Loch of Lowes webcam/2013

[Annette]

4 eggs for the Lady!!     Thanks Camp!!!

[DebInTexas]

The Lady is remarkable this year - 4 eggs!  Her male companion has proven to be a good fish provider, so feeding that many should be no problem.  First hatch expected around the last week of May.   

[Kris G.]

The Lady is remarkable this year - 4 eggs!  Her male companion has proven to be a good fish provider, so feeding that many should be no problem.  First hatch expected around the last week of May.   

She is remarkable! 

[MAK]

Zowee-4 eggs for the Lady!  She's a legend!!!

[Bobbie Ireland]

Zowee-4 eggs for the Lady!  She's a legend!!!

I turn my back for a few days and look what happens! Wow! Amazing!!!!

 

[MAK]

Zowee-4 eggs for the Lady!  She's a legend!!!

I turn my back for a few days and look what happens! Wow! Amazing!!!!

 

Welcome to the good old USA Bobbie!   

[Donna]

It started out as a quiet day on the nest, no fish and just the occasional change over as normal. Then he did it again, he left the eggs unattended for about half an hour. She was actually sitting on the Squinty Tree ,which is very near the nest, preening but obviously hadn’t seen him leave. It was only when he flew overhead that she raced back to the nest and settled down quickly all the time making it very clear she wasn’t happy with him. He must’ve taken heed as he reappeared a short while later with a big Brown Trout, this was super quick as he left and returned with the headless fish 12 minutes later. Notably he found time to eat the head before he came back!

In other Osprey news Blue YD is still on the Senegalese Coast, he has been moving round a bit and last week he was only 100km from Dakar in the south and then only 10km away from St Louis in the north. He just seems to be cruising up and down the coast.

Osprey Diary and Camera Update Sat 18th May
Posted on May 18, 2013 by rangeremma
A cool, wet and rather dreary day today at Loch of the Lowes, in complete contrast to yesterdays stunning warm sunshine- which makes us so grateful that our male bird choose yesterday to leave the eggs undefended for an hour , not today!

Just the one fish delivery to the nest today by our male so far, though he did return with a second fish this afternoon which his mate didn’t seem interested in at all, so he took it away again.

Osprey Diary Frid 17th May: A Worrying Day
Posted on May 17, 2013 by rangeremma
A worrying day at the Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest with the four eggs again left alone by the male bird- thankfully they survived over an hour on their own before the females return to incubation duties this morning.

 At 8.32am the male left the nest- why? Well, there were no signs of intruders or disturbance by people on the loch, and there was no agitated behaviour from the male. Was he simply ‘distracted’ or did he think the female was on her way in to take over- there have been times when the birds seem to miss their cue so to speak.

 The eggs were left until 9.42am when the female returned and resumed normal incubation. This means a total of 1hr 10mins exposure for the eggs- the big question is: is this long enough to do them damage?

 Firstly, we should say, at least they weren’t predated during that time- a real stroke of luck. Secondly, in their favour, it was a glorious warm spring morning with little wind, so the eggs shouldn’t have chilled too much, or conversely dried out too much (eggs need humidity in the shell to make them easy to hatch).

Thirdly, how long is too long for osprey eggs? No one really knows. I have heard stats as varied as 15minutes, and 2hours quoted, but it all depends on the weather at the time. It is even unclear as to whether the stage of development of the embryo inside the eggs makes a difference- that is, if eggs left exposed later during the incubation month are better off than those left early.

All we can do now is wait- it is only just over a week until the first egg is due to hatch so we will soon know if they have survived this unscheduled abandonment.

 Otherwise today, the male fished on the loch in front of the hides, taking a nice Perch which he brought back to his mate about an hour later.

Hope one or more hatch!

[Kris G.]

Osprey Diary Thurs 30th May
Posted on May 30, 2013 by rangeremma
4
Still we wait, and wait. We have not yet given up hope for osprey eggs hatching at this nest this year, contrary to some newspaper reports.

Whilst egg number one is now ‘overdue’ , tomorrow is still only day 40 for egg two ( within normal range) and eggs 3 and 4 are all still to play for so to speak, as they are not even ‘due’ until tomorrow and Monday at the earliest. Whilst we have some concerns due to the eggs being exposed during incubation, the parents behaviour has been completely normal so we should still remain open-minded.

It is important to remember that this is an aged female bird who has already done more than any other osprey we know of to produce young and help repopulate the area, so really any chicks now are a bonus.

 Our Osprey nest watch, protecting the birds form disturbance 24hrs a day, 7 day a week, would not be possible with  a small army of volunteers who generously contribute time every year. These range from locals who do  couple of hours every week, to full time residential volunteers who contribute 2 months here on the reserve. Two of these wonderful people are leaving us this week, and it seems a good time to say a HUGE THANKYOU to them for all their hard work, patience and perseverance. Julien and Rachel are both going onto to other exciting ecology projects, and we wish the very very best in their conservation careers.


Rachels Cakes

 

 

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[Donna]

We don't give up yet! Hoping for  at least 1 hatch!! Thanks

[Donna]

http://youtu.be/Pyxb3Ug6Lls She has a HATCH!!!        Amazing

[Annette]

A miracle!  Go Lady!

[Kris G.]

Wonderful news!  I've been hoping at least one would hatch for her!  She is amazing!   

[DebInTexas]

Looking good!   

Osprey diary, posted June 1, 2013 by Ranger Emma:

After such a long and anxious wait , we finally have an osprey chick safely hatched at Loch of the lowes.
 
About 8.45am our wildlife Interpretation officer Val Gall and volunteer Rebbecca spotted the first signs in one of the eggs. This tiny hole and subsequent crack progressed remarkable quickly to a full hatching. The top came off the egg, and by about 10am the chick was free of the egg shell.
 
The male brought in a fish around 11.30am but the chick is yet to have its first meal ( this is normal as it still has some yolk internally to sustain it.)
 
More news soon.
 
champagne being cracked!
 
Update 4pm:
 
Celebrations all round here, with staff, volunteers and visitors alike glued to the sight of our first Osprey chick of 2013 here at Loch of the Lowes. We hope it might be joined in time by another sibling, but for now we are simply overjoyed with one healthy youngster on the nest.
 
We think this is probably egg number 3 hatching  ‘on time’, rather than egg number 2 being ‘late’, but as the eggs are so hard to tell apart, we will have to wait and see if any of the others hatch to be sure.
 
The chick has already been fed twice by its mother , tiny amounts of shredded raw fish- you can see the female has stashed some fish , tucking it under her whilst incubating , to ensure there is plenty available to give the chick ‘little and often’  meals.
 
 The chick looks strong and healthy, with its instinct to reach up for food just as it should be. It is absolutely normal for new hatched chicks to find it difficult to lift their heads up (weak neck muscles) and have poor balance.
 
 Thank-you to everyone who has called, emailed and tweeted- its lovely to know so many people worldwide are sharing our excitement and joy at this wee ones arrival. It’s the birds who deserve the congratulations though- especially our remarkable veteran female, who has done it again!

[Donna]

I'll toast to that! Cheers!! So happy for them.

[MAK]

Fantabulous news! Me thinks the lady is a star!