Hi all. Just got this started before zipping off to bluegrass concert. Check out the previous blog for nifty photos of alpacas from OG and more!
Hi Everyone
Not logged in for a while but still following Rothes and Mallachie. Did anyone see Autumnwatch last night, it is repeated again tonight, there was a fantastic piece on about Ospreys migrating from Scotland to Senegal, SImon King was filiming them feeding and it was brilliant!
Sue
Hi Sue D,
I did see Autumnwatch and I could not agree more. It was wonderful how the local people relied on the ospreys to find shoals of fish and the way they respected the birds. A lesson to us all. If only everyone in the UK was like that it would be great. There is still a great deal of education to be done in this country re wildlife. Simon KIng did a great job and it gave us a flavour of what Rothes and Mallachie are doing right now. Not forgetting Garten, EJ and Odin of course.
FAB
Hi all!
I too saw Autumnwatch ... great to get an osprey 'fix' again. It was great how the locals almost thought of the osprey as a lucky omen ... they could teach some people in this country a thing or two about how to treat birds of prey. It was good to see the juveniles fishing ... not very successfully at times ... and made me realise that even though they have migrated such a long distance, they still have a lot to learn about fishing!!
Joan - avid bird and nature watcher in Northumberland!
Index Thread
On Autumnwatch I shall watch it again to get a note of the place names* in Senegal, that Simon mentioned and yes, it was worth the wait, water, mangroves, not too hot, fish in abundance and the ospreys being protected by the villagers because of their use as avian, fish 'radar' detectors.
Talking of radar here is the Met Office UK rainfall radar, worth bookmarking for future reference.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/radar/index.html
* Saloum Delta National Park.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_du_Saloum_National_Park
ChloeB & Tiger's Osprey Data Site
Sat track schedule Spring 2014
LG 7 days; RW & SWT nil; LDOP varies
Hi jsb, Yes enjoyed the Autumnwatch report, though probably too short for all of us! It was the Saloum Delta NP and specifically the Ile aux Oiseaux (Island of the Birds), which comes up if you search in GE. Roy Dennis in his book quotes a song by the Wolof fishermen of Senegal which translates as:
Osprey, the special one
Fisherman of the sea
He does not have nets
He does not beg for fish
The fisherman and his boat
The Osprey and his skills
There will be no lack of fish
Morning all.
Sounds like Autumnwatch was a special one last night. I hadn't realized, but had wondered, how the local population in their destination spots view the birds - you can't get much better than being seen as a good omen.
Sunny and around 70F (21C) today here. Had my morning coffee sitting by the (new) window in "my" room, watching the morning breakfast rush at the bird feeder and the contrails of jets heading north out of LA, just minutes apart. Have lots of boxes to unpack and still some furniture to move; then a grocery shopping mission since I can't beg off "real" cooking anymore! :-). Then, next week, will start a thorough cleaning of the back of the house where we've been living for four months - absolutely grotty.
Hope the UK folks haven't all blown away; that Auntie hasn't too many goosebumps, and that AQ hasn't melted, and that everyone in between is comfy.
Just about to start a new thread.
Terry
Thank you so much. We had a good day today, did you? But the forecast is dire for the next few days - assume you're with us and any improvement will be a bonus! Love your part of the world. We stayed in Ambleside some years ago and are looking to having another trip in 2010. Bassenthwaite ospreys, maybe!