...it is now(ish).
Empty nest
Yes, today is the last of the 2017 Osprey Centre season. And what a season it has been, filled with highs and lows that repeatedly reminded us of the beauty and fragility of nature. This final blog gives us a chance to look back at the events that combined to tell the story of our nest this year. So, here goes...
23rd March - A last minute glance out of the viewing hide on a chilly March evening reveals an osprey-shaped lump sitting in the camera tree. A quick look through binoculars reveals that it is not an osprey-shaped figment of my imagination, but our beautiful female, EJ, returned for her 15th summer at Loch Garten.
31st March - EJ is joined by a familiar looking male with whom she looks decidedly grumpy but does accept onto the nest. Odin has returned!
9th April - After many, many mating attempts (leapfrog, anyone?) over a period of 10 days or so, EJ lays the first egg of this years clutch.
12th April - The second egg is spotted...or is that speckled? Anyway, it's seen for the first time at around midday.
15th April - A third egg appears, completing the clutch.
23rd April - EJ, busily incubating her eggs, is almost buried by snow after a crazy day of weather! Snow..? In late April..? Welcome to the Highlands!
16th May - After five weeks of sitting on the nest, doing nothing except eating, sleeping and taking the occasional toilet break (sounds good to me...except for the heavy snow and diet of raw fish of course), EJ stands up to reveal that the first egg has hatched. Within minutes the tiny chick is eating more than Fergus does at lunchtime!
18th May - The second chick is seen for the first time, having hatched sometime through the night. Unfortunately, this date became quite poignant as it marked the last sighting of Odin. At this stage of the season there were a number of young male ospreys (such as "Blue FC5", right) persistently hassling Odin on the nest. Interlopers such as these are fairly common at all nests and can usually be seen off by the resident male. Occasionally, however, as seems to have been the case at Loch Garten this summer, it is not this straightforward. We don't know exactly what happened to Odin, but our best guess is that in bravely guarding his nest and family from the intruding males, he picked up an injury and was unable to return.
20th May - The third egg hatches but, with no male around to provide food, all three of the chicks did not survive long. At this point, I don't feel that there is any need to go into the debate around whether or not we should have interfered and provided food for the chicks, but if anyone wants to read the reasoning for our decision not to, you can do so here.
22nd May - Tragically Odin has not returned and all three chicks have perished. EJ, finally submitting to her hunger, leaves the nest to fish. She later reappears with a large trout, suggesting that she, at least, will be OK.
June & July - EJ stays around the nest, seeing off other females and garnering quite a bit of attention (some wanted, some clearly not) from new males. A pair of ospreys (female 'Blue CT6' and an unringed male) become frequent visitors to the nest, even using it as a platform to pass fish to each other! Could this be the new power-couple of Loch Garten? (Not if EJ has anything to do with it).
14th July - EJ is seen for the last time. Although very early to set off on migration, our assumption is that, with no chicks to rear, she has decided to get a head start on the weather. This summer, EJ turned 20 years old - a cracking age for an osprey - but we hope that she may have a few more years in her yet. Roll on March 2018...
So a very quick and very brief rundown of the season there. Don't forget that, if you hanker after more detail, all of the blogs written by the team throughout the summer are still available and provide a great commentary on the season. And talking of the team, here is a little something from each of them as way of a good bye...
Fergus, 23 from Edinburgh, says "Has been lovely to meet so many people who came in to see us this year and have such a large support group of people helping us through this season. The biscuits and the conversation have kept our spirits up! I am intrigued to see what will occur next year on the nest. I would also like to apologise to anyone who saw me in my underwear on hero day".
Next up is Dundee Utd fan (yes, they do have one), Blair. "Thanks to all the bloggers that came to visit us, and gave us the much need support in our time of need this year. I've had such a wonderful time working at Loch Garten and I hope to return next year. So, hopefully (if Chris and Jess will have me back), you might be seeing a lot more of me... you unlucky sods!"
Sarah has this to say: "Loch Garten is a very special place and it's been lovely to meet everyone coming into the centre! Hopefully next year will be more successful for our lovely birds, it will definitely be exciting to follow! Needless to say I am going to miss being surrounded by such lovely forest and mountains everyday (not to mention the awesome LG team)... hopefully at some point in the future, I'll be back!"
Last, but definitely not least, is our Welsh wonder, Alice. "Hi all, it has been a pleasure to write for you and to even have met some of you! Despite having a rather different season to the one I was hoping for, I have had the most amazing time working and living in this EPIC location! Out of all the places I have been lucky enough to call home, this one is by far the most special to me and will certainly be the hardest to leave. I move back to South Wales in two weeks time and am very much looking forward to spending some quality time with my friends and family...as to what's on the cards for me next, I have no idea, which is as equally scary as it is exciting. One thing is for sure though...I will definitely be a regular visit to the ultimate osprey nest! Much love and all the best, Alice xo"
So there we are. Another summer come and gone. Another osprey breeding season passed in the blink of an eye. Personally, it has yet again been a privilege to work in this amazing place with amazing creatures, surrounded by amazing people (how many "amazings" can you get in one sentence?). Nature can appear cruel to us sometimes but I think it is important to be reminded of how incredible and precious life is. So I am sad that this season is over. And yet, I am filled with an anticipation and excitement for the future which is helping to keep my sadness at bay. I will be back at Loch Garten for next season (I can almost hear your groans of disappointment) and can't wait to see what the future holds for our ospreys. But I am also looking forward to what the future holds for the centre and surrounding reserve. We will certainly be looking to diversify our focus, highlighting (alongside the ospreys) some of the other amazing species we find in the area. The Caledonian pine forest is home to some incredible wildlife including pine martens, red squirrels, badgers, deer, crested tits and crossbills, not to mention the beautiful array of invertebrates, plants and fungi that call this place home. We want to inspire all of our visitors to see the forest as we do - as one of the most magical places in the world.
Wonderful Wildlife at Loch Garten
I would like to say a quick thank you to all of you who have visited, contacted and supported us through this most difficult of seasons - it was great to have you along for the ride. As ever, our brilliant "bloggers" have kept us going with overnight updates and online support - thank you for your ever-valuable contributions. Thanks also to our local volunteers, Mike, Rob, Frank and Jean - if you visited the osprey centre during this or previous seasons, you will almost certainly have chatted to one of these amazing people. They are vital members of our team and the days when they are in the centre are always that little bit more special. And last of all, thank you to our incredible retail team, Julie Q, Julie S and Julia. No end-of-season blog would be complete without mentioning them and only a fool would leave them out. These three special people are a massive part of the centre and their great humour, great kindness and great cakes make every osprey season that bit more magical for the team, our visitors and maybe even the wildlife. We love you.
Have an amazing winter everyone and we look forward to seeing you all at Loch Garten next year.
Chris x