Recovering osprey

The injured osprey is recovering slowly. He is still in specialist care but is now able to manage to eat two full fish per day unaided which is a good sign.
He is also flapping his wings more and so hopefully his strength is returning.
We hope that he can be strong enough for release very soon.

No birds seen today

The osprey family were absent from the nest for most of the day on Thursday 18th August. We have had sightings reported to us of birds out as far as the Pentlands, it could be early returners passing down through the country starting their migration or local young birds spreading out into wider territory.
We have had an injured osprey which has been examined by a vet and has no visible injuries but needing a good rest. This is a Borders bird first ringed here in 2009 and he has a blue leg ring with the lettering LT, he is only two years old so he is unlikely to have successfully bred this year.

Pictured is vet David Campbell with osprey blue leg ring LT.

Rainy weather!

No ospreys at the nest today. It rained constantly and the sounds from the forest was of rain pouring and dripping from the trees and off the camera! The last time the family were all seen at the nest was on Wednesday, they are most likely sitting out and waiting for the weather to improve. Hunting fish in rain like this cannot be easy, so best to reserve energy and wait for a better day. Here are some clips of the chicks being ringed this year. The ringers are Tony Lightley Conservation Manager from Forestry Commission and Ronnie Graham.

Alasdairs blog - back by popular demand!

Alasdair our youngest volunteer was on duty today and he has written todays blog for us. Thank you Alasdair!

Friday 5th August

Today there has been a lot of activity on the nest. When the cameras came on there was nothing but a dead fish. At about 11: 30am, the adult male arrived back with a fish quickly followed by ZN who started eating the fish that was already there. The male began alarm calling as there was an intruder in the area. It wasn’t long before the male left.
There has now been some strange behaviour as the male arrived back with a fish closely followed by an unringed female who stole the fish. The male began alarm calling. Then the male went low as if to scrape the nest cup and then started moving nesting material about the nest.
Earlier there was a jay that stole the remains of a fish that was bigger than itself. There is a lot of calling going on, which can be heard even when the ospreys aren’t on the nest. In the background you can also hear the jays making an infernal racket competing with ZP.

This is my last shift of the season. It is my second season as a volunteer and it has been the best. Thank you to everyone who has made this season the best.

Jays and Ospreys!

Today two chicks with leg rings, blue ZP and ZR who have become known as Zippy and Zorro were at the nest for most of the morning. The male bird brought in a fish and the chicks fed themselves and then squabbled over the remains until one of the chicks took the fish from the other, not sure which one it was.
Then two cheeky jays appeared and it seems to be an adult and youngster, the jays have been enjoying scraps of food left over on the nest when the ospreys are away. However, their boldness today was amazing. One jay kept returning to the nest while the ospreys were eating and just grabbed bits of twigs and sticks and tugged them away. Is this just a bit of mischief making?
The osprey chicks are spending a lot of time at the nest and they are extremely vocal.

Female osprey surprise!

Just as we were beginning to think that the female may have started to drift away from the family unit, she surprised us by turning up at the nest today. Two chicks arrived at the nest and were calling frantically for food. Then the male flew in to the nest carrying a fish which was so fresh it was still breathing and wet. He did not pass it across to the chicks however, but flew off into a nearby tree. The chicks were calling monotonously, beseeching him to return with the fish. Then an extraordinary thing happened, the adult female flew onto the nest and the male returned and passed the fresh fish, untouched, across to her. She feasted on it and even offered a small portion to one of the chicks. One chick flew off and then the other left the nest, just leaving the adult female who finished the whole fish to herself complete with tail fin, she then picked up some scraps of fish remains from an earlier meal and ate that.
We have never seen the male present a fish to the female this late in the season before and it was a fascinating insight into the bond between this pair. We are constantly learning more about the family life of the ospreys the more we observe them. It is hard not to apply anthropomorphism to the events today and see it as a touching moment within a relationship between the pair,as he has no duty to continue to bring fish to her at this late stage in the season. It begs the question - are they bound by more than just duty and instinct to raise a family?

Young carrying fish. 28th July.

A chick flew on to the nest with a fine fish in his talons. He never stayed to eat it, presumably in case his siblings spotted him and fancied sharing his prize.
There were no adults about and we wondered if this young chick had caught the fish for himself or whether he had been out hunting with his father who had caught it and pssed it over to him. Sometime after he had flown off, the other two chicks returned to the nest and they stridently vocalised their hunger for almost an hour before finally leaving.
The female has not been seen lately and perhaps she has broken away from the family as she will soon want to make her return journey back to Africa.