OSPREYS 2012

27th May 2012

This week has been a mix of highs & lows. Unfortunately the white egg, the last to be laid has been lost. I do not know what has happened but it disappeared between Tuesday evening & Wednesday morning. XL & M are behaving normally with XL incubating most of the time & M catching a good number of fish & adding soft moss & grasses to the nest. Last week a female osprey was present for 2 days but caused little disturbance. XL tolerated her completely but M was more protective & finally chased her away. The 1st egg is due to hatch in about a week so I hope to bring you good news shortly.

Below is M searching for suitable moss

MH

Below left is well shaded HQ for comparison to nests built on top of trees

Below right M in his favoutite tree

mnow
HQ

Below was another wee visitor to osprey hq

wren

4th May 2012

The nest camera is proving to be a great success with regular images of XL & M. There are now 3 eggs from 27th April, 29th April & most surprisingly 3rd May. We have also installed surveillance cameras to cover all routes to the nest for extra security albeit costly. Images are taken when movement is detected & forwarded immediately to my mobile. This has been great for me as I had a number of vitreous haemorrages hence the lack of images from the hide.

27th April 2012

Intrusions have continued this week but unfortunately it has been necessary to involve a Police Wildlife Liaison Officer. Having spoken to a number of individuals on 4 occasions within disturbance zone of osprey hq I was most concerned to find the same people within 100 yards of the nest. After speaking to SNH & taking their advice to inform the Police, a WLO attended & visited the home of 2 of these intruders. Hopefully this will be the end of the matter & XL & M will not now be disturbed.

Today, there is a significant change in behaviour on the nest with regular images forwarded from the nestcam. XL appears to be incubating an egg but I will have to see what happens when M brings a fish. A changeover will be indicative that an egg is present.

Below is M bringing a very large stick to the nest.

STICK224

16th April

XL & M continue to strengthen their pair bond with M providing good sized trout & adding sticks to the nest. Intruders, both feathered & human, have caused considerable disturbance today but this evening both ospreys are settled near to the nest.

Please can I ask here that if you inadvertently disturb any wildlife, please move away as quietly & quickly as possible. Not only will this course of action allow the animal or bird to settle again undisturbed but in the case of protected species, will save you a potentially large fine.

Below is XL near nest.

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Below is XL & M at osprey hq

IMG_6634

13th April 2012

I am pleased to report that female osprey XL returned to her nest on 9th April & M returned on 12th April.
Although the nest camera is installed & working well, it has taken a while to be able to confirm their identities.
XL arrived 3 days later than her latest arrival & I had started to worry. There have been other ospreys intruding at the nest & once I have confirmation of their origins I will report more.
XL & M have already been adding sticks to the nest & M has brought in some good sized trout. At this point in time the pair do not seem as settled as previously observed but I am assuming that this is due to unwelcome attention from ravens & buzzards.
I will add some pictures over the weekend.

22nd March 2012

Ospreys sightings are now being reported all across the UK & excitement is mounting in anticipation of their return to reserves with established nests.
Here at Osprey HQ, XL usually arrives first & M a few days later.
The trailcam is now working well & transmitting images so all being well it will be fitted tomorrow I should be able to post regular images of life at the nest soon.

Come back soon to see if XL & M return! Fingers crossed!