Hello bloggersphere, I hope all is well and . I would firstly like to apologise to anyone who couldn't find our introduction blog. I had posted it in another forum to make it even more exclusive a scoop for you all. Here is the link to it for those who have not seen it https://community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisit/lochgartenospreys/m/lochgartenospreys-mediagallery/782679?fbclid=IwAR2kWe4ME7376mjq6ymuWf9hAexjCzDe10t5…

  Hey there guys, hope you've all had a lovely start to the new year. Just a wee intro from me to say hello. I am currently stepping in as the Visitor Experience Manager to cover the great loss of Chris. I will do my best to keep you posted on the goings on of the Osprey Centre and the reserve.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Fergus. I was working at the OC…

Merry Christmas everyone!

Amazingly, it’s that time of year again already! 2018 has simply flown by, in a whirlwind of osprey drama, scorching summer heat and incredible news revelations. The announcement of the ground-breaking Cairngorms Connect project followed by the news that Winterwatch, Springwatch and Autumnwatch are all coming live from this area in 2019, came after another summer soap opera that is the Loch Garten…

Hello again everybody,

It’s been a while since my last blog. I know that many of you will have spent much of the time sitting patiently at your computer or staring wistfully at your phone hoping that a new blog will suddenly appear, all the while muttering, “Come on Chris, we need to hear about the blimmin’ Goose Roost event”. Well, at last your wait is over. Not only am I here to tell you all about the Goose Roost event…

Hello again to everyone in Blogland,

It has been a month since we closed the doors to the Osprey Centre but, far from being our “quiet season”, we have in fact been very busy at Loch Garten over the past few weeks. In early September I spent a couple of days with Peter from Carnyx as he worked on our feeder cam. I’d love to say I helped but I think that would be pushing it somewhat! Effectively, I sat and watched as…

Wow.

Another season has come and gone. We have officially closed the Osprey Centre (the pit traps and electric fences are all in place), we’ve removed the cameras from the osprey nest (carefully trimming the newly sprouted lawn at the same time) and we’ve tidied EJ away in her box (that’s a joke, of course – we actually rent her a room in a hotel in Aviemore for the winter). We’ve also been busy preparing the reserve…

I’ve not written a huge number of blogs over the years – Chris and the team do the vast majority, but of all the blogs I’ve ever written, this is by far the hardest.

Those of you who have visited the Osprey Centre in the last few weeks will have seen that this season we have had to say goodbye to one of our trusted and valued friends and volunteers – Rob Ballinger, who has passed away after a short…

Dear bloggers,

You’ve not heard from us in a while so here we go with a short update of the situation in Loch Garten. The highlight so far is that EJ has finally gone! She was spotted for the last time on the 3rd of August, so after a week we can say for sure that she is definitely gone. Farewell EJ! We wish you a safe travel and favourable winds. We’ll all be waiting for you in March! George has not been seen recently…

Hello people of the blog,

I trust you are all well. It's been a while since I wrote to you so I thought I'd send a quick update from Loch Garten. Osprey-wise, it's very much as you were. EJ is still in residence, spending her days perched on a low tree behind the nest, often slowly devouring a large trout. Today, she has been onto the nest once or twice and was even joined by George for a short while. He is coming and…

Hello!

It's been a busy morning here at the osprey centre, with my questionable camera skills put to the test. There have been two intruding ospreys: one male (PP7 aka Cromarty) and one female (unringed). You may remember PP7 from last year: he was the male that was around when Odin disappeared, so it is interesting to see him around again. Notice the satellite tracker on his back: this no longer works but helps us to…

Hello!

My name is Lorna and I am the new intern at RSPB Loch Garten, strolling in from Glasgow halfway through the season. Better late than never, eh? I have recently graduated (last week in fact) from the University of Glasgow studying Geography, covering the likes of Biogeographies of Europe, Nature Conservation and Coastal Erosion. However much I loved my degree, there comes a time that you can no longer learn about…

Hey Bloggers, it's Emma here again with a brief weekly osprey update!

Firstly I would like to clarify a few things with regards to the osprey and the mallard scenario reported in last weeks blog. There was a lot of confusion around whether EJ was mobbed by a mallard, and it turns out that she WAS. Pesky ducks. The photographs published showed an unringed osprey, but it turns out there were a few angry female mallards…

Good Afternoon Bloggers!

It's been a pretty exciting week here on Abernethy - well as exciting as things can get without having osprey chicks! EJ has been around the nest on various perches, preening and munching on fish as she always does. We have had a few intruding ospreys around and we have had a number of visits from our favourite male osprey - George! Intruder 'Blue NU7' appeared back on the camera tree, after…

Hello Blogmigo’s.

I hope you are all doing okay? For those you that are wondering, I’m doing just fine, a bit frustrated with how the season is going, but I still feel lucky to work in such a wonderful place with some beautiful wildlife.

So let’s cut to the chase then.

George has been visiting EJ less and less often, so much so that we’ve only seen him twice in the last week and a half. Although to…

Hello bloggers! We apologise for the lack of blogs recently - we have been two team members down for a while now, due to personal reasons, so we're all having to work extra hard to make sure our visitors have a great time when they come to the Osprey Centre, leaving little time for writing blogs!

We are all so sad because of the situation on the nest this year, especially because it’s going to be the second year…

Hello all,

This week we have seen George bringing in a few fish for EJ, and he has also spent some time incubating the eggs and attempting to mate again. Who knows? Maybe he is finally putting the pieces of the puzzle together and we remain optimistic at Loch Garten that in time, he could be a loyal and successful partner for EJ.

George incubating the eggs after giving EJ a fish! 

EJ is spending some of her time…

Good afternoon,

Just a quick one from me today, really to let you all know that the situation with EJ and her eggs hasn't really changed except that we are now certain that the eggs won't hatch. Although she is currently sitting on them, EJ has been away from the nest for whole days over the past week or so (including on Tuesday which was particularly wet and cold). Her instinct is clearly still telling her to incubate…

Hi all,

News from the nest is much the same I'm afraid. EJ is still incubating and George continues to show up periodically, usually without a fish. On Wednesday, after one fish in a week and a half, EJ was forced to leave the nest to feed herself. She was off the eggs for a long time (between 7 and 8 hours!) and unfortunately this means things don't look good for the viability of the eggs. A couple of hours here and…

Hello from Loch Garten,

Another quick update from the nest to keep you in the loop.

EJ is still busy incubating her three eggs but unfortunately hasn't been receiving the support she deserves from her young male, George. She, as chief incubator and egg protector, has passed on all fishing duties to George, so that she can diligently attend to her duties. Since Saturday, however, George hasn't brought her so much as…

Hi Folks,

 Just a quick update from the front-line, penned during my lunch-break on a fine, if a little chilly, Friday afternoon.

I’ve just caught up with the forum after a crazily busy week and I realise some of you are a little concerned about our George and are doubting his abilities /commitment to EJ. All I can say is, when he’s not here, obviously we know as much about his whereabouts as you do! He has shown that…

Stunning and impressive, the largest grouse species in the world make their home here in Strathspey. Favouring the enchanting Scots Pine woodland with a mixed bilberry and heather field layer, capercaillie have become increasingly illusive in Scotland. Over time their habitat has become fragmented and has significantly reduced in size. We only have 1% of our native Caledonian Scots Pine forest left; one of the largest…

Good afternoon all.

Now that the male osprey seems to have stepped up and is regularly feeding EJ, as well as incubating the eggs and seeing off the occasional raven, we feel it's only fair to make him part of the Loch Garten family. Tune in to BBC Radio Scotland's "Out for the Weekend" programme at approximately 3:20 this afternoon for a grand announcement (and it's not that his favourite food is fish)...…

Photo: Jo Sinclair

We are hosting Wake Up With Wildlife mornings at the Osprey Centre every Saturday and Sunday up to 6 May. Our stalwart volunteer Kenny welcomed in the first redstart of the spring this week, capturing a handsome singing male that seems to have chosen the camera tree as a regular perch. He can often be heard in the visitor centre on the microphone. It's always worth listening out for EJ and other…

Hello again bloggers,

I’m writing this blog on one of the calmest, sunniest days we’ve had so far this year. The insects are out, bees are buzzing, birds are chirping and visitors are smiling. But this isn’t the only reason for us to be happy today. Today we welcomed EJ’s second egg of the season, EJ and the male have both just started to incubate the eggs and the male has just brought her another fish!! Wooooohooooooo…

Hello all.

What an interesting few days it's been here at Loch Garten. I'll fill you in as best I can!

After not seeing EJ at all for about two days towards the end of last week, she promptly turned up and laid an egg in the early hours of Tuesday morning! Of course, we were delighted and the news was met with excitement by the team and visitors alike. However, EJ soon started demonstrating rather strange behaviour…