One Last Thing....

The Osprey Officer Emma is leaving the project to work with other wildlife and would just like to say a heartfelt thank you to the fabulous volunteer team who make this project happen. Many of you will not realise that the two osprey visitor centres are run entirely by a volunteer team, fifty local people who donate their time and expert knowledge of birds and local wildlife to share with the public. The project would simple not happen if it weren't for their support and that of the whole local community who help us protect these fabulous birds.

It has been a privilege to lead this team and to share the magic of the osprey season with our numerous friendly visitors over the last three years. I hope you have enjoyed the blog, and the camera views- here's hoping 2010 will be just as exciting!

Goodbye and Good luck

Its time to say goodbye to our young ospreys as they head off on the biggest adventure of their lives! They have a three thousand mile journey ahead of them, and all the hazards and dangers such as hunters, power lines, bad weather, sea crossings, deserts and even crocodiles!

Keep your fingers tightly crossed for Tokyo, Caledonia and Stig our three main nest chicks, as well as their contemporaries born in the Borders this year. It has been another amazingly successful breeding year for our local ospreys , with at least nine pairs raising an estimated 22 chicks! What a good omen for the future of our local ospreys!

Until next time...

We hope you enjoyed the updates this season - we're now going into 'off season' mode on the blog. We'll keep it ticking over during the autumn and winter and will be back in the spring for next season's action.

Osprey Centres and Cameras

Please accept our apologies for the intermittent problems with the osprey nest camera over the last few days. Its seems the constant work over the summer has exhausted the solar batteries and they are draining quickly. In order to preserve them we have shortened the timer to 10.30am to 4pm. There have also been some clarity problems but hopefully these have now been sorted.

Our twin centres at Kailzie Gardens and Glentress forest will be open 10am-5pm until Monday the 31st August. After this time, as there is no longer any activity on the osprey nest, our centres will go into an 'off season' mode. Both will be open but unstaffed during September, with highlights of the 2009 season on display but no live camera viewing. They will of course still have information on local walks, wildlife watching etc available.

So pop in and see our friendly volunteer staff before the months end to hear all about our fantastic season, ask questions, or share your own osprey stories.

The End is Nigh

Well, metaphorically speaking the end of our 2009 osprey season is nearing its natural conclusion, as our young birds become independent and all the birds begin to think of moving southwards.

Over the last week, we've noticed the birds returning less and less often to the nest, and the three chicks are now appearing only once or twice a day for brief visits. This is , of course, a good sign as the youngsters need to be effectively self-sufficient any day now.

We have not had a confirmed sighting of our mother bird for well over a week , so we are pretty certain she has heading south on her long migration. Dad has also been conspicuously absent from the nest for the last few days- though he may still be in the area , just spending all his time at the river 'coaching' his offspring!

We are also starting to get regular sightings of other ospreys in the area- birds from further north in Scotland who are passing through the Borders on their journey south, often using our waterways as a convenient staging post.

All this of course means it is the best possible time of year to try your hand at spotting ospreys out and about in the Borders. If you want some hot tips, pop into one of our centres over the next few days and ask our volunteers. If you see a bird , and especially if you spot any wearing colourful Darvic leg rings, please let us know!

A Motherly Surprise

Our viewing of the live osprey nest has continued to be fascinating this week, with more than usual nest activity for this time of year. All three chicks are still making very regular appearances, and dad is perhaps surprisingly still bringing fish to the nest daily, despite the fact that at least two of the chicks are now able to hunt for themselves.

Yesterday held an even greater surprise though, as our female osprey made an appearance on the nest with a fish. We had begun to think she had already left for her long migration journey south. Regular watchers will know it is always mum who heads south first, leaving dad to 'supervise' the teenage chicks in the final weeks before he too abandons them.

What was most interesting though, was the fact that mum 'babied' the three chicks as if they were tiny- carefully shredding the fish she had brought in and ensuring it was shared fairly. This is extraordinary considering their advanced stage of independence!

It was great to see her looking so well and obviously in good hunting form as she will surely start her journey soon.

Growing Independence

Good news this week as all three of our chicks are doing brilliantly and gaining independence rapidly. They have all been returning to the nest regularly and their father has still been providing fish for them. There have been a few squabbles over fish on the nest and there is no doubt that the oldest two have been getting the lions share now mum isn't around to ensure good manners.

The best news though has been the appearance on the nest of both Tokyo and Calendonia with their own fish! Both chicks have returned to the nest carrying the fish, in Caledonia's case, still wriggling and flapping! We are very proud of our youngsters who are beginning to feed themselves. This puts paid to the theory that young ospreys do not hunt for themselves until abandoned by their parents and forces to start their southwards journeys.