Possible hatching dates for ospreys and herons....

The waiting game has begun in earnest as we watch the two live screens with the heron nest and the osprey nest on camera at Kailzie Gardens Osprey and Nature Watch Centre and the osprey nest at Glentress Peel Wildwatch room. The ospreys and herons at the nest are engaged in full time incubation duties and it is fascinating to watch the behaviour and different strategies adopted by the two different species towards their nesting activities and in the rearing of their young.



Glentress Peel Wildwatch

The osprey pair at the main nest behave as a very close partnership. The incubation duties appear to be equally shared and there seem to be genuinely affectionate moments between the two expectant parents. They sidle up close together, often the male will gently nudge the female until she is persuaded to rise up off the eggs and let him take a turn at incubating.


During this period a lot of nest scraping takes place and fiddling about with sticks to move from one side of the nest to the other, possibly a way to occupy the time. It is easy to tell the difference between the adults not just because the male has the leg ring white SS but he is about one third smaller than the female and has a pure white chest, whereas the larger female has a streaked chestnut band of feathering on her chest and the markings on the back of her head crest look like a chocolate coloured concorde. 

Heron adults appear to be identical to each other, the text books tell us that the parents share incubation duties but we have never witnessed a swapping over at the nest, so perhaps this only happens infrequently. We have not witnessed any interaction between parent birds and never know if it is the male or the female that is sitting on duty. Apparently the male heron is the larger of the two but only really noticeable in wing length and beak length which is not obvious at all when they are sitting incubating. Both birds are strikingly handsome with long black head plumes and sleek grey plumage with streaked black, speckled, neck feathering. They sit motionless when incubating for long periods and often we double check that the camera is still working, when suddenly, the bird will stand and reach down to turn the three blue/green eggs.

Osprey incubation takes between 37 and 42 days and the first egg was laid on 12th April, so we can expect that the earliest likely hatching date for the first egg could be 19th May.





Kailzie Osprey and nature watch



The heron eggs were laid on 20th April, 24th and 27th April and they take 25 to 26 days to incubate, meaning that we will have live hatching on camera anytime from the 16th May. Because they have nested so late this year it will be the first time we have ever seen the heron chicks when they have just hatched. We are very excited about watching the heron chicks develop this year as we get to see the family raised right from the very start. Heron siblings behave with a great deal of rivalry and there can be many dramas, often with older siblings killing off younger ones and even eating them.



Ospreys have never displayed such behaviour in the nest in the ten years that we have watched this family. The parents are very attentive to their young whereas the heron parents have a very different approach, delivering food and leaving the chicks for long periods in the nest alone.

The camera nest box became occupied with a blue tit nest building very early in April and then all activity seemed to come to a halt. The warm sunny weather seems to have kick-started the nesting imperative and the blue tit has been seen actively nest building again, although we have not seen any eggs yet. It would appear that the cold snap has caused the blue tit to delay laying which is good because they need to wait until there is a plentiful supply of caterpillars to feed any young. Last year they were caught out by laying early and the wet weather meant there were no caterpillars. We watched as one chick after another starved and the sad image of the blue tit removing dead nestlings is hopefully not to be repeated this year. Populations do fluctuate due to seasonal variations but over time should even out.

Feeding the three new arrivals

On Saturday 19th May, the male brought in a small fish with red fins, possibly a rudd or a roach. The fish was still alive and flapping as Mum was feeding the chicks and the tail fin caught the 4th egg and rolled it in the nest so we got a really clear view of it.



Our female osprey feeds her young chicks

 On 21st May the male brought a freshly caught fish back to the nest with the head still intact and the fish was flapping about which was a grisly sight. Usually he would have eaten the head first and then delivered the remains but because the chicks have only just hatched he must be very keen to ensure that his family benefit from the successful fishing trip as soon as possible.The female tore off small strips of flesh from the fish and fed this directly to the young chicks.

After feeding time was over, the female settled down onto the young brood and appeared to be continuing to incubate the fourth egg.

Visit our two Osprey Watch centres at Kailzie Gardens and Glentress for quality live images of our osprey family.

Blue tits have a new family as eggs start to hatch



Our blue tits are now proud parents

 Yesterday at the centre at Kailzie we were delighted to see 8 tiny little wide open mouthed heads reaching up out of the nestcup begging for food. Mum is intermittently still incubating , so we have 2 more eggs still to hatch. Dad was very busy diving into the nest box with green caterpillars for the brood and bringing food in to mum.

Both birds were in and out of the box all day and bringing back food to satisfy their little ones. They will be fed a diet of green caterpillars as super high protein rations to enable speedy growth.

Twitchy Ospreys await the day

 

One of our ospreys guarding the nest

The soon to be parents are becoming a little restless, they are old hands at this family game and have raised 8 broods of chicks to date, with this year being their ninth brood.

So understandably they must realise that the time is very close now for hatching out their first 2012 youngster.
We are hoping to have this years first hatched osprey chick in Scotland too, so hurry up parents and incubate those eggs!

Today on the nest the male brought a huge fish in to eat and this became a shared meal.



Our male osprey brings home the dinner

The backdrop of forest sounds was delightful as a song thrush has taken up residence close by and was practising his triple song phrases with gusto.

We are expecting hatching soon and as there is news we will post it on the blog and via our twitter feed.

Nine years of watching this osprey pair raise their family and yet the excitement at hatching time never fades.

They are magnificent birds and we are all looking forward to see how many chicks they will have.

Male Osprey taking on his role as "Man of the nest"



One of our Ospreys incubating at the nest

 Things are going really well for our parents to be in Tweed Valley.

The pair have spent the first part of the incubation season going off to hunt for themselves and then taking it in turns to incubate the eggs.

They seem to have a system all worked out and operate a rota which keeps the whole egg incubation period running as a slick operation.

Things have changed this week though - a slight shift in behaviour - the male (White leg ring SS) has started to hunt for his lady!



Female osprey sets of with
our male's latest catch



He has been spotted bringing in headless fish and delivering the substantial body to

the female at the nest.

He must be catching the fish, then perching up close by and feeding on the nutritious brains before passing his bounty over to the female once she is ready for a swap over at the nest.

She takes the fish and flies off with it while he settles down into a spot of incubation duty.

Signs of a great team at work as we edge closer to the appearance of some new chicks.



Two osprey chicks!

Two osprey chicks have been seen and the female was removing eggshell from the nest. We are hoping that there is another egg, as the birds keep moving something about, after feeding the chicks, which we hope is another egg. She appears to be continuing to incubate, rather than just shelter her youngsters. These are possibly, the first osprey chicks in Scotland this year. Congratulations to Wales, with the earliest record ever, for osprey hatching in the UK (9th May). If our main nest birds have 3 chicks this year, that will bring them to the grand total of 20 chicks raised since 2004.

Osprey parents could teach heron parents a lesson or two on parenting skills!



Herons are not doing well, with this cold, wet spring. The early April warm weather must have been a bonus for the early nesters in the heronry but the later ones are struggling in this wet weather.

Blue tits are doing well and are the cutest, if not the ugliest chicks ever!!

Blue tits

The blue tit cam is relaying stunning images of the little parent nestled down in the nest incubating her eggs. It was at first thought that there are 8 eggs in the nest but when she turned them earlier today, up to 11 were counted and possibly more!

osprey dates

The incubation period for osprey eggs is approximately 37 days long. The pair at this nest seem to have an incubation period of around 39 days and we think that the first egg was laid on 5th April which means that hatching at the very earliest date could be 11th May but more likely from Friday 13th May. It has been an uneventful incubation period so far with both parents appearing relaxed and settled. This pair are in their 8th year nesting and raising a family together and little ruffles their experienced feathers!

Ospreys and Blue tits

The ospreys are keeping their clutch size a close guarded secret this year! The way they have built up the nest to secure their eggs means that we cannot see into the nest, to determine the number of eggs. We are guessing between 2-3 but it will be a nice surprise once hatching occurs. Viewing into the nest once chicks hatch, will not be a problem, because once hatched the parents stand at the nest edges in order to reach in and feed the young and it is at this stage that the nest flattens out and becomes a flat platform. We will be able to see right in and view the chicks very clearly. It is estimated that hatching will occur in the third week of May.

The blue tit female in the nestcam at Kailzie has finished laying eggs and today she sat down to begin incubation. The male was bringing lovely caterpillar and spider treats in for her to eat and as this nest now has live sound, it was so lovely to hear the interaction between the couple as food is passed to the expectant mum.

We had high hopes that the third egg would hatch today but as yet no sign of any hatching. The parents have been very busy feeding the two youngsters during the hot weather at the weekend and during these times the female has not been incubating.
Today she has resumed incubation duties, so there is still time and we will keep a close watch over the next few days and keep fingers crossed.

Nest Cams

A fidgety female osprey sat in the nest incubating her eggs yesterday, she will be aware that it is not long to go until the arrival of the little chicks. I wonder if she can hear them inside the eggs?

The other nests on camera at Kailzie Gardens are doing well, the blue tit has finally begun to incubate her eggs. The nest is a cosy, snug little cup, adorned with swan feathers under which she covers herself and the eggs. She regularly wriggles about and turns the eggs during which time we can view in stunning detail, this attractive little bird.

The heron camera is now back to full working order and the nest has three big, not so cute chicks! Watching herons on the nest is like watching a scene from Jurassic Park.

Cheeky intruder osprey.

On 19th April both birds were at the nest when a cheeky intruder osprey joined them The bird landed briefly on the edge of the nest and was chased off by male bird SS. Who was the mystery intruder? Could it have been a previous offspring popping in to say hello, or was it a stranger checking out a desirable residence?
Both birds are taking turns to incubate the eggs. They are fishing for themselves and eating away from the nest, we presume this strategy avoids attracting scavengers such as crows.

Keeping warm

Sunday 18th April.


The male SS brought in a large clump of moss to the nest and tucked it around the female while she was incubating. On such a cold day, a welcome windbreak for the incubating bird!


3 eggs where revealed when the female stood up. ( Image taken from the CCTV film footage).

Some work is due to be carried out on the main osprey transmitter to fit a new cable for sound, this may mean a temporary disruption for viewing the picture. Once done this will be a very welcome addition to viewing the nest, as we will be able to hear the birds calling.

At Kailzie a blue tit has been busy nest building revealed on nest box cam.

Our first egg!

The strong winds have gone, most of the snow has melted too, and our pair are back and have given us an Easter egg treat!  They only arrived in the Tweed Valley on the 21st March and have already laid an egg.

Diane, the Osprey Information Officer, has the story:

"The ospreys had a bit of a battering with the recent bad weather but they've come back to a sturdy nest - thanks to the Forestry Commission Scotland and RSPB rangers - and things are looking promising.

"We think the first egg was laid yesterday [5th April] as that is when our volunteers spotted it for the first time.  The female is taking a real interest in the egg, rolling it around and getting it into the best position for incubation.  This is all good news and we just need to keep our fingers crossed now that everything falls into place and we get more eggs."

It's possible this is the first osprey egg laid in the UK this year. You might catch a glimps of it via the webcam - there's a small version of it on the right of this page and you can see a larger version on the main Tweed Valley Ospreys site.

Both the Glentress and Kailzie visitor centres are now open.  Details of opening hours on the main site too.

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!

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.

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.

A Triple Bonus!

Three is definitely our lucky number here at the Tweed Valley Osprey Project. After keeping us waiting so long for the first egg to arrive, our resident female osprey has excelled herself and again laid three eggs! We got a glimpse of the third egg today, which was probably laid sometime in the last 36 hours. Both parents are already doing sterling duty incubating and turning the eggs.

Let's just hope their parental dedication will see all three hatch in a few weeks time!

Incubation Begins

Over the weekend here in the Tweed Valley, our ospreys have been settling down to the long and patient task of incubating their egg. As yet there is still only one egg, but because the nest is so deeply cup shaped, it may be a few days before we can confirm the presence of another egg as we would normally expect. This pair of birds have historically laid two or three each year for the last five years.

It seems our male, being impatient for the first egg to arrive has spent most of his time digging out the centre of the nest ( all that kicking may have been frustration!) and adding yet more moss which is doing a great job of hiding the eggs from view. After a weekend of perfect sunshine it turned very cold again yesterday so all that insulation certainly came in handy though.

Our male osprey has been showing himself to be his usual considerate and devoted self- taking a turn at least once a day to sit on the egg. Usually when he arrives back with a fish , the female will take it off to eat it and he will sit in the nest- carefully curling his long talons in to avoid endangering the egg. He can sit for up to an hour a half , showing unusual paternal devotion.

Let's hope that both birds soon have another egg to lavish attention on!