Osprey Chat Thread for May 2015

At the start of last month we were asking "Where are all the ospreys?" There were fears that many would not return.

Well things changed in early April and there was a rush of ospreys arriving.

On 2nd April there was great joy when EJ arrived, a bit late but looking magnificent. Then very unusually early on 6th April Odin arrived in the dark something I do not think we have seen before. Then they were off for another breeding season which initially went smoothly except for a pine marten having dug a hole in the nest.

However late in the month the coupled have been plagued by intruders who have made life difficult for them. The last time that EJ suffered a really bad intrusion was 2004 when she was fiercely attacked each morning. This came to an end with an egg being broken. Fortunately history has not repeated itself yet.

The new female at Loch of the Lowes produced a few surprises and quite a few people were convinced that she was Lady. However with time it became clear that she was most likely to be the female who occupied the nest for a week in 2013.

At Dyfi Blue 24 put in an appearance on April 7.  To the great delight of his fans Monty arrived later in the day. Monty was not so keen to entertain Blue 24 this year and when Glesni  arrived early on April 9 Blue 24 was seen off quickly.

Glaslyn has been rather sad this year. It is now clear that the legendary 11 (98) is not coming back. The Glaslyn female has had a succession males (including her son Blue 80) but none of them have stayed long.  Remarkably she has laid three eggs but it has all been rather strange.

At Kielder the news has been excellent. Three successful nests so far and one (nest 2) is a four egg nest. The two tracked Kielder birds continue to do well.

On 6th  April there was the most amazing news from Manton Bay, Rutland. Both Maya and Blue 33 returned. Maya was nearly three weeks late compared to 2014 and many people were very worried for her.

Then later in the month there was news from site B Rutland that the grandson of 3 (97) had attempted to evict grandpa. Well grandpa managed to hold on to his nest but the first clutch of eggs were broken. Remarkably a second clutch has now been laid. A very rare occurrence. 

The tracked birds Blue XD, Green J and Beatrice all made it home safely. 

The Bassenthwaite  chick White 14 has started his migration north. Still no sign that Breagha will do the same but surely he must be on his way soon.

So a greatly transformed situation with lots to look forward to in the coming months.