if my memory served me. Aren't birds amazing?  Their strength, fortitude and ability to survive  in desperate conditions is impressive.   As a native Long Islander,  I remember  seeing osprey nests on telephone/light poles all over Shelter Island and Sag Harbor area.  Amazing birds.

Today's update -lookin' good! Yay!


Wildlife Blog 3rd April 2011


Morning all!!

We have more news from the nest this morning:

We can confirm that 7Y has returned!!!

An osprey was seen in the area at around 7.50am this morning and was accepted by our resident female. Mating has been taking place all morning.

At 10am we had a clear image of the green ring bearing the mark 7Y. Here at Loch of the Lowes we are all pleased that last year’s male has returned to take his place for the season ahead. This year the male has arrived 5 days later than our resident female who returned on 28th March at 5.55pm.

We will do our best to keep you all up to date with the events that unfold.

Anna

Perthshire Reserves Seasonal Ranger

Such good news!!!!  Maybe there will be fewer territorial battles since there will be two of them defending the nest!

Keep an eye on 'em for me, guys!!

Will do Bobbie and what a difference a day makes!  ;D

Wonderful news!  :clap:

Excellent news from across the big pond!  So looking forward to a good nesting season for these two.  Thank you so much for the informative updates.
 :clap:

I am completely besotted with them!

She is staying close to her nest, She's been rearranging the sticks.

LONDON (AP) — Birders are waxing poetic over a female osprey named Lady — she's lived three times longer than average and has faithfully returned to the same Scottish loch for over two decades.

Over 130,000 people watched the imposing bird of prey on a webcam the day after she returned to the banks of the Loch of the Lowes, a lake in Perthshire, Scotland last week. Lady had completed an annual 3,000-mile (5,000-kilometer) migration from west Africa to the banks of the same Scottish lake for the 21st consecutive year.

Most ospreys have an average life span of around eight years, but Lady is estimated to be 26. The raptor dines on fish and can reach nearly 2-feet (60-centimeters) tall with a wingspan up to 6 feet (2 meters).

On Sunday, Lady's most recent mate — an 11-year-old male who first appeared at the Loch of the Lowes last year — came back and settled himself into her nest. Ospreys usually mate for life, but Lady's long lifespan means she has outlived most of her partners.

"She's the most incredible sight, and it's been amazing to see her mate return today too," said Jonathan Pinnick, assistant manager of the Loch of the Lowes visitor center. "She's a real draw for the center."

This year's sighting of Lady, who has a unique lightning bolt-shaped defect on the iris of her right eye, was even more special as she appeared unwell last year and rangers had feared she would not survive the migration.

Lady hatched two fledgling osprey last year and rangers are watching to see if she is still fertile this year.

Her return has captured the imagination of bird lovers around the world, who follow her movements through a webcam and blog set up by The Scottish Wildlife Trust that runs the Loch of the Lowes nature reserve.

Ospreys were once a common sight in Britain but almost became extinct in the 19th century after people collected their eggs.

"Fashionable Victorian gentlemen used to go for walks and pick up osprey eggs as a hobby, without really thinking through the consequences," said Pinnick.

Osprey numbers are now increasing slowly but there are still only around 250 pairs of osprey in Scotland.

Lovely Lady

 ;D

Our resident male and female have continued mating throughout the day and we are all hopeful of seeing eggs in the near future.  We have also seen 7Y bringing in sticks and both Ospreys have been adding to the nest.  Ospreys build up the sides of their nest during the start of the breeding season to protect the eggs from rolling out the nest.  In the happy event of chicks hatching the adults will start to flatten the nest out, giving the chicks more room as they grow and a platform to fledge from.

The Ospreys residing at Loch of the Lowes are situated in a great location. They have all the resources they need in terms of fish, using the lochs locally and occasionally travelling as far as the River Tay to catch salmon.   :clap:

Gee is it Lord & Lady??   :heart:

Wish them well this season.  :2thumbsup:

 goodnews:  Good for you Lady!   :heart:

Events from the nest today: April 7

Viewers of the nest today will notice what a good job our pair of ospreys have done so far in building up the sides to create the bowl shape needed to protect the eggs from rolling out. Ospreys are notoriously quite particular about their nests; constantly adjusting bits of material – this is a trait that our female continues to display, as she has done over her previous years breeding here at Loch of the Lowes.

We still all have hope for some eggs to be laid in the near future. With mottled reddish brown markings, these eggs are surprisingly small being the size of an average hen egg!

A question that we received via ospreys@swt.org.uk  queried if there is a way to tell apart our male and female when they are on the nest, as it is increasingly difficult to see our male’s green ring bearing the 7Y mark. My response to this would be to suggest comparing the size of the two birds as male ospreys are generally 20% smaller than females. It is difficult to tell them apart when they are not together, as there is little variation in markings of male and female ospreys.

The markings on our female osprey are also means for identification. These along with her confident behaviour claiming her domain on the nest, are clear indicators as to her identity. We have been able to match these traits with the ‘lightning bolt’ defect marking on her iris, which we now use as a simple means to identify her.

At 9.30am this morning there was another osprey is the vicinity. At this time our male was on his perch but returned to the nest. The presence of our two ospreys was enough on this occasion to deter any intruder without causing any distress.

Both ospreys have been on and off the nest during the day, with our resident male bringing in a fish at 10.48am, which our female then flew off with.   

Events from the nest today: 4-11

Today has been an extremely eventful day for our osprey pair so far. The male osprey was seen spectacularly catching a fish in front of the hide early this morning. An interloper was seen mid-morning in the vicinity of the nest. In reaction, 7Y made to chase the interloper away from the nest and did not return for several minutes. Thanks to the male’s efforts, the intruder has not been seen since.

In reply to a question we received via ospreys@swt.org.uk, we do have the ability to reposition the camera during the day and once the eggs are laid we will be zooming in to examine them more closely. However, this will be done intermittently and only during daylight hours as the night vision camera cannot be repositioned.

Another question we were asked was why the female osprey upon receiving a fish from her mate, promptly flies off with it to eat elsewhere. This behaviour is normal for the period before the eggs are laid as it is essentially going through the motions of incubation. Once incubation has started, the male will consume the head of the fish himself, and will then deliver the other half to the female, who will leave the nest, allowing the male to take over her duties. This gives the female a welcome break and a chance to get some exercise.

Events from the nest today: 4-10

The day-to-day task of keeping his mate well nourished continues for the male osprey. At 11:08am a fish was delivered, which the female then flew away with to eat elsewhere. Then at 12:51pm the male visited the nest again, bringing with him another fish. This was rejected by the female and was taken away 10 minutes later.

Despite the pressures of providing constantly for his mate, the male osprey seems to have taken to his task with fervour, displaying the same dedication which he showed the previous year when the female was fighting to hold onto life.

The pair have attempted to mate throughout the day. This behaviour will most likely continue until the eggs are laid to ensure that there is every chance the female will produce a healthy clutch.

Events from the nest today: 4-9

It has been a somewhat routine day for our pair of opreys, with the male bringing in fish this morning for our female to keep her strength up. This is a very important job as a regular intake of protein is necessary for her to produce healthy eggs, something which we are all hoping for!

Later this morning the male visited the nest twice bringing in the occasional stick to add to the nest. Though his most important job is to bring in food for the female, this is also useful as she can remain on the nest and continue create the nest bowl where the eggs will be laid.

Around lunchtime the male attempted to mate with our female but was not entirely successful. This may be a sign that the eggs are already developing and she is refusing his advances because of this.

Events from the nest today: 4-8

During the early hours of this morning, our female osprey could be seen adjusting and building the nest. We are all still looking forward to the possible prospect of eggs in the next few days as our female has been displaying positive behavioural signs.

They have been busy getting ready. Nice fluffy soft cup for eggs.

News just in: our female osprey, known as 'Lady', at Loch of the Lowes has just laid its first egg of the season. This is the 59th egg she has laid in 21 years. She's thought to be 26 years old. We could see chicks in around five weeks from now!


This is great! Good luck Lady!

 :2thumbsup:

 goodnews:

 :yahoo: :heart:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NT_RwdOWuI#noexternalembed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NT_RwdOWuI#noexternalembed) Lady and the Egg

 :clap:  Wonderful!   ;D

lady, you are something else--all the best---do we know who the dad is?
har to believe he has been around for all 59 eggs, but Lady maybe just that alluring :heart: :heart: :2thumbsup:

Lady's second egg was laid today:

http://blogs.swt.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.swt.org.uk/osprey/)

 :star: :star:  This "Lady" is remarkable!!!  :clap: :heart: ;D

SWEET, let's hope their fertile!  :clap:

YAAAAAY! Thanks for keeping an eye on things, everyone! I never seem to have the time when I am home and on Dad Duty!

Slainte!

Bobbie

Events from the nest today:  4-17

This morning passed very peacefully here at Loch of the Lowes, 7Y took over duties on the nest at 7:30 this morning until 9:00, demonstrating his dedication as a mate once again.  There was a brief flurry of action earlier this afternoon, however, with an intruder spotted over the loch at 12:59.  Our resident female was very protective of the eggs; spreading herself out over them and alarm calling persistently.  She remained alert and wary for some time after the intruder had left.

The last few hours have been more relaxed on the nest.  Our resident female has swapped over egg duties with her mate 3 times this afternoon to cool down by flying low over the loch and dipping her talons in the water.  A fantastic sight!!  

Looks like dad on eggs. Lady there too.  

 :2thumbsup: Awesome news! Thanks Donna!!!   :heart: ;D

I am sooooooo excited! From the Loch of Lowes Blog today...

Good afternoon all,

Events from the nest today:

WE HAVE A THIRD EGG!

The event actually took place at 7:15pm last night and was recorded by our 24 hour Species Protection team. We are delighted that our resident female has produced three eggs this year despite her age.  Last year our female laid three eggs, two of which hatched and this year we are hoping for similar success. Of course there is a chance that none of the eggs will be fertile, yet we are hopeful.

At 7:36am today the male flew in to the nest with a fish with which to supply his mate.  Then at 3:35pm he arrived with yet another fish. The majority of the day has passed with a routine of switching places to take turns at incubation. With 7Y continuing to be an excellent mate, performing his role well.

If you would like to view the footage of our female laying her second egg, here is a link to view it online: Loch of the Lowes, female osprey laying her second egg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxdORaWVk2s#noexternalembed)

Other Wildlife at Loch of the Lowes:

The loch was covered in a thick layer of mist this morning which lowered visibility considerably.  However, several species of duck could be seen on the water including tufted duck, goldeneye and mallard, as well as great crested grebes, mute swans and Canada geese.  Above the water, approximately 70 sand martins were observed feeding and 6 swallows were sighted heading north over the loch.

At the feeders, chaffinches were in abundance.  Also making an appearance were siskins, greenfinches and yellowhammers, along with two great spotted woodpeckers.

The highlight of the day had to be the common sandpiper that was spotted flying in to the loch shore near the crannog hide. These small, sandy coloured waders are summer visitors to Britain, arriving during April and May. Preferred habitats are lakes surrounded by forest with stony shores.

Simon

That's fantastic Bobbie, thanks. I didn't get a chance to look at all the cams today. Nice to see you on! I miss "Bobbie in the morning" on WRFC!  :wave:

Yeah, what she said!  :wave:

Lady of the loch is just fantastic--makes you proud to
be a female and kodus to her mate as well

What a Lady! A superstar mum with 250,000 fans

Thanks to devoted conservationists, the mesmerising bird was back and breeding, soaring, hovering, gliding on the thermals and thrilling an increasing influx of excited twitchers and birders.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-1379489/What-Lady-A-superstar-mum-250-000-fans.html?ito=feeds-newsxml (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-1379489/What-Lady-A-superstar-mum-250-000-fans.html?ito=feeds-newsxml)

April 22

Incubation continues on the nest, now 9 days after the first egg was laid by our female.

Her mate, 7Y, has been doing a fantastic job bringing a continual supply of fish for our female. Since the blog post yesterday, 3 fish have been brought by 7Y. The first of the evening came at 6.37pm, followed by a small fish at 8.30pm.  This afternoon at 1.35pm another fish was brought which we suspect may have been a perch.

The male also continues to bring nesting material, building the nest even higher around his mate. This behaviour is similar to last year where staff here at Loch of the Lowes grew increasingly amazed and rather amused by the sheer volume of material that 7Y brought to the eyrie at this stage.

 :heart:

Yay! Thanks for the news, Donna!

Slainte!

B.

Good afternoon all,

Events from the nest today:

We must begin by mentioning a bit of drama which happened after the previous blog entry yesterday evening. At 17:24; an interloper was seen landing on the nest with our female osprey. It did not appear to have a ring and our female did not behave as she would with her mate, mantling over the eggs and calling agitatedly. She then appeared to take a swipe at it with her wing, causing it to fly away. Although our female continued to be alert tense for some minutes, the interloper did not return. For the remainder of the day and into the night our female looked very settled on the nest after 7Y had brought her a final delivery of a perch at 18:48.

Today began with a few interlopers and bothersome crows and a grey heron causing the female to alarm call and mantle.  7Y has delivered two fish to our female today. The first was a whole perch at 13:19. Then he flew in with a large, headless trout at 16:55. Having been well fed today, our female should all being well have a comfortable night ahead of her.

A question we received via ospreys@swt.org.uk asked us how we tell the male and female ospreys apart. The female is around 20% larger than the male bird and looks bulkier when sitting on the nest. The male, 7Y, is most easily identified by his green leg ring. Also, we will from time to time zoom in on the birds in order to take a closer look at them. When this happens you may be able to see a lightning bolt-shaped defect on the female’s right iris. This mark is unique to her like our fingerprint is unique to us.

Bless her heart, she is such a strong gal.  Hope the interlopers stay away

Incubation has been continuing on the nest throughout the day, with 7Y sitting for almost 2 hours during one period.  At 2.40pm our male could be seen catching a fish by the tree. Once 7Y had successfully made his catch, a crow and a buzzard attempted to take the fish from him. Our male then left with the fish for approximately 15 minutes, while our female called. He then returned with the fish and delivered it to our female who then took the fish and flew away with it.

April 28

Via Blackwater, an amusing interview with Lady Osprey (http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/lady-the-osprey-theres-life-in-the-old-girl-yet-ndash-a-warm-welcome-to-a-regal-eagle-2260770.html)

That was cute! Thanks.

 :clap: Quite entertaining!  Thanks!  ;D

Loved this!

Events at the nest today:

Our male osprey has been busying himself with bringing in nesting material today. He has brought in moss and sticks with which to keep the nest in a fit condition for incubation. However, at 12:05pm he flew in to the nest with a fish which the female then flew away with it to eat elsewhere.

A question we received via ospreys@swt.org.uk asked us whether the juvenile ospreys return to nest at the same site and what we know about their survival rate. Research has shown that ospreys will return to the same region to breed. Our male 7Y was ringed locally. Unfortunately we do not know what has happened to previous years’ chicks as none of these were ringed. However, this year we are hoping to raise enough money to satellite track at least one of the chicks if they should hatch. For more information on our satellite tracking program, follow this link: http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/osprey-tracking/ (http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/osprey-tracking/)

This morning, a fish was delivered to the nest at 4.41am by our male. As usual, our female osprey took the fish and flew off with it to eat elsewhere. Our female then did not return to the nest site until 8.26am, leaving her mate to incubate for 3 ¾ hours!!! Our male, 7Y, then took over incubation again at 10am. Our female then returned briefly for 30mins at 11.26am, before 7Y took over again at 11.55am. Our male then incubated until 2.40pm (a further 2 ¾ hours!) when our female returned who is now still incubating. We will not know if our female has caught a fish for herself during the time that she has spent away from the nest. At 5.08pm 7Y returned to the nest, this time with a fairly large headless fish. Our female then accepted this fish and flew away with it, leaving her mate to incubate.

It has now been over 4 weeks since the first egg was laid by our female on the 13th April. Since then we have seen a dedicated period of incubation from both male and female osprey here at Loch of the Lowes. All we can do now is continue to wait to find out if any eggs will hatch. We can reasonably expect this to begin happening on around the 20th May, if indeed the eggs are viable. Our team working hard during Osprey Watch will continue to guard the nest from any egg thieves or unintentional human disturbances that may cause the pair to abandon the nest and eggs.

May 11

Events from the nest today:

Today we have seen some osprey drama here at Loch of the Lowes. At 12.05pm, our male osprey, 7Y, returned to the nest with a fish.  As he attempted to deliver his catch to our female, an intruding osprey landed on the nest!  Our female grew distressed and made a series of alarm calls.  7Y sprang into action and chased the intruder off the nest, still gripping the fish he was delivering.  Once he had successfully seen off the third osprey, 7Y returned with the headless trout at 12.20pm which our female then accepted and flew away from the nest with.

This afternoon has seen another intruder in the vicinity at 2.30pm which circled the nest. Our male – who was incubating at the time in our female’s absence – mantled and called. We cannot be sure whether or not it is the same bird that landed on the nest this morning, but our male’s presence was enough to cause the intruder to leave the area. 

Heavy sigh! So many dangers out in the wild for our beloved birds!  :heart:

7Y seems to be the most dedicated of fathers----are these his 1st eggs or is it possible
to know? the Lady has used her years and experience to pick him as a mate

He was Lady's Mate last year. So no they are not his first. The postings said he is 11 years old so Lady may not be his first mate either. He is a good mate and a good papa.

lucky chicks--2 great parents

May 14th

It is now over a month since the first egg was laid by our female on the 13th April and here, at Loch of the Lowes, staff and volunteers continue to wait with hope to find out if the eggs are viable and any hatch. We can reasonably expect an egg to hatch in a week’s time on 20th May as this will be 37 days (the average incubation period) after the first egg was laid.

Throughout the day, our famous pair of ospreys has been incubating the three eggs. Our male, 7y, has been continuing to bring nesting material, ensuring the nest maintains the shape needed at this stage in the season. At 10.06am our male returned to the nest with a delivery of part of a fish for our female. Not only had the head been consumed, but also the majority of the fish. Our female left for over an hour to eat the fish and have a break from incubation.

With the first egg hopefully due to hatch this weekend things are looking very positive, with the resident female observed listening to the eggs at 00.47 this morning.  This is an excellent sign that at least one of the eggs may be viable and hatch soon

So far today the resident male, 7Y, has not brought any fish to the nest, but last night he delivered 2 large fish, one at 17.55 and another at 18.55.  Today has passed away peacefully on the nest with egg turning and regular swapping of incubation duties.  :clap:

bless her heart!  What a mama!

Loch of Lowes is still waiting too...


Wildlife Blog 28th May 2011
Posted on May 28, 2011 by annaranger

Events from the nest today:

It is now 45 days after the first egg was laid, 42 after the second, and 39 after the third. There is still a chance of eggs hatching and us seeing chicks in the nest this year. Here at Loch of the Lowes we remain hopeful.

Our famous pair of ospreys are continuing with incubation duties, making changeovers and regularly turning the eggs. At 10.39am our male osprey, 7Y, brought a small pike to the nest which our female then took to eat elsewhere; returning to the eyrie at 1.45pm.

Questions we received via ospreys@swt.org.uk queried what our pair of ospreys would do if the eggs do not hatch this year.  Should this be the case, it is likely that the pair will continue to incubate for some time and then make an early migration back to West Africa.  Last year, there was a third egg on the nest which failed to hatch. Our female continued to incubate this egg whilst the two successful chicks were small.  However, I’d like to reiterate that we remain optimistic, as there is still a chance of eggs hatching this year.

 :mbanana:  No matter what the outcome is... the Lady rocks!  :bguitar:  :heart:

MAK I totally agree she is amazing! You go girl.  :notworthy:

May 31

Our famous osprey pair continue to incubate the three eggs here at Loch of the Lowes, with our female incubating throughout the night. At 4.18am our male osprey, 7Y, could be seen perched nearby on in a silver birch tree, with a clear view of the nest. The male then arrived at the nest this morning at 5am to take over incubation duties. 7Y incubated for 1 ½ hours until our female returned at 6.30am. The pair then took turns over incubation duties for the morning; turning the eggs routinely. Then, at 1.35pm our male osprey delivered a fish, which the female began to eat on the nest. The male then arrived to take the remainder of the fish away, but returned with it at 3.07pm. At this point, both ospreys ate some of the fish on the nest, before 7Y again took off with the remains. Later, at around 4.30pm, our male arrived at the nest with another fish, this time a salmon. Both ospreys remained on the nest for some minutes with our male still grasping the headless salmon in his talons. Our female then took the fish and flew off with it leaving her mate to incubate.

I sure hope they have a hatch soon....times a tickin.

Dad is rearranging the nest...nervous Nellie!

Still no hatch for the Lady and her mate. Getting worried!

Wildlife Blog 2nd June 2011
Posted on June 2, 2011 by annaranger

Good evening all,

Events at the nest over the past two days:

Our osprey pair has continued to incubate the eggs determinedly over the past two days with both birds taking turns at duties as usual. The male has spent his time bringing in the occasional stick, and more importantly, the odd fish.

The following gives a slightly more detailed account of the events of the past two days to compensate for the webcam being down and may repeat some details from yesterday’s blog.

At 12:37pm on Wednesday 1st of June, he brought in a small pike with which to feed his mate. Then again at 02:08pm he arrived with another fish, this time headless.

At 04:18pm, another osprey was spotted flying close to the nest. This prompted the male to leave the nest and give chase. He then returned around five minutes later having successfully seen off the interloper.

At 04:09am today our male brought in half of a fish to the nest. The female takes it eagerly and leaves, allowing him to take over incubation duty. Then at 01:00pm our female chased away an interloper from the vicinity of the nest. At 04:39pm, our male osprey brought in another fish to the nest. This time however, the female began to eat it while still on the nest, but left with it soon after.

Ok, it's too long now. What's up with these eggs lately? Wonder if it's just old age with her. So sad, I was looking forward to see them hatch.  :(

Yep, Donna - far too long! It would have been a record-breaker, but for me now, the main thing is the continued health of The Lady - I am so much in awe of her, and we may not see another year. This one was such a gift. They were hoping to do transmitters for some of the young, but that will not happen, I fear.

1 year made such a difference. She did well for her age and if it's not meant to be, then it's not. I just feel bad when they incubate the eggs for so long and nothing hatches. Breaks my heart. Poor Lady.

What Donna said! So much expended energy. Wish they could work this out earlier but Nature has other notions.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/Living/Outdoors/article/14534/hopes-fade-for-lady-of-the-lowes-latest-eggs.html (http://www.thecourier.co.uk/Living/Outdoors/article/14534/hopes-fade-for-lady-of-the-lowes-latest-eggs.html) Nice article about Lady  :( but sad.

Thanks for that, Donna - but yes - sad!

Thanks for merging, Shaky. I knew I had the wrong thread!

I don't think they can totally blame her age. As we have first hand knowledge a lot of nests did not do well this year for some reason.

ps her energy was expended laying the eggs not sitting on them. jmo

A lot has happened this season with eggs! For sure.

Very sad about the eggs.  :(

Sad news from the Loch of Lowes. It looked like there might not be a hatch this year, and the moderators are now saying that this is highly unlikely. Still - having the Lady there again this year was the gift, at least to me.

http://blogs.swt.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.swt.org.uk/osprey/)

I feel the same way Bobbie.  It's been a gift to watch her, she's magnificent  :bow: :bow:

Saying good-bye this year will be especially bittersweet, I fear. And they had so hoped to do transmitters on the young this year!

I can't help but feel for her and Beauty. Who knows, maybe Unity will lay some viable eggs now.

Long live the Lady! Oh, she already has!!!  :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :heart:

Events from the nest:

Since yesterday’s press release relating to this year’s eggs, we have been our female osprey has once again been the subject of a great deal of media attention. This is further testament to the contribution she has made during her 21 years breeding at Loch of the Lowes to the osprey population by raising awareness of this incredible species on an international level. Here, at Loch of the Lowes, we still consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to see this special bird along with her mate, 7Y, nesting on site; despite feelings of disappointment that the eggs are now highly unlikely to hatch.  Our pair of ospreys are now giving us the opportunity to learn what happens when eggs do not hatch by observing their behaviour over the coming weeks. Viewers can still enjoy live footage on our webcam.

Our ospreys continue to incubate the three eggs with our female sitting on the nest throughout the night as usual. At 5.20am, her mate 7Y returned briefly, but did not deliver a fish or take over incubation. An hour later at 6.14am, our female left the nest while at 6.15am our male arrived to incubate for a period, turning the eggs at 6.26am and again at 7.20am and 8.04am. Later in the morning our female returned to the nest and has since incubated throughout the day.At 11.55am she took a short 3 minute break, but returned to continue incubating. At 1.49pm and 3.17pm, she turned the eggs before settling back down to incubate.

While we are disappointed that we are unable to initiate the satellite tracking project this year, it is our intention to progress with this important study next spring. For more information on the future of our satellite tracking project, follow this link: http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/ospreys-at-lowes/osprey-tracking/ (http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/ospreys-at-lowes/osprey-tracking/)

To view our press release relating to this year’s eggs, see:

http://www.swt.org.uk/news/oldest-ospreys-eggs-fail-to-hatch/ (http://www.swt.org.uk/news/oldest-ospreys-eggs-fail-to-hatch/)   :(

At 09:05am this morning, the male arrived back at the nest with a large fish which was then taken away by the female. Then at 16:09pm this afternoon, he flew in once again with what appeared to be a small pike clutched in his talons. The female appeared to reject the offering and flew off the nest without the fish, followed soon after by 7Y. He then returned the nest, still holding onto the fish at 16:14pm, but did not stay long. Then at 16:17pm, the female landed back on the nest and resumed incubation.

And still The Lady sits faithfully on what seem to be unviable eggs. Her mate continues to feed her. And each day, as I check the webcam, I wonder if she will still be there and I think: "This really IS good-bye."

Don't make me cry!

Too late, I already am!  :crying:

Throughout the course of the day so far, it has mainly been our male that we have seen on the nest incubating the three eggs that remain. 7Y, took over from our female at 9.15am and incubated for the next 2 ½ hours. The female then returned with the tail end of a fish and landed on the nest to incubate for a short period. By 12.30 the male returned and there was a changeover. The male has incubated since this time; with the female returning briefly at 12.50, but not settling on the nest to incubate. During the afternoon, out male has been turning the eggs regularly.

16 days over expected hatch date  :(

Isn't this so sad?

 :(

I am not giving up on the old girl. :wub: This was not a very good year for eggs in a lot of places. I say she will be back next year and surprise every one with two babies.  :pray:

from your mouth to god's ears

Amen.

Events at the nest today: July 7th

As you will have been aware our osprey pair have not been incubating their eggs very much for a few days now.

This morning it looked like there were no eggs in the nest at all. After carefully scrutinising our 24 hour recordings we caught a very brief glimpse yesterday of one of the adult birds dropping material on top of the eggs. This was done so quickly we had to re-run the footage about six times to make sure we had observed correctly.

We therefore took the decision to send a qualified tree climbing staff member up the tree to investigate.

As we did not want to cause a lot of disturbance to the ospreys we timed our retrieval of the eggs when they were off the nest, after a bit of searching he found and retrieved the eggs from the nest.

The eggs will now be sent for analysis to see what we can find out from them. As soon as we have any definite news we will let you know.

 :(

That poor couple. It was a strange egg season all over the world. And yes Kris  :(

what a strange year :(

I feel for them

 :heart: :(

What can they tell from the eggs? Curious, can they tell what went wrong?

This is what was posted about their findings, BC:

Good news!!!
 
 – the eggs we retrieved from the osprey nest were fertile.  Initial results from tests on the eggs have shown that the eggs definitely had started to form.  This means our resident female, although an elderly osprey is still fertile.  Further tests on the eggs are being carried out and we will keep you informed of anything else that is discovered.  This however may take a few weeks, and still further tests will be carried out after that which could take months to get results back from.
 
However for now at least, we know the problem is not the age of our osprey. Who knows she may yet raise her 50th chick from the nest…!

Could be weather related like a lot of the eggs in the Uk this season and here also. It's been a rough one for sure. Hoping for better results next year. I wonder if Beauty's were the same. Thanks Chris.

Wonderful news!  It's been such a weird season for so many animals!  at least they tested the eggs!

Had not seen that report re the eggs, Kris - how very strange, but at least they know the eggs were fertile. Now comes the wait for next year... ohhhhh!

Thanks for the update Kris! I hate it when they put so much effort into incubating with no result.  :heart:

i,m cerainly no expert, but don't u think weather might have been a factor?

http://www.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/ (http://www.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/) Feeder cam and lots of ducks passing through.

What is that bird at the feeder?

From a quick look - a Blue Tit was at the right-hand feeder. And at the left, I think it was a Coal Tit. Both brief glances, tho.

I mean the one in my pic? That big brown bird at the feeder. And what is this bird?

Whoa! What IS that??!

The smaller one on the right is a Great Tit.

Sure am foxed by the big brown one, tho... Maybe the Cam Report will say??

Maybe an owl?  ???

I wondered that too, MAK - but then wondered if it could actually be mammalian... like a rat?? Trust Donna to do this to us!! I cannot make it out. Not many day-flying owls around here, except the Short-eared - and even then, I have not heard of them going to seed feeders. Still... Will see if I can ask some of my FB birder friends here... sure is a puzzlement.

Just sent that image to my FB birders - let's see what we get!

Another person thinks it could be a rat - but the most useful comment comes from my friend Jim (an excellent Irish birder) in Cork. He thinks it could be a pheasant with its head turned aside. Makes sense, as I have seen pheasants in the background.

I have discounted the possibility of a Cheshire Cat...

I think Pheasant also Bobbie, (not that I know any better)!  :D

http://blogs.swt.org.uk/osprey/2011/12/14/wildlife-diary-14th-december/ (http://blogs.swt.org.uk/osprey/2011/12/14/wildlife-diary-14th-december/) After the storm

http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/ (http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/) Night webcam

http://vimeo.com/33233531 (http://vimeo.com/33233531) Will "Lady" come back this season?

Thanks Kris G!!

Thank you for posting the video on Lady.  She surely is a most special and amazing osprey.   :notworthy: :notworthy: :bow:

Thanks Donna! That was beautiful to watch full screen on my big girl laptop!  ;D

Thanks indeed! I dare not even hope that this fine Lady might return!

Can hardly think about whether the legendary Lady of Lowes will return again this year! But they are getting ready for her.

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/03/02/osprey-season-preparations/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/03/02/osprey-season-preparations/)

Oh bless her heart if she returns! Thanks Bobbie, fingers crossed!!

I pray she returns! 

Just a quick catch up since postings were lost - the Lady and her youngish new mate (7Y never showed up) have 3 eggs, and hatching is expected in the next week or so!   :2thumbsup:

Thanks, Deb! I have been off the radar for a bit... back in ROC and no time for Forums - go figure! Will check on the Lady soon! Yay for those eggs!

Slainte!

Today's Blog post on The Lady - may have first hatch this weekend!

Wildlife Diary Friday 18th May
Posted on May 18, 2012 by rangeremma

As I write, the male Osprey has just brought in a lovely whole brown trout to his mate a the nest, and there has been another seamless switch in incubation duty between them, with the female leaving to eat elsewhere as normal.  All seems to be well on the nest so far- but we are getting really twitchy , checking every time the birds stand looking for the tiniest hint of hatching in the three eggs. Tomorrow is the earliest feasible date the first egg could hatch( 35 days) – but it is more likely to be between Sunday ( 36days)  and Wednesday next week ( 39 days).  Needless to say we have everything crossed for luck- and can only hope some warmer settled dry weather coincides with our new arrivals.

First osprey chick at Loch Garten hatches into paternity storm.

Staff at an RSPB reserve have welcomed the hatching of the site's first osprey chick of the latest breeding season.

But they are not sure whether its father is a regular visitor called Odin, or another osprey seen with his mate EJ.

In 2007, another male called Henry kicked the eggs fathered by a rival from EJ's nest before his own clutch with the same female bird failed.

Loch Garten reserve manager Richard Thaxton said staff were on tenterhooks.

He said: "This is the first egg to hatch and yet its provenance is uncertain owing to EJ's dalliance with another male osprey before Odin's late arrival.

"We have been on tenterhooks to see what would happen. Is it his, who knows? Odin at least seems to think so."

Mr Thaxton added: "Throughout the 36 days of incubation the weather has been atrocious, but EJ has remained dutifully steadfast in the face of endless rain, sleet and snow, sitting tight through to hatching.

"All being well the remaining two eggs should hatch in the coming few days."

Five years ago, EJ incubated two separate clutches to rival males, but they all perished.

First, Henry kicked the eggs fathered by a rival from a nest before his own clutch failed.

It was thought that he accidentally trampled on one of his three offspring while trying to free himself from a piece of fishing line.

Days later the two remaining chicks also died.

 

17 May 2012 Last updated at 09:07 ET

Pip, pip in one of Lady's egg..hatch watch is on!!

http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/# (http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/#)

Just posted on their blog too:

Breaking News: First Hatching underway

Posted on May 21, 2012 by rangeremma

First glimpse of egg hatching
 
7am : Our female ospreys behaviour changed this morning and as her breakfast arrived a few minutes ago, she was reluctant to take it from the male- when she finally stood up we saw why: the egg tooth of the first chick was clearly visible breaking through the shell. The process of hatching can take many hours, so this is just the first stage- but BRILLIANT NEWS! Stay tuned for more updates.
 
11.30am Update: We have been getting tantalising glimpes of the first eggs hatching hole, where the chicks egg tooth has broken the shell.

3pm Update:
 
We are still getting great veiws of the wee chicks beak as it slowly makes its way into the world. It is totally NORMAL for the hatching process to take anything up to 24hrs- in fact it is crucial that it happens slowly so the chick has time to detact itself from the eggs inner membrane safely as it dries out.
 
We are unusally lucky to have such great close up cameras to detect this very early stage of hatching- at most nests these tiny signs are invisible and the hatching only becomes apparent at the very end stage.
 
The first hole in the shell is crucial for allowing oxegen in and will gradually widen , before the egg cracks around to release the chick. Some people have asked if it will be ok as it isn’t being fed- the chick will survive this first 24hr period, as it did incubation- nourished by the nutrients stored in the yolk sack in the egg- one of natures cleverest designs.

 :2thumbsup:  I checked this morning early before I left home for work and noted her behavior!  For some reason, I am unable to view the webcam any longer at work (not a problem with any other cams), so thanks for the update info, Carly!!

(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r32/djweeds/pipOsprey.jpg) Just happened to catch the Lady rolling the eggs. See the pip?  :clap:

Good catch Donna  :thumbsup: :notworthy:

Loch of the Lowes Blog Update:

Stop Press: things progressed very quickly this evening and by about 6.30pm it was obvious this wee chick was on the home straight: the whole top of the egg came off and it pushed its way into the world at 7.12pm. Welcome to the world little osprey!

 :notworthy: :bow: :bow:

after last year this is so cool. the Lady has still got it.  :clap:

 Can hardly wait to get home from work and take a look!  Maybe I'll get a peek tonight or early tomorrow.

The Lady and her New Man have done well.  :wub:

I'm thrilled for the Lady and great job Donna on that pip!  :2thumbsup:

(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r32/djweeds/Ladyandchick.jpg) Lady's first hatch  :clap: :thumbsup:

 :hatch1: The Lady is simply amazing!  :heart:

Kris G sent this to me. How cute!!  Thanks!!

(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r32/djweeds/LofLchick.jpg)

http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/scottish-headlines/osprey-hatches-chick-number-48-1-2309961 (http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/scottish-headlines/osprey-hatches-chick-number-48-1-2309961)

Osprey hatches chick number 48   :clap:

Woohoo! The Lady is just amazing!!!  :heart:

Here's a pic of Lady and chick 1, from 5-27-12 on their blog post.  Egg 2 was expected to hatch by Sunday, but no obvious signs as yet.

One is good! She is amazing!

Exactly, 1 is better than none.  :clap:

A second egg is hatching for Lady!!!   :notworthy: :notworthy:

Great news this afternoon as it looks like the process of hatching has begun for one of the remaining two eggs on the osprey nest at Loch of the Lowes. Staff noticed a tiny hole in one of the eggs this afternoon, and the tell tale tiny egg tooth of the chick moving beneath. As the evening has progressed the crack running out from this hole has been getting bigger, and we have noticed the usual behavioural changes in our female osprey too- lots of listening, shuffling and fretting over the hatching egg, as well as her rather wiggly older chick.

We believe the egg that is hatching is the third egg ( today is day 38 of incubation for this egg) and not likely to be egg number two, which it looks like wasn’t viable. We will be over the moon of this chick manages to hatch successfully and if it makes it through the first few critical weeks, and survives to fledging it could be our female ospreys 50th fledgling- a remarkable achievement.

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

Well I'll be an Osprey's uncle! Thanks Carly, great news.  :clap: :clap: :clap:

 :yahoo: :hatch1: :hatch1: Gotta love this girl!  :heart:

Egg-cellent news, thanks Carly!!  :clap:

egg with pip and crack

And they want to satellite tag the chicks this year!!  Maybe another 'Quest' type saga to watch unfold.  :thumbsup:

Q: Are there any plans to tag/ ring the chicks this year?
 
A: Yes, we would like to put satellite tags on the chick or chicks (the funds for this research project were raised by volunteers and members a couple of years ago and we’ve been holding them until we get chicks). If possible, this would happen at around 6 weeks of age- we will be explaining a lot more about this closer to the time, but meanwhile, why not read up on ringing and satellite tracking under our FAQ’s ( see the tab at the top of this page) .

SCH-WEET!!  :thumbsup:

May 29th update:

All our excitement about a second hatching on our Osprey nest seems to have come to nothing, as neither of the remaining two eggs have hatched in the last 24hrs or so. We have not given up hope altogether as it has been known occasionally for eggs to take longer than 24hrs to hatch, but it is looking increasingly less likely. Not only have the cracks in the eggs not gotten any bigger, there has not been any more movement visible by a chicks beak at the hole, and the female’s behaviour has also changed. She was almost frantically restless yesterday evening, as she presumably responded to the sounds of the chick moving inside the egg, but she has since grown much calmer. It is normal for ospreys ( and most other birds) not to help the chick out of the egg- hatching must take place slowly and naturally for the chick to survive.

Why these eggs haven’t hatched is a difficult question. If we presume that they were both fertile, it is possible that the chicks inside were too weak to hatch or that the egg shells were too hard for them to be able to break through (due to hot dry weather?) or there may be another cause. We may never know the answer exactly, though we will try to investigate further when we can do so safely.

Despite our disappointment we must focus on the fact that we have one healthy and very strong chick who is doing brilliantly- and that in itself is an important achievement for our birds.

Today this wee one has been doing brilliantly, actually waddling over to the male to peck at the fish- a bold confident chick indeed. The male osprey has brought in four fish so far today, but the last at around 7.20 pm caused quite a stir: the large Pike was brought in alive by the male to the nest, and he had serious problems releasing it from his talons despite the female grabbing it greedily. In the struggle, the fish got loose and it was still alive so flip flopped around the nest and almost flattened the wee chick several times- despite it being very comical the wee one was at serious risk, so the male promptly removed the fish from the nest and brought it back 20mins latter with the head removed- a  much safer dinner!

Thanks for the update Kris, I was afraid something was wrong as I checked on my lunch break and there were no updates. 

  :o

(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r32/djweeds/6-9BabyO.jpg)

(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r32/djweeds/6-9BabyO3.jpg)

(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r32/djweeds/6-9DadO.jpg) dad re-arranges  :o

June 8

Fish deliveries seem to be back on track again with a possible Salmon (our female started shredding it before we were able to confirm), a Rainbow Trout and a ubiquitous ‘Mystery Fish’. The ever growing chick has been well fed so much so it was refusing food earlier when its mum was determined to feed it. The chick is going from strength to strength and is becoming much darker and looking more like an osprey and less like a reptilian dinosaur every day. The feathers are clearly coming through on many parts of the body and it’s very active often roaming around the nest or wiggling around underneath its mother. She’s been huddled on the nest for most of today probably in response to the weather which has been wet and windy, a typical Scottish summer day!

We've got this subject going in 2 places.  Need to merge with Preparations at Loch of the Lowes.

Merged.

On the Osprey front it’s been a quiet day on the nest, although at one point our male returned to the nest and our female left it for one of her short wing stretches. I haven’t seen her leave the chick with him before and he seemed happy just standing on the nest edge keeping an eye on the ever expanding youngster.

(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r32/djweeds/6-12BabyO.jpg) Lady feeds baby O

Our young Osprey chick is thriving, it’s a month old tomorrow and is growing at an enormous rate. The feathers are really coming through now and it’s looking more and more like its parents. Today it’s been joining in with the nest tidying and enjoying the fish dad has brought in. There was an intruder Osprey near the nest today which our male saw off, could it have been Rothiemurchus the radio tagged bird that’s been living nearby? We couldn’t get a good look but it will be interesting to see if he was in the area at the time.

(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r32/djweeds/Ladysbaby.jpg)


Sad news today the  Blue Tits  chicks in our second nest box have died. It looks like something happened to the male last night as he didn’t return and, as it was cold, the female sat on the chicks keeping them warm for as long as possible. Eventually she had to go out and get some food for them all and the wee chicks just couldn’t stay warm. Unfortunately this is one of the things that happens in nature as raising chicks is a two bird job and without the male she just couldn’t do it on her own.

I just realised that the Loch of Lowes chick - a boy! - was ringed and satellite tagged yesterday! (One of the dates says 2 June, but it is actually 2 July.) Good info here re ringing (banding) and tagging.

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

It's a boy!! Thanks Bobbie!

(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r32/djweeds/7-3trans.jpg) Tranny boy! Good luck little guy!

I am sooooooooo bummed I missed the banding action! Been watching every day but this event got past me.

Thanks for the update Bobbie!  :wave:

Update on Our Osprey Eggs
Posted on July 16, 2012 by rangeremma   

I have had a report back from Bob McGowan , Senior Curator, Birds
National Museums Scotland about our two unhatched Osprey eggs which were removed from the nest under license on the 2nd July. We asked for them to be analyzed to see what went wrong with them, and it turns out that they may not have been fertilised at all. Neither egg had any sign of an embryo inside and certainly not a chick ready to hatch, despite the fact that many of us were convinced we saw a tiny hole and movement in one around hatching time.

Mr McGowan said:

“The two eggs were rotten/addled with no sign of any development. I wonder if the prolonged wet weather might have been a factor in bacterial degradation (but I’m just speculating).”

So why were the eggs not viable? We may never know exactly, but it is possible that either our male or female may have lower fertility, or it may be just very bad luck, I am told this is not unusual in Osprey nests, and that we shouldn’t worry unless it happens several years in a row.

As at many raptor nests in the UK this year second and third chicks have not survived due to the prolonger wet and cold weather and subsequent food shortages, perhaps it has been a blessing in disguise that we only had one viable egg this year. The resultant chick’s odds of survival have definitely been higher with all the food and attention to himself .
 

Good grief it’s been all go on the Osprey nest today with Blue 44 displaying more and more adult behaviour. This morning he fed himself from a fish that was left on the nest and he has being doing enormous vertical lifts taking him up past the camera so all we can see is an empty nest.


Everyone in the hides have been avidly watching him as he teeters on the nest stretching his wings wondering if today will be the day for fledging. We got action just not what we were expecting.

Our male, affectionately known as Laddie or Newman, brought a live Perch into the nest where it was writhing and thrashing about. Who steps forward to get it? We’re all thinking it will be our female but no it was Blue 44 who grabbed it with his talons and kept a tight hold. Dad was holding onto it tight so this fish was definitely not one that got away.

Then late this afternoon it all kicked off. Our male turned up with a fish but he barely landed when an intruder Osprey appeared overhead so he came off the nest to chase it away taking the fish with him. We then witnessed a fantastic aerial battle as our male, complete with fish in talons, chased the intruder around the loch and nest several times. Our female had obviously had enough of this by then and she came off the nest and saw the intruder off decisively. Our male took advantage of the intervention to land on a tree and start eating the fish – interesting priorities he’s got there! He’s since brought the fish for the rest of the family to eat.

UP

down

Osprey chick, Blue 44 has fledged!

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/07/16/wildlife-diary-monday-16th-july/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/07/16/wildlife-diary-monday-16th-july/)

 :2thumbsup:

He didn't come back to nest as of yet!

Just a very quick update to say that at present we have no further news regarding the whereabouts of the chick, however both parents have been seen overnight and this morning in the vicinity of the nest.

Emma has been out on the reserve since first light leading a search party as we continue our attempts to locate him. As we have said previously we are doing absolutely everything we can to find him and like you are all very concerned for his welfare.

As all our resources are focussed on finding him we remain unable to respond to individual messages and please ask that you do not call the visitor centre as your call will not be answered.

Finally, thankyou for the many messages we have received via email, which have been overwhelmingly supportive - they are much appreciated at this difficult time.

We will update you as soon as there are any developments.

Jonathan

(Posted on the blog 10.32 BST Wednesday. Camera shows adult sitting on edge of nest and calling occasionally... getting worried, even tho they say this is not unusual.))

Nooooo!! Hope he's OK.  :(

I know! Parent still sitting on nest and watching...

Here is the latest, sounds encouraging...I hope!

Missing Chick: Latest news
Posted on July 18, 2012 by rangeremma
Tweet6As you will be aware we currently still don’t know the exact location of our osprey chick, Blue 44.

Please be assured the staff at Loch of the Lowes are doing all they can to rectify this situation. We have just received our first set of co-ordinates from the tracking device which is helping us pinpoint our search.  The good news is that the satellite fix shows some movement from our chick, which is an excellent sign, as is the fact that both his parents are staying in an area close to the nest.

Our ranger and volunteers were out until late last night and have been since early this morning, combing the area looking for signs of the chick in case it has got itself in trouble.

During this period I would ask you to bear with the staff based at the centre, in particular, with regard to updates. The staff are working flat out and we simply do not have the capacity to answer individual phone calls or e-mails at this time.

We are all very aware how privileged we are to work in such beautiful surroundings and be able to study first hand all the amazing wildlife found on the reserves.

We hope that you understand the amount of time taken to carry out all this work and why it is very difficult for us to answer individual requests for updated information. We very much appreciate all the help and support given by the tens of thousands of people who watch our webcam and read our blog, and really would like to chat to you all individually, but this is just not possible. We will let you know what is happening as soon as we possibly can.

(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r32/djweeds/7-18Looking.jpg) Hope they locate him, parent looking too!

Thank goodness he has the sat tag!  Hopeful he is just a bit bewildered and getting rested, safe and secure nearby.

They've located Blue 44!

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/111604-missing-eight-week-old-osprey-chick-traced-by-satellite-in-trees/ (http://news.stv.tv/scotland/111604-missing-eight-week-old-osprey-chick-traced-by-satellite-in-trees/)

Great news!  ;D

Yes, GREAT news! Hope the little guy is OK.

Yay!!

There he is! Handsome lad... and The Lady of Lowes looks on...

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

What a gorgeous pic of them! So happy he's ok. Thanks Bobbie!  :wave:

 :bow: :bow: :clap: :2thumbsup:

Thank goodness!! :2thumbsup:

He is a cutie and good for mama for scolding!

The little monster! LOL Thanks!!  :dead-horse:

Thanks, Bobbie!  Great picture!
Interesting that osprey often return to the nest after fledging, unlike peregrines, who usually don't.  Maybe the fact that osprey have an actual nest has somethiing to do with it.

Paul

(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r32/djweeds/7-20Punished.jpg) "I'm punished!"

Osprey Update Friday 20th July
Posted on July 20, 2012 by rangeremma

Yippee our boy is back on the nest. He was brought back by his mother just before 11:30 this morning and she very firmly sent him back to the nest and dive bombed him so he stayed there. She then landed on the nest proceeded to scauld (scold) him that none of us will forget, she shouted at him and pecked at him and flapped her wings at him. It was incredible to watch, I do have the footage but it’ll be tomorrow before I can edit and post it.

Since he got back to the nest Blue 44 has been making a racket calling, calling, calling for fish from his dad. Our male on the other hand seems a bit confused and was flying around with a stick for a while. Finally he got the message and a Brown Trout appeared. The chick shot over to his dad and ripped the fish from his talons before mantling (spreading his wings) over it so none of the others could have some, not that either parent was trying. He struggled a bit to begin with but got the hang off and promptly scoffed the lot. A big Rainbow Trout appeared about and hour later and he’s still getting stuck into that. He’s obviously a hungry boy but he must have been fed during his time away otherwise he wouldn’t have had the energy to fly. While he was away his mum must have stopped shredding the fish and feeding him directly and instead encouraging him to feed himself. It’s all part of growing up for him.

You can imagine how delighted we all are that he’s back and doing well. Emma is fine after her fall in the swamp she just got wetter, colder and swampier than she’d planned on. Thanks again to our fabulous volunteers and everyone for your kind words, offers of help and patience while we waited for Blue 44 to return.

Lindsey

Like I said----PUNISHED!  ;)

The Lady is amazing!  :heart:

"Yippee our boy is back on the nest. He was brought back by his mother just before 11:30 this morning and she very firmly sent him back to the nest and dive bombed him so he stayed there. She then landed on the nest proceeded to scauld (scold) him that none of us will forget, she shouted at him and pecked at him and flapped her wings at him.  It was incredible to watch, I do have the footage but it’ll be tomorrow before I can edit and post it."


http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

Posted on Loch of the Lowes:   :scaredblue:

Having disappeared for four days following his first flight, Blue 44 returns to the nest and receives a frosty reception from his mum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqgRXnjV6j4#ws (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqgRXnjV6j4#ws)

Lady doesn't look her age at all! Lookin' good!  :heart:

Blue 44 is also getting his young wings whipped up...

http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/ (http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/)

Webcam has panned to show baby Blue 44 out and about. He is now perched magnificently on a tree branch. Handsome lad! And still the wind blows.

http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/ (http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/)

The Lady has departed:

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/article/24275/osprey-lady-departs-from-loch-of-the-lowes-and-leaves-the-men-to-it.html (http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/article/24275/osprey-lady-departs-from-loch-of-the-lowes-and-leaves-the-men-to-it.html)

Safe travels Lady, until next time.  :wub:

Safe travels, precious Lady!!  :heart: :heart: :heart:

Hope to see you next year Lady!  :heart: :wub:

Fare thee well, Lady!!

A sweet yet sad account of seeing the Lady of the Loch depart... imagine being there for that magnificent moment.

"It’s been a relatively quiet day here at the loch although our big female intruder was back circulating around. Our male had just caught a Perch so was jealously guarding it and alarm calling at her. Our young Osprey, Blue 44, has been doing a bit of flying around and a lot of shouting at his dad for fish. Our female, affectionately known as Lady/Isla/Marge has been gone for over a week now. Kate O’Regan, one of our volunteers and myself reckon we were lucky enough to see her leave. She took off from the nest and headed in a South Westerly direction, which is where we would expect her to go. What caught our attention was how she was flying as it was different to what we normally saw. It was steady and deliberate, exactly what you would expect for the start of a long journey, in the same way we might pace ourselves at the beginning of a long hike. We watched her until she was out of sight and both looked at each other with the same thought ‘She’s gone’. Strangely enough the loch felt empty for a couple of days and it still feels as if there’s a piece missing. Who will go next – our male or precocious chick? We’ll just have to see."

I'd be crying! What a bittersweet moment. Here's hoping she comes back for yet another great season. Wonder what happened to her mate from last year?  :( Thanks Bobbie.

Malta?  :crying:

I think I am right in saying that these Ospreys do not take that migration route. I sure hope so! Malta and Cyprus are black spots, and I continue to protest their actions in any way I can.

unless they are radio tagged or seen en route how does anyone know where they go? No one knows where Kaver or Archer went.

No one can say 100% where Lady goes every winter however the great bird migration from Europe to Africa is well known and documented so I'm guessing they just assume that is where she has gone.  Given the time frame she leaves in it makes sense.  If she were staying in Europe, she could stay later but her early departure indicates that she has a long journey ahead of her. 

well I hope she is safe and far away from any danger. but I was speculating about her mate from last year that didn't come back.

Two years ago in Winnipeg, Trey the resident tiercel didn't come home from his annual migration.  He was 14 years old and I still remember the previous Fall when he left - there was a huge hurricane down in the Southern US and I remember clearly looking at a map and thinking he's heading straight for it as were all the other migrating birds from that area.  At the time I thought it was odd that it stayed in my mind like that but when he didn't come home next Spring - I flashed back to looking into his flight path and wondered if it wasn't somehow connected to that storm.  

They don't have an easy life that's for sure.  

One last look...

This is so super! A tear in my eye, tho...

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/08/18/wildlife-diary-saturday-18th-august/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/08/18/wildlife-diary-saturday-18th-august/)

 :heart:

 :(  Be well Lady, see you next year!

 :heart: safe trip Lady  :wave:

May you grace the skies of Scotland next year.

Safe travels, dear Lady  :heart: :heart: :heart:

Aug 24th

There’s been a fair amount of activity today with both Blue 44 and his dad flying around and an intruder female being seen off by the male (well sort of he did his usual dive bombing then playing on the thermals). Our chick seems in no hurry to migrate or become fully independent but given that up until yesterday his dad was still bringing him three or four big fish a day that’s hardly surprising. Why do it yourself when it’s being handed to you? Today however he’s only been given one fish, despite repeated calling to his father so we may be seeing our male beginning his migration preparation as he reduces how much fish he brings in.

Talking of fish deliveries I’ve had a special request for an update fish chart, so here it is bang up to date with today’s lunchtime Perch. I’ve changed the format from a pie chart to a column chart to make it easier to read.



We also received this fantastic picture of Blue 44 in flight which we had to share with you and thanks to Peter Beveridge for letting us use it.

Love the pic of Blue44!  Thanks for the report!

Wildlife Diary Thursday August 30th
Posted on August 30, 2012 by rangeremma
What a 24hrs of weather, with brilliant sunshine today but yesterday afternoon we had the most amazing thunderstorm at around 5pm: A black sky, deafening thunder, torrential rain ( flash flooding paths and roads) and nearby lightning strikes kept  the staff and volunteers stuck in the visitors centre until it  finally calmed down at around 6pm. We lost electricity, and water supply and the phone lines all went down- complete with sparks issuing from sockets!

Needless to say the cameras and webcams all went down and we have only been able to restart most some of them this morning, so we have a picture in the centre. Power surges seems to have affected others and we are still minus a phone line which means we will not have a webcam stream until we can get it all fixed- our apologies for this disruption, which may be for a couple of days.

During all this chaos, our young Osprey Blue 44 sat on the nest seemingly unperturbed- even though I was worried he might be very exposed up there to lighting which seemed to be everywhere. The loch is now at an almost record level at nearly 10 feet on our measuring marker- and lots of the local paths, roads and fields are flooded. Those brave visitors who joined me today on my monthly guided walk from Dunkeld to Loch of the Lowes had to be good at walking on water! We were rewarded however, with great views of Jays, Swallows massing in the fields, Long tailed tits, and the beautiful Roe deer with her young fawn grazing in the woods just by the reserve path. She seems to be a regular fixture for now in this area – look out for a red ginger glimpse in the trees between the path and loch.

We have updated Blue 44 satellite tagging data today and you can seen on the map page that on Tuesday at around 8am he took his furthest flight so far- all the way to the other side of Butterstone Loch. This is a great sign and interestingly it seems early morning exploration flights seem to be becoming his pattern.

The other satellite tagged osprey from SWT Angus, Blue YD has also been venturing further afield, flying 10 miles or so this week and back.

Oh no! Due to terrible thunderstorms, our 2 webcams at Loch of the Lowes are down. Updates on the blog when we get them  Just now!

Thanks, Donna. Had not looked for a few days. Boy, those poor birds sure had a dreadful "summer" - which does not seem to bother them as much as the humans!! Wouldn't you wonder where the Lady is right now! Looking forward to following Blue 44... safe skies, Young Man!

Blue 44 has left on Migration!  Fare well little boy! Blue 44’ left the Loch of the Lowes this weekend and his satellite tag showed him just north of Darlington, co. Durham at 8am this morning (Monday 10th September).

http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/rare-osprey-chick-leaves-famous-nest-for-long-migration/ (http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/rare-osprey-chick-leaves-famous-nest-for-long-migration/)

Yes! Fare thee well, Little Boy Blue! See ya next year - you AND your wonderful Mama!!

Thanks for the heads-up, Donna. Looking forward to catching the updates on his tracker.

 :thanx:

Scottish Wildlife Trust
Fabulous news: the young osprey born at Loch of the Lowes, Blue 44, has reached Kent safely on his 1st migration- to see more visit our osprey tracking page at: http://bit.ly/MFLJne (http://bit.ly/MFLJne). Good luck Blue 44!   :clap:

Vaya con dios, Little Boy Blue!!!

 :thumbsup:

Blue 44 in France!!

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

Little boy Blue is doing very well so far! Thanks for the update Bobbie!!  :wave:

Fingers crossed, DG!!

Um Bobbie, that would be MAK not DG!  :rofl:

Can't tell the players without a score card...

You are too funny!  :2funny:

LOL...I am the real DG!  :paperbag:

Will the real DG please stand up!  :hysterical:

Boy Blue still in France, while others have reached Africa.

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/09/20/migration-update-20th-sept-yd-in-africa/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/09/20/migration-update-20th-sept-yd-in-africa/)

Silly boy, he's just slow!  :thumbsup:

But you'd be a fool to miss the French cooking, right??

  In France


Blue 44 Photographed in France
Posted on September 26, 2012 by rangeremma
Brilliant news from our colleagues in southern France: Our young Osprey Blue 44 was photographed yesterday on Etang Blanc!

Stéphanie and her colleague Paul Lesclaux , the rangers at Réserve Naturelle Nationale de l’Etang Noir Cati Ducailar, have kindly been looking out for our bird over the last few days: we have been sending them detailed satellite data to help them track him down.

Paul managed to get this picture via a camera on a telescope of our bird on its’ current favorite site- what a brilliant picture and  a such a thrill to see him safe and well!  Stéphanie tells us he is doing really well, fishing a lot (glad to see he’s grown up in that respect) and seems to be developing favorite areas of the lake already.

Stéphanie says:

 “We clearly read the ring .This bird fish a lot !!!! Seen at 10.40 fishing, and at 12.30, and at 13.45 and at 15.30 : Always in the same place on the Etang Blanc. When another osprey arrived and fished on the Etang at 13.40, Blue 44 left the tree where he was eating his fish (and the fish falled !). Blue 44 chased away this osprey and return to fish. Yesterday there were 3 ospreys fishing on the Etang Blanc.”

A HUGE thankyou to Stephanie and Paul: we hope if Blue 44 stay in this area we might be able to go across to meet our collegues and thank them in person.

 :clap:    From fb

Excellent news!

 goodnews:  :thumbsup:

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/09/27/migration-update-sept-27th-blueyd-in-sahara/#.UGUBq6uSINc.mailto (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/09/27/migration-update-sept-27th-blueyd-in-sahara/#.UGUBq6uSINc.mailto)

Good luck to Blue YD in this amazing journey!

Good grief, is he off course! No fishing in the Desert!  :(

Migration maps of Blue 44 and Blue YD:

http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/osprey/ (http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/osprey/)

Blue YD has safely crossed the desert and is roosting at the Senegal River!

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

goodnews:

Yay for Blue YD!!!

That's amazing!  I never would have guessed that Osprey could cross the Sahara.

Paul

New migration update on Blue YD and Blue 44!

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

 :good post:

Today's update:

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

Latest update...
http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/10/10/osprey-migration-update-10th-october/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/10/10/osprey-migration-update-10th-october/)

Latest migration update:

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)


Lady has her own DVD out! Blue 44 has been spotted and photographed!  :clap:

Excellent!

 goodnews: :yes:

Delight and curiosity dominate this week’s osprey migration update as both Blue YD and particularly Blue 44 have done the unexpected!!

The big news is that our wee Blue 44… has left France!! We thought he had made himself at home and we’d built a fantastic relationship with our French counterparts Stéphanie, Paul & Mathieu over the past couple of months… but he has moved on to Spain.   :surprise:

Judging by the intensive use he was making of certain areas of Etang D’Hardy & Etang Blanc, Blue 44 seemed comfortably settled in the South of France. But we should not be surprised as he had previously been on a short trip towards Spain on the 19th of September, quickly returning to familiar grounds after a few hours. Sometime on the 6th November (we don’t know exactly when as there is currently data missing), Blue 44 decided it was time to go. Flying south west he crossed the border into Spain, before heading inland to where he roosted that evening in the province of Castile (Castilla y León), close to a village in Burgos called Quintanarraya – a stone’s throw from the border with Soria. A total of 163 miles!

Like the rest of Castile, the area where Blue 44 can be found at the moment is predominantly flat and the forest areas are dominated by Holm oak (Quercus ilex) – a  common native species in Spain also found in southern parts of the UK. There are plenty of rivers and streams for him to fish in and it seems he will enjoy a comfortable average temperature of 12°C this week.

What is Blue 44 going to do next? We will just have to wait and see…

Meanwhile, Blue YD has returned to an old roosting area East of Haere Lao, where he spent most of the first half of October (see the picture below). Although he was merely 90 miles from the coast last week, he is 148 miles further afield now. This familiar patch of wood is very close to one of the slightly populated meanders of the River Senegal, and the whole area is surrounded by small patches of forest as well as Senegalese national parks and wildlife reserves.

Thanks for the news of Little Boy Blue, Donna. I have not checked for a while. Just stay away from Malta and Cyprus!!

Don't even think it Bobbie!  :scaredblue:

Glad to hear the Baby Blues'   are doing well!
                         :heartspin: :heartspin:
                            Lola

"We have received new satellite data of our wee osprey adventures over the past few days and we are excited to share it in more detail with you all..."

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/11/10/osprey-migration-update-10th-november-2012/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/11/10/osprey-migration-update-10th-november-2012/)

Pretty amazing huh?

I'm glad they're both continuing to do well!

Latest migration update:

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

Thanks, Kris! I will be anxious til we know for sure where Blue 44 is! And what a handsome lad!!

 :wave:

You're welcome-just happened to see the report late last night!  I sure hope Blue 44 is OK.

Thank you Kris! I'm sure little boy blue is ok. Indeed he is a handsome bird!  ;D

Latest migration updates-still no signal from Blue 44:

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

Oh no, hope he's OK! :(

Oooooo, I do not like that!!!

I choose to believe little boy Blue 44 is just fine and his transmitter is malfunctioning.  :pray: :heart:

Blue 44 update:

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/11/29/the-search-for-blue-44/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/11/29/the-search-for-blue-44/)

Just praying he's OK. They don't seem too concerned at this point! Thanks

 :pray:

Still no sign of Blue-44... ooooooo!!!

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/12/13/osprey-migration-update-13th-december/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2012/12/13/osprey-migration-update-13th-december/)

I say he's just fine!  :pray:

Me too!

Merry Christmas greetings:

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

Ahhh! Lovely!!! Spring can't come soon enough!

Hey!!!! Winter just started! :(

Latest migration update:

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

Thank you Kris!  :wave:

Poor Blue, hope he's out there and his tranny just went kaput!

I hope so too.  :(

 :ditto:

That was my first thought too.  We love them so as we watch them. 

Hope so too!!!

You all know my philosophy...they're alive and well until proven otherwise.

Look at Diamante.

Yup.

 :wave:

good philosophy plus he was doing so well before info blackout

Blue YD continues to thrive and fascinate... No news of Boy Blue 44 but he is probably just teasing us! Fingers crossed...

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2013/01/28/osprey-update-18th-of-january-to-22nd-january/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2013/01/28/osprey-update-18th-of-january-to-22nd-january/)

Latest update for the Loch of Lowes. Excitement will start building soon - not least for the arrival of that venerable Lady of the Loch - fingers crossed!!

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2013/02/24/osprey-pre-season-info-2013/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2013/02/24/osprey-pre-season-info-2013/)

Not long now! Webcam comes back on 11 March.

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2013/03/01/ospreys-ahoy-1st-march/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2013/03/01/ospreys-ahoy-1st-march/)

Rootin' fur ye quine.   :cheerleader:

Sad - remains found of 2013 hatch Blue YZ.  http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2014/02/24/sad-news-of-blue-yz-confirmed-24th-feb/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2014/02/24/sad-news-of-blue-yz-confirmed-24th-feb/)

That was sad to hear.  :(

 :sorrow:

Poor girl! What a story though!!

Satellite tagged, Blue YD, hatched in 2012 is heading north...possibly first spring migration at age 2!

 http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2014/04/29/breaking-news-blue-yd-is-off-heading-north/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/2014/04/29/breaking-news-blue-yd-is-off-heading-north/)

Ranger Emma reports that one of the 3 eggs was lost to a crow this morning  :(

http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/ (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/)

He's a young dad, he will learn. So sad though! Thanks Deb

 :(

The Laddie picked a good mate in Lady.  She's been doing this for many years and he may not be allowed back on those eggs for several days.  Both seem to be doing well this year tho.

Wow..I'm guessing the young lad will be banished to the 'tree' for a few days until he learns his lesson.  :paperbag:

That's too bad-who knows how many more eggs Lady will lay in the future.  :(