This is a new thread for Rutland Ospreys, to cover:
Some links to check
Rutland Ospreys Website
Blog (will be used to report on West Africa trip)
Twitter
Hi folks, posted on the Weekly Chat but posting here as well. Had a lovely day out at Rutland but only made it as far as the Waterscrape hide as the walk was fairly long for me - not too good at walking any distance at present. Never got to the Shallow Water hide Alan where I know we would have a better view but as I said it is the walking, particularly as you had to walk back again. Enough, it was great. I made myself known to Lynda who was on duty at the Waterscrape hide and she filled us in. All five were around this morning but mum, about 10am, started to spiral and gain height and then seemed to head South so they think she has gone but won't know till the morning. 5R was on the far perch from the nest and then was joined by a juve. Took pics but even with my camera they are not distinguishable - just for my record knowing they were there. It was an experience not to be missed and shall try and get OH up there next year a bit earlier in the season and will try to make it to the Shallow Water hide!!!!!
http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/
RSPB Giving Nature a Home
Unfortunately no fishing took place whilst we were there.
Here are the pics from Tuesday at MB:
Mrs skims the water and catches a small fish. A juve tries to intercept her:
After ignoring the imploring juve, and eating the snack fish all to herself, she washes her talons of fish scales.
Then she caught another one which she delivered to the nest.
Next it was 5R's turn to catch one.
This is from today's visit.
Lynette - it was a pleasure to meet you, knowing how involved you are on this blog. Very belated birthday and anniversary wishes. I'm so glad that you saw a couple of the MB family but I wished they'd been a bit more obliging. One thing you could consider next year, if you want to get as far as Shallow Water Hide and that is to hire the motorised chair (think it's about £5) - that would take the hard work out of the walk.
For anyone visiting to see the Ospreys once the eggs have hatched, early morning and teatime/early evening are best - we have graphs that show us that is when most fish are caught and it is also the reason why the Osprey Cruises are timed early am and early evening. Of course, it goes without saying that mid/late July is a great time to see the juveniles 'helicoptering' and attempting flight.
Went to MB this afternoon and can report all the family are still there - in fact, by the time I left, there were 6 ospreys in the Bay!
Sandy fabulous photo's and thank you for posting and a pleasure to see. That house, is it a house, hotel, or a prison, the views out of the windows there must be wonderful
Thankyou Lyndab, that is really helpful to know and will keep it in mind and of course will ring and book it in advance if that is what is required. Its not that I don't want to walk I have a medical condition that makes it quite painful walking any distance It.would have been nice to see them fishing but he! one can't have everything heh! and it is nature as it happens
Wonderful pictures of Sandy's posted today, absolutely stunning.
Unknown said: Sandy fabulous photo's and thank you for posting and a pleasure to see. That house, is it a house, hotel, or a prison, the views out of the windows there must be wonderful
Sandy - these ate fantastic pictures you will be surpassing John Wright. Are these taken from Shallow Water Hide - I have jut invested in a new Cannon DSLR - what lens did you use for these pictures. Is 300mm adequate or would I need to get a bigger magnification. It is mainly for use in the Highlands but as I know the hides at Rutland I can judge where you are and the birds were. Do you the enhance and crop.
Hi Keith and thanks. Whenever I'm in the hide with John at RW he doesn't look too worried! LOL.
Seriously though, the reason for the decent pics has been simply that my three visits in the last week have been among the best ever for action at MB - it's been stunning. As long as you don't mind the cacophony of three juves constantly crying for food then it couldn't get any better. 5R and Mrs have stopped the supply of really large fish and are reluctantly supplying tiddlers for the boys - most of which are being caught in the Bay itself. Mrs in particular has been catching them by swooping low and picking them off the surface, rather than the usual plunge technique - something I've not seen before.
Each time a small fish has been caught the juves are trying to intercept the adult to ensure they get to it first. Even when they manage to secure it, the others are chasing them around the bay, resulting in some stunning flying displays. With so much action there's so many photo opportunities, and, just occasionally, it results in a decent pic. It's basically a numbers game - take shed-loads and you might get the odd decent one!
The majority of my photos are taken in Shallow Water hide, others in Waderscrape. I actually wouldn't recommend my camera/lens set up for osprey photography - I have an old and basic DSLR and a zoom lens. This means that, wide open, I'm only getting f11 with the inevitable difficulty in achieving workable shutter speeds. I use the zoom because I also like to take close-ups of insects etc, and also for landscapes. For purely long-range stuff I'd always recommend a prime lens (300mm minimum) which should give a decent f-stop, coupled with a 1.4 converter.
Most of my pics an here are cropped massively, but I don't believe in enhancing too much. I only have the basic editor that came with the laptop and only ever adjust the brightness/contrast. I would never use Photoshop - it's tantamount to cheating!