Sad news for the 25 yr old Osprey mom in Scotland, still has chics in nest

[Donna]

Osprey diary 10th July
July 10th, 2010 by fiona, osprey HQ

Good morning all!

It’s another fairly dreich day here today and not a lot of wind.  Will that put our chicks off their maiden flights or will they decide to take the plunge?  Our fingers are poised, ready to record the big event, so we’re hoping it will be during the day when we are actually here, unlike last year when the eldest chick decided to wait 20 minutes after we left for the evening!  You’ll notice Lady spending much more of her time off the nest and this is to encourage the chicks to follow her.  Dad will also bring less food so they have some incentive to leave.

There have been many questions regarding what happens after fledging, so here are a few pointers.

    * once the chicks fledge, they will continue to return to the nest to receive food deliveries for dad, who will bring in whole, live fish and leave the chicks to work on their feeding skills.
    * They will practice fishing and if they’re lucky might even catch a fish or two!
    * Mum usually leaves first, at the beginning of August, but we are unsure what she will do this year.  She may wait a bit longer to build up her strength, or she may not migrate at all.
    * The young will spend less and less time on the nest and from mid-August onwards, they will start to migrate.
    * Dad will leave first with the chicks following, but once on migration they are on their own.
    * It will take anywhere up to 8 weeks for them to make the full migration to their winter roosting spot, with females making more stopovers than males (hence the earlier departure).
    * They will fly predominantly during the day, but may fly at night, particularly over bodies of water.
    * The young will spend the first 3 – 5 years in their wintering grounds until they are sexually mature, and then return to the UK to breed.
    * They will head in the direction of their nest site, finding their own sites and partners on the way, starting the cycle all over again!

[Donna]

First chick takes to the skies!
July 11th, 2010 by fiona, osprey HQ

Hi folks,

If you were watching you will have seen chick no.1 spread its wings, hover above the nest and then fly free at 9:09am this morning! I will update you all more in a bit when I get everything else here sorted. Anyone else feeling emotional?!
Fiona

Well what a morning! When I got here at 8:40am, I just knew the conditions were right for a first flight, and both chicks were enjoying the fresh breeze, feeling the ‘wind beneath their wings’! I had sat by the video recorder for about 15mins and decided to get some work done and just as I sat down to count the money, the chick vanished from the screen! You’ll notice it took a while to find where it fly off too as mum had flown back onto her perch, just to confuse me! This was probably to be a landing beacon to the chick. It made a few attempts to land on various trees but the wind proved to strong and blew it over the top off them. An initial attempt was made to land on the nest, which it overshot by a long way, and I admit to having a giggle at that. But after another flight round about the loch, it came in for another attempt and made an almost perfect landing! Lady looked like a proud mum watching their child take it’s first steps while chick no.2 cowered in the nest looking slightly petrified! We just have to hope it plucks up the courage to follow suit, and today would be the perfect day to do so.

There was a lot of confusion as to whether one chick had flown last night, but I have had a look back at the footage and they did spend a lot of time on the edge of the nest just out of camera range of cam1. This is our night vision camera which gets switched on when we leave at night. Unfortunately it appears to have been blown to the right which we won’t be able to correct until the winter when we get up the tree to do some maintenance, so apologies for the poor picture your getting at night.

Keep your eyes peeled for flight number 2!
Fiona

[valhalla]

A wonderful sight to behold, indeed!   

[dale]

A wonderful sight to behold, indeed!   

Janet, I know you've watched a lot of ospreys - have you ever seen a fledge?  It must be different than some other birds, I imagine, because of that lifting-off-and-hovering thing...

[valhalla]

A wonderful sight to behold, indeed!   

Janet, I know you've watched a lot of ospreys - have you ever seen a fledge?  It must be different than some other birds, I imagine, because of that lifting-off-and-hovering thing...

Dale - I saw 2 fledge within a few hours of each other - the 1st of the pair opted to lift off and fly while I was driving overing the Tracys Creek Bridge.  Thank God no one was behind me!  Obviously didn't get photos.  I can tell you that #1 was clearly surprised that flight had happened  

[Donna]

Wow, I am so far behind in posting about the Scottish Ospreys.....sorry. Both have successfully fledged. 

July 17th, 2010 by rboardman

All appears calm to begin this day. Yesterday was full of excitement highlighted by “our� female catching 4 fish in as many attempts. I have been hoping that this would occur over the past few days. What a gal! The unexpected, as ever, � bone caught in the throat� hopefully has not had ill effects on her.

When very little appears to be going on in front of our eyes, the egg “that wasn’t� stands large. I once called it “decor�, but perhaps now it can symbolise those past experiences for us all over the past 3-4 months.

Some days, the moments spent on the nest are spaced farther apart, by all parties, including “our� brilliant male. Let us try to savour each and every one of these times, the egg “that is�. Rinchen

Posted in Diary 2010 | 18 Comments »
Osprey Diary 16th July
July 16th, 2010 by E Rawling, Perthshire Ranger SWT

Four Together Again:

 Yesterday evening we were treated to an unusual sight on the nest for this time of year, but one which warmed my heart- all four of our ospreys on the nest together again. It as only a brief moment, but when dad arrived with a whole fish, mum and the younger chick were ready and waiting and the older chick appeared lightning fast from stage left. Mum then quickly grabbed the fish and took off with it, whist dad gave chase to an intruder nearby- a frantic few moments. The look on the chicks faces was absolutely priceless- “what is no one going to feed us!?!â€�. No fear, mum soon returned with it having eaten the head- she must have been really hungry.

 Moments like these are just wonderful, and make you realise how much we are all going to miss our wee family all too soon- but they still have a few magic moments and interesting behaviours to share with us yet this season!

Emma Rawling Perthshire Ranger

Posted in Diary 2010 | 305 Comments »
Osprey Diary 15th July
July 15th, 2010 by E Rawling, Perthshire Ranger SWT

  We are all hoping here at Lowes that the weather will finally improve today as it has been the wettest and coolest period so far this season. Not that the rain isn’t welcome, with the Loch (and our well) so low, however,  the rain has made life difficult for our ospreys.

The male (and female) have certainly had their work cut out fishing as the wind has created substantial waves on the lochs and visibility is poor. All the wild birds have been using the more sheltered bays on the leeward side of the loch for foraging and roosting. The ospreys, young and old, have been sitting in the sheltered trees across from the nest the last couple of days, hence the empty camera for so much of the day.Don’t worry it is normal for the youngsters to continue to use the nest for some weeks, and most of the fish deliveries will  still take place there. We should be able to enjoy views of them for some time to come- before the real withdrawal symptoms kick in for all of us as the chicks migrate into their future.Emma RawlingPerthshire Ranger

Posted in Diary 2010 | 245 Comments »
Osprey Diary 14th July
July 14th, 2010 by E Rawling, Perthshire Ranger SWT

 A cool, damp and windy morning here at Lowes, with both the chicks visiting the nest in between training flights. Both are looking more confident in their flights and making remarkably good landings all things considered.

 Our poor lady osprey has been looking a wee bit lonely on the nest -a bad case of empty nest syndrome literally. Some of us have been noticing that she seems to be spending a lot of time on the nest, rather than joining in with fishing, which would be more usual at this time of year. Is she resting up to build her strength? She seems to be supervising the youngsters and watching carefully, but taking things easy.  Not a bad thing as she has only weeks left to gain strength before autumn migration. We can only hope she reaches full condition in time, in order to have the best chance of surviving the journey ahead.

 Emma Rawling

 Perthshire Ranger

6pm Update : Hi folks Emma here, sorry for the camera being a bit static today- someone forgot to change it to roving HD mode this morning ( we are human alas ) . I’ve just taken a wee tour of the loch and found two of our four ospreys ( mum and one chick) hiding in the better cover of the trees just across the bay- this is the side that is not so wind blown today! Don’t worry they will still use the nest for quite a while yet, it’s just that today it is the wettest and windiest palce on the loch so they’ve sensibly decided to shelter elsewhere. Emma

Posted in Diary 2010 | 220 Comments »
Osprey Diary 13th July
July 13th, 2010 by E Rawling, Perthshire Ranger SWT

  Sorry about the camera problems overnight folks- the computer which hosts the camera to the web was a wee bit overtired again- restart and a few kind words and its working again- thank goodness!

 Both our chicks have now taken their exciting first flights over the last 48 hours and both have done extremely well. Instinct is a wonderful thing and both chicks flew strongly, though not very far as yet. They will often perch up somewhere close by at this stage to build up the energy to return to the nest, as long flights are still a bit beyond them- those wing muscles need a lot of conditioning.

 The first chick to fly is the older and seems more confident at this stage, whereas the younger is more tentative, but this is nothing to worry about. Both have returned safely to the nest for feeding last night so there is nothing wrong with their homing instinct!

Emma Rawling

Perthshire Ranger

Posted in Diary 2010 | 184 Comments »
Camera problems
July 13th, 2010 by Peter Ferns

Good morning all.

I am still having problems getting the cameras back on line. I will keep working on it until it is sorted.

At the moment mum is shouting for a fish from Dad but he is not around the nest area at the moment. We will give you a proper update a bit later. After I get this camera working. Technology is a wonderful thing but some times it can be a pain in the, well I wont say but you know what I mean.

Peter

Tags: camera, osprey
Posted in Diary 2010 | 7 Comments »
Osprey Dairy 12th : Chicks Fledging
July 12th, 2010 by E Rawling, Perthshire Ranger SWT

Update: Thuderstorms abound! We’ll get the system up and running again ASAP!

Our first born osprey chick has been pretty busy since fledging for the first time yesterday- no less than six flights from the nest and a few practise landings ( some better than others which can be comical!). This morning it has been away for quite some time- but don’t worry we’ve just found it perched high above the loch on the far side of the bay, getting used the new view.

With wing muscles only just getting used to all this work, chicks will often perch up somewhere nearby to rest and get the energy up to fly back to nest. Never fear though, as soon as there is even a hint of food arriving at the nest , the chick will appear as if from nowhere- sound familiar to anyone with teenage children?

 The second, slightly younger chick seems to be getting ready to follow suit this morning- after an attempt this morning at about half past six. Stay Tuned!

 Emma Rawling

Perthshire Ranger

P.S. at 9.10 am a spectacular aerial dog fight between the osprey parents and a heron who dared to come too close the nest, just shows the instinct to protect is still strong despite the chicsk being big enough to defend themselves now!

Update: at 9.40 this morning the second chick took its maiden flight- a text book one at that!

Posted in Diary 2010 | 227 Comments »
First chick takes to the skies!
July 11th, 2010 by fiona, osprey HQ

Hi folks,

If you were watching you will have seen chick no.1 spread its wings, hover above the nest and then fly free at 9:09am this morning! I will update you all more in a bit when I get everything else here sorted. Anyone else feeling emotional?!
Fiona

Well what a morning! When I got here at 8:40am, I just knew the conditions were right for a first flight, and both chicks were enjoying the fresh breeze, feeling the ‘wind beneath their wings’! I had sat by the video recorder for about 15mins and decided to get some work done and just as I sat down to count the money, the chick vanished from the screen! You’ll notice it took a while to find where it fly off too as mum had flown back onto her perch, just to confuse me! This was probably to be a landing beacon to the chick. It made a few attempts to land on various trees but the wind proved to strong and blew it over the top off them. An initial attempt was made to land on the nest, which it overshot by a long way, and I admit to having a giggle at that. But after another flight round about the loch, it came in for another attempt and made an almost perfect landing! Lady looked like a proud mum watching their child take it’s first steps while chick no.2 cowered in the nest looking slightly petrified! We just have to hope it plucks up the courage to follow suit, and today would be the perfect day to do so.

There was a lot of confusion as to whether one chick had flown last night, but I have had a look back at the footage and they did spend a lot of time on the edge of the nest just out of camera range of cam1. This is our night vision camera which gets switched on when we leave at night. Unfortunately it appears to have been blown to the right which we won’t be able to correct until the winter when we get up the tree to do some maintenance, so apologies for the poor picture your getting at night.

Keep your eyes peeled for flight number 2!
Fiona

[Donna]

Osprey Diary July 18, 2010
July 18th, 2010 by rboardman

Damp morning, warm air, thus far.

Well, I left last night with the juvies calling for lunch and tea well into the evening hoping that either ma or pa would come through with fish for the family. Over the past 4 months I am constantly reminded of; the random timing of switchovers in incubation by each adult, the size or quantity of fish, what nesting material is brought to the nest, by whom,  when are the best fishing times and what are the ultimate conditions. Every day provides a different pattern, including yesterday with delivery of very few fish. Was the behaviour yesterday a separating process, encouragement, or a dispute between the roles of female & male, or non of the above?

I did leave pondering why or how odd it was not to note fish catch in our diary throughout the day. I knew of course that plenty of food had been provided for all the previous day and that the birds were not starving/dehydrating. Thank you blog people for informing me that infact a couple of fish have been provided over the  night and this morning.

 I expect today will provide more opportunity to see fresh skulls, intestines and all the other fleshy and gooey bits so exciting for ourselves and the osprey.

See, I have projected my pattern for the day. We shall see. Rinchen

[Donna]

Osprey Diary July 19, 2010
July 19th, 2010 by rboardman

The carryings on and dynamics amongst each individual becomes more and more pronounced. Mum tidies up alone on the nest,  juvie flies in, Mum flies off, and mimics same actions. At least a couple of behavioural actions here…And then there is the food situation, who catches, who sees the catch, who eats, who gives, who receives. Not satisfied, they squawk, full, they squawk, hungry or not. Pops remains aloof, was it fishing, guarding territory (and we do have a fair number of intruders and will continue to do so) or watching the golf?

“Ourâ€� female remains an extremely devoted parent. The juvies are still her priority. I would like her to eat more, she appears tired. Let us not forget that on Friday she caught 4 fish in as many attempts and did catch two (one too large to lift) yesterday afternoon in front of juvies and us visitors. Breeding  is a massive task. I remain hopeful that the young will soon be less reliant on the parents in order for her to recover from this very stressfull four months.

Calm and warm here at present. We shall continue to marvel, whether overseas, overair, or at the Loch of the Lowes, Perthshire, Scotland. Rinchen

[Donna]

Loch of the Lowes Osprey Wildlife Diary
Osprey Diary 20th July
July 20th, 2010 by E Rawling, Perthshire Ranger SWT

Update 2:54pm: Cameras should be back up and working now.

Update: Will our cams are still being worked on, I thought I’d update you on todays comings and goings. Both chicks have been on the nest, off the nest, on the nest, off the …you get the picture! Both currently back on the nest after some time sat in trees doing a bit of preening. Dad brought in a nice brown trout about lunchtime, which mum grabbed while she had the opportunity and flew off with it. She ate her fill and brought the rest back for the chicks to fight over. Both had a bite but seem peckish again, calling incessantly for dad to bring more lunch!
Off to work on the webcams again! Wish me luck!
Fiona

With the cameras back up and running after our wee power cut crisis overnight , we can only hope the birds show themselves on the nest early this morning to help you all with your withdrawal symptoms!

Both the chicks have certainly been very active over the last few days, constantly bouncing to and fro the nest on training flights, circling the loch, and even taking the odd run at the water- not seriously tryo9ng to catch anything yet, but probably practising judging distances, angles and speeds for successful strikes in the future.When they roost however, they are never far from the nest- most often in the trees opposite where they can be clearly seen from the hides- and always in easy reach if a parent with a fish does happen to appear on the nest.They are certainly vocal that’s for sure- this must surely be the nosiest time of the year on the nest!Emma Rawling

Perthshire ranger

[Donna]

Scottish Wildlife Trust

Loch of the Lowes Osprey Wildlife Diary
Osprey Diary 21st July
July 21st, 2010 by E Rawling, Perthshire Ranger SWT

  What a morning!  Our lone chick on the nest is a picture of misery- bedraggled!  Their juvenile plumage is pretty waterproof ( though not as good as say a ducks) and they are pretty good at thermoregulation now, but you can’t help but feel sorry for it! At least the chicks got a good meal last night and this morning so they should be fine- like all of us they will just have to wait out the rain until sunny skies tomorrow!

 More news later today!

Emma Rawling

[Donna]

Wow, look at the feets!  Juvie Osprey

[valhalla]

Those tallons are positioned "facing each other" to enable the bird to get a solid grip on the fish in the water, haul it out of the water, position the face forward and the tail aft, and fly up to the nest.  Those tallons and the positioning of them are designed to get a really secure hold on the fish.  Sometimes the fish is a really big one and it will drag the osprey down to drown.

[MAK]

   Thanks ladies!  What a beautiful bird they are.   

[dale]

Sometimes the fish is a really big one and it will drag the osprey down to drown.

Stop. Hold on. The bird will not let GO?
What mother of all design flaws are we talking about here?

dale

[valhalla]

Sometimes the fish is a really big one and it will drag the osprey down to drown.

Stop. Hold on. The bird will not let GO?
What mother of all design flaws are we talking about here?

dale

Sometimes (just like a fish hook getting caught via the barbs) the osprey can't release.  It happens sometimes.  A big fish, with lots of life and speed (rock fish comes to mind) will take off when the bird sinks in.  Accidents....