Richard’s last blog ended with hopes of sunny days so that we might enjoy a more summery vibe here in Abernethy. Well, it happened. My first day back after a week’s holiday was blazing sunshine and sleeves-rolled kind of temperatures. Yesterday followed suit and even the midgies were at bay meaning smiles were abundant and people relaxed.
It also means EJ may have left the building. [I know she was never in the building, but you get my meaning] We’re not sure yet, but she hasn’t been seen since midday yesterday. We’re guessing she may well have taken the opportunity to beat the holiday traffic and head south before schools go back. We’ll be looking out for her of course, but if she’s not spotted by tonight, we can pretty safely wave goodbye to her from Loch Garten this season.
{EDIT - Since writing this blog, we have discovered a case of mistaken identification! EJ was in fact seen delivering a fish after 9am this morning (Tuesday) }
Ho hum. The thought of that sounds a bit ridiculous to me. Having never worked a season here before, I’m only really used to being here when she is. EJ arrived 10 days after I did, back in March and at that point there were so many new wonders to see that I didn’t really notice the lack of any osprey. Things might be different now. If EJ has left, it means the others really won’t be long following. It might get teary here, it might already have. It would be so nice if just once EJ would have the courtesy to say ‘thank you’ and wave goodbye. In all the 9 years she’s been here, I don’t think she’s ever let us know that she’s making a move. It’s not me being bitter, I’d like to thank her too. I’d like to say ‘bon voyage’ and safe travels and all that kind of thing.
But before we get too emotionally attached to these magnificent birds, let’s look at some facts. Dates of departure in the last 2 years;
2009
9 August – Rothes
19 August – Odin
26 August – Garten
27 August – EJ
29 August – Mallachie
2010
14 August – Chick 1
21 August – EJ
25 August – Chicks 2, 3 and Odin
So there you go, no real pattern in the last 2 years. Supposedly EJ goes first followed by the chicks, then Odin leaves at the end. As you can see, they like to keep us on our toes.
So now, on the somewhat dreary afternoon of August 16th, we have been mainly waiting to see some birds. All three ospreys have been away for several hours and at one point, a visitor said she hadn’t seen any birds. I started to explain about the osprey situation and that at the moment they are busy preparing for migration and getting their strength up, until she clarified that she hadn’t seen ANY birds. No siskins, no great tits, not even a chaffinch. It was very weird. Sparrowhawks do frequent the reserve and scare all the wee ones away now and again, but it felt a bit stranger. Caroline went to look out the front and she couldn’t see any there either. Odd. Eventually a young greenfinch braved it onto the window feeder and I made sure everyone in the centre got to hear about it. Then I came through the back to write this blog.
You’ll be pleased to know that all three have again just been seen. Bynack appeared on the nest, shortly followed by Odin who delivered a tasty looking fish. Odin left and Bynack took off with it. Very quickly it looked like Bynack flew back to perch underneath the nest without the fish. John assumed he must have dropped it until he realised that the latest landing was actually Tore. Oh dear, she was just a bit too late for a meal again. But they’re still here. All three, definitely. For now.
All this dreaming of sunshine and food, maybe we should ‘be careful what you fish for...
Thanks for reading and to some of you, thanks as well for listening. If you're interested in hearing me on radio, I am presenting a show every Monday evening from 8-10pm on local community station Speysound!
It's great fun and if you're interested in listening to some quality music from all over the place, tune in and enjoy! I'm doing regular osprey updates and playing music from where they go on migration. www.speysound.com at the moment there's no listen again feature so you have to be there live 8-10pm. hope to see you there!