It looks like our ospreys are rather camera shy. While there is evidence that they are still using the nest in the evening and through the night to roost, there is no activity at the nest during the day. Extra dry grass keeps appearing in the nest bowl so our new female is adding the finishing touches but where do they go during the day? If you have seen an osprey locally please do let us know.
This past beautifully sunny Sunday, Port William hosted the annual World Oceans Week celebrations. Great fun was had by everyone with Galloway Activity Centre providing sea kayaking and archery, and wildfood foraging with Mark Williams of Galloway Wildfoods. The RSPB had a stall highlighting the ever increasing problem of marine litter and on a more light-hearted note ran a popular beach art competition. Enya with her 'Crusty Crab', no.17 scooped 1st prize, a soft toy penguin; Oscar & Leo from Newton Stewart won 2nd prize for their tower of stone; and 3rd Prize went to Maisie Murray from Port William. A full underwater scene by the Patchett family and a mermaid by Abby, Ella & Faith, complete with green seaweed tail came joint 4th place. Well done to everyone who took part, all were fantastic entries with great imagination!
The RSPB has a Marine Protection Areas campaign on the go at the moment. The Scottish government has taken a very positive step to helping the environment by creating Marine Protection Areas, sadly they are ignoring the plight of our seabirds with this landmark move. We need to protect the feeding areas at sea that our seabirds use to ensure that our internationally important seabird colonies around the UK have access to sufficient food to feed their chicks. Each year fewer seabirds return to the cliffs to breed as they are finding it increasing difficult to find enough food to reach breeding condition. We must give them as much help as we can and provide protection for their known feeding areas. If you'd like to help this campaign, check out www.rspb.org.uk/choosesealife