Is Our Male Unusual?

Lots of people have commented on how much of the incubation duty our male is doing. We estimate he is sitting on the the eggs for between a quarter and a third of the time. This would seem to be unusually high for an osprey. Our female is lucky to have such an attentive partner who is allowing her plenty of time off. She has been making good use of the time , because once her chicks hatch she will be constantly on the nest.

We have been wondering if she has been fishing for herself, as the male doesn't seem to be bringing in a lot of fish at this stage- if so she must be eating them elsewhere as she hasn't been bringing them back to the nest to share.

Even when he isn't sitting on the eggs, our male has been his usual attentive, dedicated self, sitting nearby - often on the camera!

More Babies!

More delightful news as our swallows at the Glentress centre have hatched at least two young live on camera. One of our young visitors this morning was the first to see the two little beaks begging for food. The adult birds have stepped up their activities to bring in enough food, and can be seen flying frantically in and out of the shed doors opposite the centre.

The nuthatch chicks at Kailzie are also doing well, growing fast and finally feathering up. They were ringed on Tuesday so we can hopefully follow their progress after fledging- look out for young nuthatches on the feeders wearing tiny metal leg rings.

Hopefully there are many more baby birds yet to come this year!

Potential Dates For Hatching

Many people have been asking us when to expect the osprey eggs to hatch, and believe me, we're getting excited about the imminent event too!

The ospreys typical incubation is 35- 37 days. Our three eggs were laid between the 24th and the 30th April so according to our calculations , the earliest possible date for hatching would be the 30th May but most likely the first week of June. So not long to wait now!

Our congratulations go to those osprey nests that already have chicks this year- Glaslyn, Loch of the Lowes and Loch Garten. Lets hope it's a good season for all our birds, and for ospreys UK wide.

New Arrivals Welcomed

No not osprey chicks yet- they'll be at least another week to ten days before they hatch. But we do have babies already at our Kaizlie centre with delightful Nuthatch chicks on live camera. There are six of these amazing wee birds , who are perhaps the ugliest babies we've ever had, but will soon grow into beautiful adults. These birds are notoriously quick fledgers so be sure to drop into the centre to see them live soon! We are also awaiting our swallows at Glentress hatching soon.

All Quiet on the Nest Front

All is quiet here on our local osprey nest with incubation of the three eggs continuing. Both parents have been sharing the duties on the nest, and the male has been supplying two or three small fish a day to keep his mate happy. Despite the cold and windy weather here this week, the eggs seem snug in their moss lined nest. The male osprey has been showing his usual tender care of his partner, by bringing in yet more sticks, and quite often placing them across her back when he arrives with them- which doesn't always please her!

Here in the centres we are enjoying watching other species on nest camera , such as swallows, herons, and nuthatches whilst we await the ospreys hatching at the end of the month.

Incubation and a More Peaceful week .

Here at the Ospreywatch centres, our star birds have laid their three precious eggs- which we have been getting much better views of the last few days, with their delicate and beautiful mottle brown and cream appearance.

Both parents have been incubating as seems to be normal for this pair. In fact the male yesterday seem rather reluctant to 'give them back' to their mum when she returned from her usual snack break- he obviously thought he had it all well under control!

We have had a lot less trouble in the last week from intruder ospreys- though at least one volunteer thinks he has seen our 'doppelganger' rival female actually on the nest! Any juvenile birds around have probably given up trying to steal such a well established nest- let's hope they find one of the other waiting platforms in the area we have provided.