So this is the month you have been waiting on, the month when EJ and Odin should return to Loch Garten and set off a new breeding cycle. This will be the seventh year of them as a couple. Before the month is out we will know a lot more than we know now.
Right now we do know that the ospreys are moving north but it is a question of when will be the first osprey back on its nest in Britain. In recent years that honour has fallen to 3 (97) the great rutland patriarch. Start checking the skies from the 15 March onwards.
There will be much anxiety as to whether Lady arrives. She is not expected until the end of March.
The Glaslyn pair are usually very early too and they usually get down to breeding right away. They hold the record of the earliest ever osprey egg known to be laid in Britain.
Then there is Monty and Glesni. I know they are not due in March but Blue 24 is. Will Blue 24 be around for another season of harassment? We await the answer to that one with interest.
Then there are all those nests in the Lake District now. Will Bassenthwaite get a tracked osprey home. White 14 looks as if he might be heading north already.
Then of course there is Kielder. The one thing we can be sure of is that we get plenty of news from Kielder and the two Welsh males there.
So it is all beginning and no rest now until September.
Tiger Signature
Hi All
I have just been looking at this thread - as you all know when I started following Ospreys on the community I was dead against tagging but over the the last few seasons I have read, listened and learned.
Now I believe in tagging as I do like to know where the young Ospreys go but I still think that the boxes on the back are a bit cumbersome.
I also think that as time passes the technology will improve and help us understand more, as we do need to learn more about our birds animals and mammals as there is so much we do not know or understand so by learning more will enable us to help wild life in the future. It would be nice if we could find the answer to why we lose so many young Ospreys then maybe we would be able to help in some ways.
I know some of you will say that we should not intervene but I feel that sometimes we need to as we all need a helping hand along the way - even us humans do from time to time.
"Birds are, quite simply, little miracles - and as such they require care and consideration."
Magnus Ullman
My Flickr account is here
Limpy said:It would be nice if we could find the answer to why we lose so many young Ospreys then maybe we would be able to help in some ways.
I think we would all like to know the answer to that one Limpy. Clues are emerging to why that is so.
The number of tagged birds we lose are a reflection of how many juveniles are lost in general.
As soon as Milly moved a lot of people were concerned for her and sure enough she came to harm.
The remarkable thing about the adults is that they stick to a very small area in winter. Now is that a safety strategy?
Hazel b said:The remarkable think about the adults is that they stick to a very small area in winter. Now is that a safety strategy?
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 Bailey said:Perhaps they've checked everywhere else out and know where they are best off?
Yes but for birds that fly 400 miles in a day it is very remarkable how they all stick to a very small area.
Look at Green J for example. She has been doing that for over 20 years.
They're all used to sticking to a small area when they're in the UK as well. Perhaps it's something they're comfortable with.
Hazel b said:Yes but for birds that fly 400 miles in a day it is very remarkable how they all stick to a very small area.
ChloeB & Tiger's Osprey Data
DF Concerts promoter of T in the Park plan to remove the existing osprey nest at Stathallan Castle - near Auchterarder and construct a new nest a few hundred metres away before the ospreys return for this breeding season.
Only 33 pairs bred in Perthshire last year.
The RSPB will not be objecting to the planning application to host T in the Park at Strathallan Castle but will be working with SNH and Perth and Kinross Council to advise on how they can reduce the impact of this major event on wildlife.
I am rather disappointed with the outcome.
Keith I gather not just nesting tree but lots more besides:-(
Is that correct ?
Wendyb - Correct the site is also used by breeding kingfishers, red kites and barn owls.
I have continually opposed this venue writing to authorities and will continue to do so.
Good luck Keith and thankyou in your endeavours..
Maybe I am an old cynic but maybe financial inducements have come in to play..