Well she has finally gone....EJ is well on her way to Africa by now. The last time we had a confirmed sighting was 15th August when both Henry and EJ appeared from nowhere to defend the nest against an intruding male osprey. They were victorious, of course, you wouldn't expect anything else. A female osprey was seen sitting with Henry at the back of the nest site for a further four days, presumably EJ, and then she disappeared.....so the 19th is the last time we say a female on site; and this is what we expected, EJ to go in the 3rd week of August....chicks or not.
What of Henry? His departure has been mentioned several times by visitors and workers alike, yet he still manages to pop up to surprise us all...... on the 24th he landed in full view of everyone at the centre with a huge trout and sat devouring it. Since then several sightings of a male osprey have been reported...is it Henry? Probably.
The centre is still open... we are entering our last week but still the visitors come; is it the hope of seeing one last fleeting glimpse of Henry? Is it to see the 2007 DVD presentation? Or is it just to show support for efforts this year? Whatever it is they have been welcomed and so are you. If you are in the area for the next few days... pop in, say hello. We can't promise a cup of tea but a warm welcome goes without saying.
If you want to specifically help the Loch Garten Osprey Team 2007, you might consider supporting the RSPB. You can do this online via the RSPB website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/join, if you add the code PR08, your membership will be credited to the Loch Garten team.