It seems to me that the lack of ospreys at Loch Garten is a serious one that may need a lot of thinking about. Not only is there an empty nest but an empty visitor centre. There may need to be serious strategic thinking in order to ensure that this problem is solved and stays solved.
It would seem that the RSPB may need to put a camera on another nest and use that in the short term.
In the longer term they may need more imaginative solutions.
Maybe this is the chance for the highly knowledgable community here to give their ideas.
Mike B said:My view is that the removal of the nest camera is a totally unnecessary and retrograde step. I fail to see how it would deter birds having been used for years and years by such. Many 'new' birds have arrived at camera covered nests without issue and will no doubt continue to do so. Another far more important issue is that a great deal of the observations are carried out by the online community at times when there are no staff within miles. Precisely why you would remove the one method of identifying a bird or recording activity in close up is quite beyond me. I am anxiously awaiting Scylla's arrival and hope there is a defibrillator near her home!!
I toally agree Mike. What other sorts of things might be deterring ospreys?I can imagine that Scylla will not be best pleased.
Tiger, this post will not provide a solution, instead I will try to articulate what I think the variables are that may encourage or discourage osprey. I wouldn't even pretend to have much knowledge, but think identifying what the possible factors are is a good starting point. Accepting that my list will not be exhaustive, in no particular order, I think the factors are: overall osprey population thus competition for nests, location of nest, suitability of nest, availability of other suitable nests in the general location, climate, availability of food, competition for food, proximity of predators (including, or maybe especially, humans). As noted in the LG update thread, I don't think we can do much about most of the above, tinkering with the camera or the grass on the nest probably won't do any harm but I don't think will do much good either, although we should try. Sorry I can't be more positive, Ian
Starling said:Does anyone know if osprey numbers in general are down in the area this year?
Probably not. The two year olds are arriving back about now and will be looking for nesting sites.
Karen W said:Is it not possible to stock Loch Garten?
The water in Loch Garten is too dark.