Just had a message from Roy Dennis telling me that Spain have used yellow/black rings to ring winter caught osprey & hence this may not be Baldrick.
I am so sorry all - I would never intentionally mislead you & I certainly was not aware of the same colour used in Spain.
One thing I can categorically confirm is that M has returned today & yellow/black 28 is absent.
Here is a picture of M this evening - my apologies again
One Life - Live It!!
No apologies required; it was & continues to be fascinating. Please continue to update us with the news/your suspicions etc.
We know the Spanish used the Yellow & Black rings because of the Aberfoyle Female OU, is there any chance of knowing if they used 28
Many Thanks
Valmc I do not think you have anything to apologise for. Up to this moment I thought that rings were unique.
To be honest until it is proved that another yellow 28 does exist I will continue to believe it is Baldrick.
In any case no worries. I presume this bird has a metal ring on it right leg? If it doesn't then maybe it is not Baldrick!
If the metal ring on the right leg has the right number...its Balders :)
Tiger Signature
Absolutely no need to apologise for anything, Val. Even if yellow/black 28 is not a unique ring (which I still think it is) then the chances of your bird being a Spanish ringed one and not Baldrick are still slim. Thanks for the great pic of M!
Valmc I did post this link to a report of a Spanish ringing yesterday, as I thought it might contain some clues. This female juvenile, yellow/black 82 was ringed on the Biscay coast this Feb. Clearly this is not your visitor - wrong sex, wrong age, right numbers but reversed. Note also that the colour ring is put on the right leg - though might this be the left if the bird already had a metal ring on the right?
I believe the ringer shown here, Jose Manuel Sayago, is Roy's counterpart in Spain and works on the reintroduction project in Andalusia - so I guess Roy will now ask him if he's used 28 and if so on which leg.......it will be interesting to hear any further news.
You all make good points. I am holding out that it is...or was...Baldrick.
Lovely photo of M and no need for apologies at all Val. BTW did you say you had some video footage of Baldrick?
Sue thanks for the link. Very interesting. Love the last pic! That's what I think of you lot! :)
Looking forward to further news.
ChloeB & Tiger's Osprey Data
On page 171, 172 of "Life of Ospreys" there is an account of these ringings in Spain. The one thing that strikes you immediately is how few of the birds are Scottish.
We learn every day!
Heard tonight that there are two Ospreys at Threave (near Castle Dougas) again this year - not sure whether they are ringed birds at this site, but they have been quietly known about for several years, and are now freely talked about.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Unknown said: Heard tonight that there are two Ospreys at Threave (near Castle Dougas) again this year - not sure whether they are ringed birds at this site, but they have been quietly known about for several years, and are now freely talked about.
The male is Black 80 the chick hatched at Glaslyn in 2006. That was the year its older sibling died. Some very good pics here.
Thanks, Tiger.
Update from Caerlaverock - AW returned today and a bit of a ding-dong, with 3 birds on the nest at one time! Seems AW may have got rid of the new bird - but if mating had successfully occurred, I guess we could have a mixed brood there!