LOCH GARTEN Daily Obs & Captures MAY 2021

Les Carr said:

Thanks CRinger and SheilaFE, I’m really surprised you were able to decipher my writing, I think it’s all a thing of the past now, the number of times I’ve written Odin flew in with a FIHS still makes me smile.

I always put the occasional spelling error down to your aboslutely genuine excitement!

You need to tell that story on here about - was it a ?Goosander? that you saw disappear beneath the surface of the Spey one evening and the cause? I am sure you remember it.

The signs are good. She is bringing in lining material for the nest.

I’d walked down the field from the chalets to the river Spey to do a bit of bird of bird watching when a big “Splash” caught my attention, I rushed to the riverbank to see a goosander, only problem was IT WAS IN AN OTTERS MOUTH and it was flying underwater trying to get away, I followed it along the riverbank for about 500 yards and it went under the far bank.
I phoned the camp and told them what I was watching, I told them to “walk down the field from the chalets to the riverside where I was and they would see it,”
By now the goosander was dead and was being eaten very loudly by the otter,
The team decided in their wisdom to come down by car and parked on the side of the road next to the railway only to find themselves on the wrong side of the river, standing almost above the otter( which was still eating the goosander) but not being able to see anything, a really good evening, For me

Thanks Les! Just 1 of the amazing sights and sounds that LG volunteers may be priveleged to see. I think RSPB should put you on a retainer for encouraging new voluneers!

Absolutely CRinger, Les is part of the furniture up at Garten... we've had MANY a chuckle over the years.... The stories I've heard in the FH and chalets... I should write a book !!!

Mike B said:

MC. I hope you've found that the picture is now OK?

I posted "We're mended" @ 06:05, Mike, but it got lost above the fish vid.

How wonderful to hear the tales and stories of the old days as volunteers. It sounds such fun, alongside the serious task of recording the every move of the ospreys. Who is on the nest, when eggs were turned, fish brought in and what species, intruders (feathered variety, hopefully) seen or heard, eggs cracking, chicks hatching, juveniles fledging. Oh what joy!

henry w said:

Absolutely CRinger, Les is part of the furniture up at Garten... we've had MANY a chuckle over the years.... The stories I've heard in the FH and chalets... I should write a book !!!

Henry please don't include in the book the episode about the sheep in the farmer's field filing a petition at the Inverness Sheriff's court that Les's snoring from the chalet kept them awake at night. 

SheilaFE said:

How wonderful to hear the tales and stories of the old days as volunteers. It sounds such fun, alongside the serious task of recording the every move of the ospreys. Who is on the nest, when eggs were turned, fish brought in and what species, intruders (feathered variety, hopefully) seen or heard, eggs cracking, chicks hatching, juveniles fledging. Oh what joy!

I remember well re-reading a one and a half page entry in the volunteers log (when I was analysing the data in 1999 for my thesis, about an incident on the nest 1 day in the early 1990's). It wasn't about the Ospreys - it was about the 20 minute appearance of a wryneck ojn the nest tree shortly after dawn. Word got out and the next day there were about 100  people in the VC as soon as it opened - not looking for Ospreys - but looking to see if the wryneck would put in a  re-appearance.

I say 're-read' because I was there when it was written by my partner volunteer, I was rather humbled as he was at least 20 years younger than me and realised the importance of the sighting. I had never heard of a wryneck, but got a good view of it and he made me identify it from the excellent field guide we had in the FH. There was something quite surreal looking at data in 1999 that I had entered in the log as a volunteer 6, 7 and 8 years arlier.  

Sadly it was not seen again on my watch.