So a new year is upon us and what will it bring? Every year we think it cannot be as interesting or exciting or the year just gone but it usually is.
The first priority will be to see EJ and Odin back. I will be opening the guessing game two months from today as usual. You should know the format by now.
I have watched the Loch Garten nest for about 12 years now. I have yet to see a Loch Garten chick definitely return to Speyside. Will 2015 change that? All our hopes rest with Breagha. In a mere 16 weeks or so he should be heading north. The day when the tracker tells us that "he is off" will be an exciting one indeed.
Another burning question is whether Lady will return? Well that is a question which divides osprey fans. I guess it is best to wait and see, either way it will be highly emotional.
Last year Dyfi treated us to the most amazing spectacle to two female ospreys fighting over the same nest. Will it be repeated this year? A lot of fans are hoping it won't but there is a really good chance that it will if the Henry/Orange VS saga of yesteryear is any guide.
In early September last year Monty had dispatched the two bairns and normally one would expect him to migrate almost immediately but he stayed around for a few days, just loafing mainly, but certainly thrilling the watching fans before he began his climb into the sky and heading south.
Of course a new book "Ospreys in Wales the first ten years" by Emyr Evans has just been published. A truly wonderful book it is.
The Glaslyn birds are usually back very early and get down to reproduction faster than any other osprey pair. One hopes they have another season just like the last ten. Mind you 11 (98) will be 16 years old and with 3 (97) one of only two of the remaining ospreys translocated to Rutland in the period 1996 to 2001.
In recent years 3 (97) has always been the first British osprey to be reported as having returned to a nest following the winter break. Since he usually arrives around mid March the fans will be scanning the skies for him. Last year his son 5R failed to return and that was definitely one of the saddest events of 2014.
Of course there will be great interest in seeing 33 (11) return to establish a new dynasty in Manton Bay.
Two years ago we had one of the most amazing weeks in osprey history. White YA caused great interest when misidentified in the spring edition of RSPB magazine (it was actually the Loch Garten Nethy from 2008) and then turned up for real at Blagdon Lake where he proceeded to get himself caught in nets three times. Still he did wonders to publicise both Welsh and Kielder ospreys. Amazingly another Welsh osprey, yellow 37, came back from the "dead" at the same time.
Kielder had an amazing year in 2014 and they tracked three of their juvenile ospreys. The blogs on the tracking written by Joanna Dailey with input from Paul Wildlifewriter have brought analysis of tracking to a new level.
The Hellgate Canyon nest in Montana had another successful year with a very large fan base. There are lots of really good US osprey cams now available to those osprey addicts that need late night fixes. So much has changed since Betty and Dennis as the only streaming osprey cam back in 2003.
There have been many very fascinating migrations by Finnish ospreys. The most remarkable was surely Tero who kept us guessing as to where he was going to winter. Well the answer seems to be Keyna which is yet another new destination.
Well that is a brief summary of 2014 as I saw it. No doubt 2015 will bring a lot of pleasure as well as many tears. It is certainly great to wake up on the first day on a new year and feel excitement surge through ones veins. Let us hope it is always true.
Tiger Signature
When I was at the Bird Fair in 2012 at Hopetoun House, I met Abby along with Richard, she was another lovely young woman.
It does make you wonder what they are all doing now, some I can think of from 2013 are Jake, Tom and Marie all nice young people, it would be good to know how they are getting on now.
One good thing is that we know Jen will be there this year, so looking forward to hearing about the rest of the team.
EJ's Memorial Balgavies Loch Ospreys 2023
During her radio programme there was a magic time when people were e-mailing in and she was reading out the messages. Great memory.
If I were to look I think I have got most of those programmes in cyberspace.
Tiger: That really was a wonderful time, all of us listening to the programme together. She mentioned my name one night. I know it's silly, but I was so thrilled. :-)
MaryGK: Thanks for the photo. Such a beautiful person.
Diane, that is what I remember when we would all tune in hoping to hear our names mentioned ha ha....
Everyone whose name was mentioned were thrilled to bits, it was great entertainment though, Abby would pick music from Africa too, some really nice music was played.
Wasn't the idea that the programme was synchronised with the migration of Tore and Bynack.
The music was supposed to reflect their positions.
Bynack was rather naughty in the he flew down the North Sea. Some people think that he may have hitched a lift on a ship.
LOL Tiger.
This exercise may turn up some interesting facts about osprey over-wintering in Portugal - next Saturday. I am not sure how to find their results though.
Birdie's DU Summaries 2018 https://www.imagicat.com/
SheilaFE said: LOL Tiger. This exercise may turn up some interesting facts about osprey over-wintering in Portugal - next Saturday. I am not sure how to find their results though.
This is a wonderful initiative although the organisers are still short of volunteers for some areas. The appeal is on here and doubtless results and hopefully photos/sightings of UK ospreys will be published there idc. (Page 5 of the thread has the areas covered and the shortfalls are in red.)
Hazel b said: Wasn't the idea that the programme was synchronised with the migration of Tore and Bynack. The music was supposed to reflect their positions. Bynack was rather naughty in the he flew down the North Sea. Some people think that he may have hitched a lift on a ship.
Yes I think it was Tiger as always remember the nice selection of music Abby played, it was a great programme to follow. We will never know if Bynack hitched a lift or not, but it certainly looked like he did, I hope the crew had some ear plugs. :-)
Would be good to find out if any UK Ospreys are sighted, so hopefully we can find the results on line somewhere Sheila.
Disappointed I'm not in Portugal for this, was there last week. There was a wintering osprey at one site I went to (though I didn't see him/her other people had) but I did see one last year at Castro Marim. Was a bit of a surprise to see one just sitting on a post!
Millie & Fly the Border Collies