Well the beginning of September usually marks the end of the osprey season. This year we still have two chicks at Dyfi who may well be here for another month. What two magnificent chicks they are.
Cerist provided drama just after fledging by going missing for 53 hours. I had the good fortune to be right there in the Dyfi Visitor Centre when she returned.
Also there is the vexed question of Monty's second nest and what will happen to it over the winter? My view is that given the chance he would use it in the spring.
The Loch Garten season came to a quiet end with the whole family leaving over the space of a few days and Oighrig and Breagh are now in Spain and France respectively.
We also had news of a chick from a four chick nest in Sutherland dropping in at Dyfi. Apparently there have been two four chick nests this year. So it has been a good year for ospreys which is not the same for other raptors as they have had a poor season.
We also had news of the translocation of 12 Scottish ospreys to northern Spain.
Anyway it is now down to the long wait until our feathered friends return in 2014.
Tiger Signature
Latest Loch Garten Update
Many thanks, Tiger!
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Clare thanks for that link, it was a lovely blog. A place I have never been and wow the size of that emperor caterpillar. I really hope Margo has seen this link and that she is ok. :-)
Hi, all. I wasn't sure where to post this information or whether to post it at all, so if you aren't interested, please forgive me.
The U.S. Space Fence was shut down on September 1 after 50 years of operation. The Space Fence -- the Air Force Space Surveillance System -- is the radar system that tracks tens of thousands of objects (debris, space junk, meteors, etc.) orbiting Earth.
The shutdown leaves over 1,000 active satellites vulnerable, because "close approach warnings" will no longer be issued. In 2012, as a result of these warnings, satellite operators performed over 75 maneuvers to avoid potential collisions with objects in space. Now, those satellites could remain in harm's way.
Each month the Space Fence logged more than 5 million satellite observations and provided orbital data to hundreds of commercial and government organizations worldwide. I don't know whether international monitoring agencies are prepared to take up the mission?
I assume that the satellites responsible for osprey tracking data (including Argos) will now be at risk for collision and damage. This shutdown could potentially impact satellite tracking programs for birds and other wildlife globally -- not to mention threatening the world's critical technology systems.
The program has been halted due to sequestration (the automatic across-the-board spending cuts that took effect on March 1 because the U.S. Congress could not agree on a budget). A new system won't be operational before 2017 -- if then. Further info: here, here, and here.
DIANE Interesting and worrying at the same time
Thanks Diane.
I'm stunned by that news, DIANE. It's mystifying that such a critical service could be shut down :'(
IMAGICAT
edited and the reason on the wrong thread and I do think this thread is really interesting.
edited and being honest.
So sorry and so upset and posted by mistake on here. I would remove and if ok I will as not on the right thread.