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!
Showing posts with label tokyo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tokyo. Show all posts
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Monday, 17 August 2009
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.
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.
Monday, 10 August 2009
Family News
Over the last few days the main Osprey nest has been the site of regular activity and it's been quite hard to keep a track of all the coming and going! The whole family is never on the nest all together now, and with the adults and chicks all still using the nest as a base , especially for feeding, it is a bit like watching a constantly changing who's who!
The reason for all the confusion is easy to appreciate when you realise that all three chicks are now at least as big as their father and Tokyo and Caledonia are nearly as big as mum! The only appreciable difference in appearance is the more speckled feathers of the youngsters (as each feather still has a pale fringe to it).
The only way to be certain of the birds identities is to zoom in and focus on their legs to read their Identity Leg rings ( known as Darvic rings) which they have been wearing since the 13th July. By this method we have been able to confirm all three chicks have visited the nest regularly this week- including little Stig who seems to be doing just fine!
We have even seen mum on Thursday who brought a fish back to the nest and fed the chicks as if they were little.
This is interesting as she is obviously back to hunting herself and getting fit for her migration south, as she is usually the first to head south- and this could be very soon indeed.
The reason for all the confusion is easy to appreciate when you realise that all three chicks are now at least as big as their father and Tokyo and Caledonia are nearly as big as mum! The only appreciable difference in appearance is the more speckled feathers of the youngsters (as each feather still has a pale fringe to it).
The only way to be certain of the birds identities is to zoom in and focus on their legs to read their Identity Leg rings ( known as Darvic rings) which they have been wearing since the 13th July. By this method we have been able to confirm all three chicks have visited the nest regularly this week- including little Stig who seems to be doing just fine!
We have even seen mum on Thursday who brought a fish back to the nest and fed the chicks as if they were little.
This is interesting as she is obviously back to hunting herself and getting fit for her migration south, as she is usually the first to head south- and this could be very soon indeed.
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Stig Still on the Nest
To all our enormous relief it seems little Stig, our smallest chick, has learnt from his misadventure at the beginning of the week, and is taking things slowly. He has been sitting on the nest all day again yesterday, doing some wing stretching and flapping, but not trying to take off. Some unkind people have suggested he's a little 'backwards' but we think he's just being cautious as his unscheduled first 'flight' was such a disaster!
There has been lots of action at the nest, with the two oldest chicks making regular short flights and both parents appearing on the nest regularly. However, when dad brought in a fish and mum was absent, there was an bit of squabbling over the fish- with no mum there to ensure they shared fairly, Tokyo the oldest and bossiest unsurprisingly got the majority of ti!
We expect all three chicks to be using the nest a lot in the next two or three weeks or so- unlike many small birds, the Osprey chicks first flight is just the start of a gradual 'fitness' regime, aimed at building wing muscle and strength for the long journeys ahead.
There has been lots of action at the nest, with the two oldest chicks making regular short flights and both parents appearing on the nest regularly. However, when dad brought in a fish and mum was absent, there was an bit of squabbling over the fish- with no mum there to ensure they shared fairly, Tokyo the oldest and bossiest unsurprisingly got the majority of ti!
We expect all three chicks to be using the nest a lot in the next two or three weeks or so- unlike many small birds, the Osprey chicks first flight is just the start of a gradual 'fitness' regime, aimed at building wing muscle and strength for the long journeys ahead.
Saturday, 25 July 2009
We Have First Lift Off!
This afternoon our oldest Osprey chick 'Tokyo' took his maiden flight. After a week full of vigorous wing stretching and flapping and a few attempts at flying across the large nest in the past couple of days, and at the grand old age of seven and half weeks he took his first flight from the nest at 1.57 pm today.
He was shepherded back to the nest by his ever watchful mother just three minutes later, as is often the case with Ospreys- they do not leave the nest permanently at first, continuing to use it as a base for several weeks to come, and only gradually building independence.
We will keep you posted on the progress of the other two chicks and be sure to drop in a visit us if you can to enjoy the thrills and spills ( crash landings and ungainly manoeuvres being common) of this eventful time in the young Ospreys lives.
He was shepherded back to the nest by his ever watchful mother just three minutes later, as is often the case with Ospreys- they do not leave the nest permanently at first, continuing to use it as a base for several weeks to come, and only gradually building independence.
We will keep you posted on the progress of the other two chicks and be sure to drop in a visit us if you can to enjoy the thrills and spills ( crash landings and ungainly manoeuvres being common) of this eventful time in the young Ospreys lives.
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Growing Up Fast
Our three Osprey chicks, Tokyo, Caledonia and Stig, are growing up incredibly fast and showing signs in the last couple of days of making quick progress.
The wing stretching phase begun in earnest ( in which the chicks stretch horizontally often to strengthen their muscles for flight) which is often gangly and at the expense of the others' personal space'! Its just as well the nest is so large and mum is spending more time off the nest in a nearby tree.
Also, the largest chick, Tokyo, was seen today feeding itself for the first time. When the usual afternoon fish was fed to the chicks by mum, only a small fibrous tail fin section remained- too small and unappetising for mum to consider. The oldest chick took it upon itself to eat this unaided, almost choking on the whole tail as it swallowed it! Greed is good if you're a growing Osprey!
The chicks will be six weeks old next week, which means only one thing- ringing day is near! We will probably be doing this special job early next week so stay posted for more info- it will be televised in the centre for you all to enjoy.
The wing stretching phase begun in earnest ( in which the chicks stretch horizontally often to strengthen their muscles for flight) which is often gangly and at the expense of the others' personal space'! Its just as well the nest is so large and mum is spending more time off the nest in a nearby tree.
Also, the largest chick, Tokyo, was seen today feeding itself for the first time. When the usual afternoon fish was fed to the chicks by mum, only a small fibrous tail fin section remained- too small and unappetising for mum to consider. The oldest chick took it upon itself to eat this unaided, almost choking on the whole tail as it swallowed it! Greed is good if you're a growing Osprey!
The chicks will be six weeks old next week, which means only one thing- ringing day is near! We will probably be doing this special job early next week so stay posted for more info- it will be televised in the centre for you all to enjoy.
Friday, 26 June 2009
The Name Game
Here in the Tweed Valley we have decided to break with convention this year and name our young Ospreys on the nest. There are three chicks at approximately three and a half weeks old, who are definately developing their own unique characters so we thought it high time they had names!
We have asked three of our local primary schools to help name the Osprey chicks , as hopefully these birds will part of the future of the Borders just as the children will be. The school holidays will be the ideal time for the children to come and meet their 'namesakes' and see for themselves just how fast they grow, and follow their eventful progress.
With very kind assistance of the local primary school children we now have names for two of our youngsters: The largest and bossiest chicks has been named " Tokyo" by Eddlestone Primary pupils and the second, darker chick has been named "Caledonia" by the pupils at Kingsland Primary School, Peebles. We are waiting for confirmation of the name for the third, youngest chick, but it is currently going by the nickname "Stig".
We have asked three of our local primary schools to help name the Osprey chicks , as hopefully these birds will part of the future of the Borders just as the children will be. The school holidays will be the ideal time for the children to come and meet their 'namesakes' and see for themselves just how fast they grow, and follow their eventful progress.
With very kind assistance of the local primary school children we now have names for two of our youngsters: The largest and bossiest chicks has been named " Tokyo" by Eddlestone Primary pupils and the second, darker chick has been named "Caledonia" by the pupils at Kingsland Primary School, Peebles. We are waiting for confirmation of the name for the third, youngest chick, but it is currently going by the nickname "Stig".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)