Continued from May 2024
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The Osprey Protection Programme at Loch of the Lowes is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, with funds awarded by Postcode Planet Trust
All captures and videos ©Scottish Wildlife Trust/Loch of the Lowes
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Since the 9th May, a dark, unringed male intruder (with a distinctive large pupil in his right eye and who the team at Lowes has estimated to be 2-3 years of age) has been a regular visitor to the nest. The Pale Male, who had ‘destroyed’ the three eggs on the 7th/8th May, has not been seen on camera again and it was mentioned that this new young male had chased him from the area.
He has delivered many small fish ‘gifts’ (three in one day on a couple of occasions) and a sizable larger one to NC0 - her calls expressed how grateful she was - but that did not stop her from catching her own huge meal on the 23rd May, to satisfy her appetite. His many mating attempts have so far been rejected by NC0 though this has not put him off from making continuous efforts. The Dark Intruder, as named by staff in the hides on the reserve, is showing great nest building skills - bringing in a multitude of various-sized sticks and soft nesting material.
Although the relationship is in its early stages, NC0 appears to have accepted him as a 'potential' future mate and they have been observed working as a team to defend the nest against seen, and unseen, intruders - all encouraging signs for the beginning of a possible new chapter here at Loch of the Lowes.
Nest Updates
Arrival dates: NC0(16) - 8.3.24 (17:52) Laddie (LM12) - 27.3.24 (16:38) RIP Laddie (LM12) - remains found 3.5.24
Eggs laid: Egg #1 - 17.4.24 (10:48) Egg #2 - 20.4.24 (10:53) Egg #3 - 23.4.24 (20:47)
*Two eggs were destroyed on 7.5.24; the third one on 8.5.24, by an unringed, Pale Male Osprey. All were deemed unviable due to being chilled and left for long periods without incubation
Links to blogs and updates during March, April, May
June to end of season Blogs and Updates (Published dates)
20.6.24: LotL Fb >>> Update re NC0, DI and two female nest intruders
Thanks Belinda!
20:38 NC0 was fish calling on the birch. The male appeared from low behind it, flying towards the opposite side of the Loch
She made her way to the nest
She fish called on landing and continued as she made her way onto her 'log'
NC0 remained on the back edge of the nest (calling) until 21:02, when she turned and made her way to the front
She quietened down after a little while
21:18 It had started to rain, NC0 rested her eyes on occasion
21:21
21:27 She quietly looked around
Then began to fish call again
At 21:28, she turned, flapped her way onto her 'log' and almost used it like a springboard to lift off
She landed on the birch
NC0 was still on there pre night cam at 22:24
It was great to see her!
©SWT/LotL
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So sorry you haven't been well {{{Sandra}}} ... I do hope you're feeling better today
In the making since yesterday - a commemoration of NC0's vocal arrival with fish which you reported on the 21st, her mucky meal and the Raven polishing it off later:
..
billy said:Blue ringed bird just landed on nest with male. Can't read ring, it didn't stay long. Haven't seen NCO today
Blue ringed bird just landed on nest with male. Can't read ring, it didn't stay long. Haven't seen NCO today
I wonder if she was on the campost when the rather peaceful intrusion was going on? By the sound of it there was definitely a third party nearby
I have tried and tried to read the ring but failed. Do we know if SWT managed to read it? (I may have missed info in the intervening pages here.) I went to LotL FB but you'd hardly know they were interested in ospreys from the first few scrolls on that page !!!
IMAGICAT
Apart from the middle number looking like 4 I have no idea as very difficult to read
billy said:Apart from the middle number looking like 4
That's as far as I got at first - then I thought the last digit was a 7...
My previous laptop had a very high-res display and might have been helpful, but this cam is very low-res so maybe not.
I can’t make it out either. It’s a clear view yet when magnified, it loses definition.I also can’t find any recent posts from SWT re intruder.
22 July continued...
DM fish for NC0 - she flew to dead birch area, I flew after her and I thought he was veering to the right but he then veered left and disappeared before leaving the screen :-/
This time is beyond approximate ;p
23 July
DM with sticks, then NC0... maybe :(((
This stick was about 10 feet long
NC0 landing, mantling, bringing sticks (the very sticky one she managed to dump at the back of the nest in the end), mantling again (no-one seen during mantles), last = about to fly off with calls.
Hang on, no, that last one was another mantle - this is the fly-off with calls:
^^^ That's up to 14:00
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PM
He was suppoed to have brought a fish but hadn't, she was very annoyed and scolded him - he flew, eventually she flew too:
Later, there's an intruder or intruders around, we never got to see them - this is extremely abbreviated:
Once NC0 left there was no more activity and no-one on the nest overnight.
24 July
NC0 flew in a bit after 08:00 and stayed doing nothing much for about 8 minutes.
An hour and a half later someone landed and stayed, wary? for under a minute:
That was it up to 14:00.
Hope you'll be back in action soon, Sandra, without too much atching up to do - at least you know nothing major has occurred in your absence - per my sketchy reports compared to yours
I didn't find time for LotL yesterday and when I've checked today I find there's a huge chumk of the day missing. However, There was a very small fish gift - I know it was small because I couldn't get a snap, not coming in, being claimed, or going out in NC0's talons and she was back in 20 minutes!
So, no snaps for the 24th but there were several nest visits.
25 July
DM flew in at 05:00-ish and had a little potter, stood waitng, left after about 20 minutes. Hoping this will confirm that it was indeed DM:
09:20 NC0 landed:
After about 15 minutes of NC0 doing a little pottering and much standing waiting, DM seemed to fly out of the inlet and around and in with a bunch of strawy stuff, which NC0 seemed to know all along was not going to be a fish:
He stayed less than 2 minutes and after another 20 minutes of mainly standing NC0 flew off too... but she was back very pronto with a medium stick.
10:00 (or a bit after) INTRUSION
that my IDs are right, if you correct me I'll have to somehow put a note on YouTube
I thought I'd missed the denouement thru the intervention of the end/restart of download sessions, but when I tried to record it from rollback (leaving no stone unturned!) I discovered that the dang cam had gone down for half an hour - so we'll never know how NC0 came to be replaced by URF. (I have greatly shortened a lot of the stationary mantlings.)
That's it up to 16:50.
Thinking of you, Sandra