EJ has left the building!

Morning bloggers. Just a quickie to say that your suspicions have surely been confirmed, and our precious EJ hasn't been seen since Saturday morning (August 13), when she brought the remains of a fish to the nest. After that she presumably began her migration and hopefully will be able to make the most of the fine weather which is forecast. It doesn't need saying that this is a bitter sweet moment - she's had a great season and, with the trusty Odin,  has successfully reared two beautiful osprey chicks in her 19th year, providing us all with plenty of wonderful moments along the way. But, as ever, we are always left wondering whether she will return and can only cross our fingers and wish her well.

Rowan, Willow and Odin remain around the nest, and we anticipate they'll be around for another week at least,  but who can tell? Roy Dennis thinks that the early hatching date won't impact on the migration date, but with good weather conditions and the fact that Rowan was the earliest ever osprey chick hatched at Loch Garten, maybe their migration will start sooner than recent years? We'll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile, there are still birds to be seen around the nest or on nearby perches, giving visitors wonderful views, as ever. 

The happy couple. Odin takes his turn incubating, April 2016.

Proud mum, EJ, feeding her two chicks in May 2016.

Fare thee well, EJ!