Good afternoon all,
Just a quick update from me as I know many of you are following events at the nest closely. Today has been very quiet in terms of osprey related activity. Still no sign of Odin who has now been absent for 5 days (a small part of me is clinging on to the faintest hope that he may yet reappear). EJ has been visible (on the camera, at least) for the morning, perched mainly on a small tree to the rear of the nest (the "Love tree" for those in the know!). This afternoon she has been out of sight, potentially fishing. She is not expending a great deal of energy at the moment but has started fishing once a day. Although it's great news that she's feeding herself again, it's always a tough sight to see an empty nest at this stage of the season.
Intruder activity has also been minimal but we did start the day with a sighting of a "new" male sitting on the tree next to the nest. The camera revealed a blue leg-ring with the code FC5, however, as yet we have been unable to find the details regarding this ring. Since his appearance on the camera tree and then a brief flutter around the nest, FC5 has not been seen again so it may have just been a passing visit. EJ certainly wasn't too happy to see him and she'll probably still be bonded with Odin for a while yet. Any new males will have their work cut out to impress her.
FC5 looking at his own feet
That's pretty much all of the osprey news I have to tell you about today. We, like many of you, are still coming to terms with events over recent days and the Osprey Centre has had something of a subdued atmosphere throughout the day. I hope that many of you will still come and visit the centre over the summer - it's not quite the season we all hoped for but the Caledonian pine forest is still a magical place with lots to see. Plus, EJ is still as beautiful as ever and she's going to have lots of male attention over the coming months!
I'd also like to take this opportunity to say thank you on behalf of myself and the team. During the last few days we have received hundreds of messages of support and solidarity and it has made a really difficult time that little bit more bearable. Jess has already brilliantly explained the reasons for our decision not to interfere so I won't go through it again, however, I would like to say that we've really appreciated the willingness you've all shown to engage with us throughout the process. A decision like this was never going to be black and white or as simple as right and wrong and it's fair to say that there are a number of people who disagree with the course of action we chose. Again, I would say thank you for raising your objections - I promise that each one was noted and considered. We knew that our ospreys had a massive following and were much-loved the world over, but the response to the current situation has been bigger than we imagined. Every comment, for or against, shows us how much you all care and that you invest just as much emotion in these special birds as we do. So thank you.
Hopefully, I'll see you soon but for now, goodbye!
Chris