Good morning all,
As you can probably guess from the imaginative and inspiring title of the blog, this will be a quick recap of the events at Loch Garten over the past week or so. I'll be writing these short updates at least twice a week from now on so that you are all up to speed with what's happening at the Osprey Centre. They will be interspersed with longer, more detailed blogs from the rest of the team about life at Loch Garten. Don't forget, you can always get more news and updates at our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Anyway, things have been relatively quiet on the osprey front for the past few days. EJ, our long serving female, has been coming and going around the nest, often appearing with a large fish-shaped breakfast! It must be a bit of a shock to the system to come back to all this snow after a winter of sun! We are yet to see any significant activity regarding new males, as she waits to meet her prince charming. We did, however, have an intruding female land on the nest briefly, before disappearing fairly rapidly into the horizon. This cold weather is perhaps delaying the arrival of many birds, both ospreys and other migrants, as we are yet to see any redstarts or hear any cuckoos. I always get quite excited when I hear my first cuckoo of the season, normally as I'm walking up the path to the centre. Hopefully it won't be too long!
EJ in the snow by Julie Quirie
We've had great crested tit sightings on our feeders recently and are starting to see a few more red squirrels around. The bank voles are also beginning to appear around the feet of our feeders, hoovering up the dropped seed. The forest is definitely starting to wake up after a long, cold winter.
So, that's about it from me. If you're in the area this weekend, we are starting our "Wake Up with Wildlife" dawn event. If you're feeling brave, this will be held every Saturday and Sunday for the next few weeks, from 5:30-8am! Watching the sunrise behind the osprey nest is always pretty magical, as is listening to the dawn chorus and scanning the bog woodland for capercaillie and deer. Although chances are slim of seeing a caper, you never know...On that note, if you're in Scotland this spring and are planning to go looking for these amazing birds, please, please be responsible and follow the advice below. DO NOT disturb any lek or breeding area and please DO NOT share knowledge of any lek sites. Caper numbers are falling and they need our help and our respect. Thanks.
Have a great weekend!!