Good afternoon,
Another quick update from me, rounding up the latest activity at Loch Garten. Sort of like the 6'o'loch news...
At the weekend a young male osprey arrived at the nest, eliciting excitement among the team here and, no doubt, many of you. Almost as soon as he turned up at the nest, he attempted to mate with EJ which she seemed fairly receptive to although we don't think there were any successful attempts (indicated by her lifting her tail immediately afterwards). Since then, this young male (shall we call him Chris?) has been hanging around the nest and coming and going quite happily. Unfortunately, it appears that EJ isn't particularly keen on him, as she has been absent for long periods, apparently only turning up when he has gone! Yesterday, the love struck boy sat in a tree with a huge trout, seemingly waiting for EJ to return so he could present her with it. She, however, never got the message and, after a good couple of hours, he eventually disappeared with his fishy offering.
Waiting for EJ - the new male perches near the nest.
EJ has been around this morning, flitting between the nest and the camera tree, although she has now vacated the area. We are still keeping our eyes on the skies for arriving males but so far all is relatively quiet. There is still plenty of time for mating and laying so we're not panicking just yet - as long as we have eggs in the nest by early-mid May, there's a good chance of success. We'll keep you updated!
We've had a few more red squirrels visiting the centre over the past few days (I mean to eat peanuts from the feeders, not to look at the ospreys and browse in the shop...). As the weather continues to warm up, squirrel sightings will hopefully become much regular. If you're planning to visit in the hope of seeing a red squirrel, I would advise coming in the morning, as they tend to be more active earlier in the day and are usually long gone by 11am.
Don't forget, we've got our "Wake Up with Wildlife" event on Saturday and Sunday every week. The centre will be open from 5:30-8am, offering you the chance to watch ospreys in the sunrise and listen to the amazing dawn chorus as the forest wakes up. The event is absolutely free, so just turn up when you want and make your way up to the Osprey Centre. We'll be happy to welcome you!
That's all from me, see you all soon!