First egg is lost - but looks like another's been laid

Just as we were celebrating the arrival of the first egg in the Tweed Valley (the first from an osprey in the UK, we thought), reports came in that the egg had fallen from the nest.

The egg was laid on 5th April and it was confirmed missing yesterday (7th April). However, all the signs are that the female has laid again so everyone on the project is keeping optimistic.

Diane, our Osprey Information Officer said:

"This was very disappointing but we are pleased to report that our volunteers have seen the female sitting on the nest again so we are quite confident that she has laid another egg....fingers crossed!

"A lot of work had been undertaken to help build up the artificial nest before the ospreys returned from their long migration. It appears that the birds had continued to add more and more material on top of about 12 inches of snow which had fallen very recently.

"Unfortunately this may have resulted in a loose nest and with high winds the egg may have ended up at the edge of the nest. We think the parents then tried to roll the egg back into position but failed to do so.

"The good news is of course that we think that the female has laid again and that ospreys have continued to build up the nest further and it looks much stronger."

We'll have more details when get them.

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.

Snow and gale force winds

Deep snow on the nest and gale force winds are not the ideal welcome home for the birds. In fact it may have upset our pair as they have not been seen due to the blizzard conditions, and another female has appeared at the nest.

We hope the pair are taking shelter and will be back to defend their territory soon.

Welcome back!

Osprey Watch centre re-opens on Sunday 4th April

We are delighted to announce that our osprey pair have successfully returned from Africa and are back on the nest and we're looking forward to this, their 7th year in the Tweed Valley Forest Park.

The two osprey centres in the Tweed Valley at Kailzie Gardens and Glentress Forest will reopen on Sunday 4th April and will be open until the 31st August between 10.00am and 5.00pm every day.

We'll be bringing you updates on the blog so keep an eye out for the latest goings-on.

One Last Thing....

The Osprey Officer Emma is leaving the project to work with other wildlife and would just like to say a heartfelt thank you to the fabulous volunteer team who make this project happen. Many of you will not realise that the two osprey visitor centres are run entirely by a volunteer team, fifty local people who donate their time and expert knowledge of birds and local wildlife to share with the public. The project would simple not happen if it weren't for their support and that of the whole local community who help us protect these fabulous birds.

It has been a privilege to lead this team and to share the magic of the osprey season with our numerous friendly visitors over the last three years. I hope you have enjoyed the blog, and the camera views- here's hoping 2010 will be just as exciting!

Goodbye and Good luck

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!

Until next time...

We hope you enjoyed the updates this season - we're now going into 'off season' mode on the blog. We'll keep it ticking over during the autumn and winter and will be back in the spring for next season's action.