Wow! What an amazing day for our young Ospreys and us!
Yesterday was ringing day- the only time in the Ospreys lives when they will be handled by humans. This safe and strictly controlled research technique involves the chicks being brought down to the ground for about half an hour to be weighed, measured, health checked and have identity leg rings fitted. These will enable us to identify these individuals in the future and track their movements. It is also our only chance for the team to meet them face to face and take photographs- an experience to be treasured.
The parent birds circled overhead during this process as usual, swearing at us but not attacking, and were happy to return to their family very shortly after they were returned to the nest safe and sound.
All three chicks were in very good body condition and very well grown for their age, we are happy to say. Tokyo was rather feisty and had a few nips at our team- until given a stick to hold in his beak! It turns out that he is a male bird, whereas Caledonia is undoubtedly a female, and little Stig ( still a healthy 1.6 kgs) is also probably a boy.
The rings this year are blue on the left leg, and the ring 'numbers' are : "LK" for Tokyo, "LL" for Caledonia" and "LM" for Stig.
There is extensive footage of this process now available of this process in both centres for you to enjoy.
Yesterday was ringing day- the only time in the Ospreys lives when they will be handled by humans. This safe and strictly controlled research technique involves the chicks being brought down to the ground for about half an hour to be weighed, measured, health checked and have identity leg rings fitted. These will enable us to identify these individuals in the future and track their movements. It is also our only chance for the team to meet them face to face and take photographs- an experience to be treasured.
The parent birds circled overhead during this process as usual, swearing at us but not attacking, and were happy to return to their family very shortly after they were returned to the nest safe and sound.
All three chicks were in very good body condition and very well grown for their age, we are happy to say. Tokyo was rather feisty and had a few nips at our team- until given a stick to hold in his beak! It turns out that he is a male bird, whereas Caledonia is undoubtedly a female, and little Stig ( still a healthy 1.6 kgs) is also probably a boy.
The rings this year are blue on the left leg, and the ring 'numbers' are : "LK" for Tokyo, "LL" for Caledonia" and "LM" for Stig.
There is extensive footage of this process now available of this process in both centres for you to enjoy.
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