Hello everyone and a Happy Easter to all,
We've had a brilliant Easter weekend at Loch Garten. After opening slightly earlier than usual on the 29th of March, we weren't sure whether we'd get many folk through the door for the first few days. How wrong were we? Loads of you have been to see us (and a certain osprey who we'll come to later) over the past few days and it's been great to see the new team chatting to captivated audiences, young and old. There's been a real celebratory mood at Loch Garten, with Easter activities galore, fantastic crested tit sightings and EJ posing nicely for what is her 16th summer at Loch Garten. The beautiful old girl has been spending a fair bit of time away from the nest, fishing and exploring, but always comes back in the afternoon to survey her territory and scan for any returning males. So far, she's not had much luck but we expect to see more young birds arriving back from their wintering grounds over the next week or two. We're hopeful that, with her own nest and years of experience, EJ will attract herself a new mate to continue the Loch Garten saga.
Welcome home...EJ in the camera tree
Yesterday saw a sudden buzz of excitement in the visitor centre as a cry of "white-tailed eagle" went up. We rushed to the viewing slides and then outside to witness EJ busily seeing off what appeared to me to be a barn door soaring through the air. As you can see from the picture below EJ, despite her 1.8m wingspan, is practically dwarfed by the majestic eagle who seemed to be just passing through. Probably a juvenile, this was a harsh life lesson for the youngster, as EJ repeatedly dive bombed the bigger bird, buzzing around like a midge around a monkey (I think I just made that saying up, but I quite like it...). As the eagle disappeared into the distance, EJ returned to the nest contemplating a job well done. Why she doesn't do the same to the two pesky crows that are hanging around, I don't know! You can see more pictures of the encounter on our Facebook page.
EJ and the eagle (image by Ellie Dimambro-Denson)
As I mentioned, we've had some great Easter fun this weekend. Children (of all ages, I might add) have been attempting our nature treasure hunt, rewarded with egg-shaped prizes - both chocolate and hard-boiled for decorating. Disappointingly, everyone seems to have solved all the clues, found all the answers and completed the treasure hunt. Next year, I'll have to make them yet more difficult still! Mind you, I have had a couple of compliments regarding my rhyming couplet clues...I'm a poet and I didn't...err...realise.
Thanks to everyone who has visited us over the this weekend. It's been great fun and a lovely way to start the season. We will keep you updated with any news on EJ's love life and any further interesting activity. For now, I'll leave you with this years official team photo. I'm sure you''ll agree that we are one handsome bunch (especially the guy in the middle at the back...)!
Loch Garten Osprey team 2018 (l-r) Jo, Blair, Chris, Emma, Steven, Raquel.
See you soon. Don't eat too much chocolate!