Threave Osprey Photos:

Photo by Graham Johnstone.

Osprey Wingspan: 5.5 feet long.

Sunset over the River Dee.

Threave Osprey Update:

Yesterday I went to Gelston Primary school to talk about osprey and name the two young juvenile. It was great fun and the kids were very enthusiastic about osprey.

They split into two groups and made an osprey juvenile each. They used arts and crafts to make their osprey and learnt some osprey facts. They then had a fish, which they had to write the name of their chosen juvenile osprey on.

The name game then involved the kids being blindfolded and having to stick their fish on a target below the osprey talons. The winning juvenile names are Dipper and Sophie. Also known as CU8 and CU9.

Gelston came to Threave nature reserve today to see the osprey and were lucky enough to see one juvenile feeding on a fish and the other one flew in and perched up on the forked branch. They also saw a heron, 5 mallard and plenty of swallows, house martin and sand martin flocking up at Kelton Mains Farm.

Have a good weekend.

Osprey Ranger.

Photos to follow:

Threave Osprey Update:



Sunset over the river Dee, from the osprey platform.





Osprey bringing fish back to the nest at Threave.



Both the juvenile female ospreys at Threave are catching fish. We have had some good views of them bringing back fish and feeding on the two perch's to the left of the nest. The male (Black 80) is still here and looking after his offspring.

We had a great view yesterday afternoon of one juvenile feeding on the "V" fork perch on a rather large fish. The juvenile was wet, so we presumed that it had dived for the fish.

Other wildlife on Threave nature reserve: Lapwing x 100, long tailed tits x7, female hen harrier, whitethroat, reed bunting and willow warbler.

The otter is putting in a good appearance on the river at the moment with numerous sightings from stepping stones hide and near Threave Castle.

Have a good day.

Osprey Ranger.

Threave Osprey Update: The female has departed.

The Osprey Viewing Platform at Threave Nature Reserve.



The male osprey, Black 80 being mobbed by crows.



Threave Osprey News:

We believe the female (Olivia) has departed south on her journey to West Africa. The last time she was seen was on Sunday night by myself and 3 volunteers.

The female is the first to leave the nest site as she wants to get some peace away from the juvenile. She will take roughly up to a month to get to West Africa, stopping at different lakes and rivers enroute to rest and... refuel on fish. She will even have to fly over part of the Sahara desert, which is the world's hottest desert, no mean feat!

So now we are down to just three resident osprey. The male will be making sure the juvenile are well fed and can hunt for fish. Black 80 (Ozzie) is an experienced male and will teach the two young female how to hunt. Already we have had views of the juvenile diving for fish from Castle Hide.

So come down to Threave Nature Reserve and see if you can see these spectacular birds before they depart for West Africa.

If you are interested in learning more about bats, why not book yourself a bat walk on a Thursday night at Threave Estate. Please phone 01556 503702 or check out Threave Bat Reserve for more information.

Enjoy the sunshine.

Osprey Ranger

Threave Osprey Update:

 

The Ospreys are still at Threave Nature Reserve and we hope they will hang around into September. It all depends on weather conditions and the ability of the juvenile to catch fish.

Already some of my volunteers have been lucky enough to see the female juvenile diving for fish from Castle Hide. What an awesome sight. This bird is adapted to just hunt fish, a supreme predator.

On saturday the weather was horrible and we are lucky that this Summer was so glorious. This makes a big difference to the ospreys as the adults struggle to hunt in wet and windy conditions. Most raptors don't hunt in the heavy rain. The osprey would struggle to see the fish in high winds, forming bigger waves....

Other Wildlife Sightings:

Otter x2 - Stepping Stones Hide: 20/08
Field Vole x1 - 15/08:
Weasel x2 - Osprey Platform:
Lapwing x 100 - 06/08:
Swallows, house martin and sand martin flocking up on wires at Kelton Mains Farm.

Over and out. Osprey Ranger

Threave Osprey Photos:




An osprey captured by Samuel Hood moments before it dived for a fish at Castle Hide. Come and see these amazing birds for yourself before they migrate back to West Africa.

 



An osprey hovering before it dives into the River Dee. Photo taken by young wildlife photographer Samuel Hood.

 



An osprey feeding on a flat-fish at the coast near Borgue, Dumfries and Galloway.

 


Male Osprey bringing in fish to the nest site, whilst female was incubating.



Threave Osprey Update:

It’s been an exciting week at the Threave Osprey nest. On Wednesday the 14th a female hen harrier swooped into the osprey territory and got chased off by both the male (Ozzie) and female (Olivia). It was an incredible sight and the female hen harrier took refuge in the thick foliage of an Ash tree 250 metres in front of the osprey platform. It was an incredible experience for a new volunteer called Samuel, his first ever hen harrier sighting.

Later on that day, two very lucky members of the public saw the male osprey dive for a fish from Castle Hide. They even had the photo to prove it. Sam and I missed it by 10 minutes, we were very envious.

We have had some great sightings of fish being brought in, and the juveniles and adults feeding on the perches to the left of the nest. You could even see the tail still flicking on a couple of the fish. Awesome!

Other Wildlife sightings:

The female hen harrier was seen again on Friday. Kingfishers have been seen on numerous occasions this week along the river by the osprey platform. Karl Munday (Head Ranger) saw a female Goshawk flying over Meikle wood.

45 Greylag geese (local feral population) in stubble field along road entrance to Threave Nature reserve.

An Otter on Threave Island to the left of Threave Castle.

Have a good weekend.

Osprey Ranger

Rockcliffe: Himalayan Balsam Removal

On Tuesday the 13^th August, the team were joined by twelve young people, including two members of staff from Abernethy Trust (Barcaple Outdoor Christian Centre). The group are taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme for one week at Barcaple. They are covering various tasks including maintenance, cooking and outdoor pursuits.

The task involved for the D & G team was to remove Himalayan Balsam from part of our Rockcliffe property. Himalayan Balsam was introduced to the British Isles in the Mid 1800s, then escaped from gardens and has now established itself along many water courses throughout the British Isles. It is a vigorous plant out competing and shading out our native species.

With the help from the group, we managed to remove thirty plus bags of Himalayan balsam. This will be part of an ongoing program to control the problem of this invasive species.  The D & G Countryside Team hope to develop a working partnership with the Barcaple Outdoor Christian Centre in the future.

Thanks guys.

Dave Thompson.



Lost in the Braken!



The D of E Award Team.

Guess the plant game. Guess who was Himalayan Balsam?

Removal of Himalayan Balsam along the stream.

Threave Osprey Update:

At the osprey platform we are getting some great views of the juvenile and adults. They are bringing in up to eight fish per day. The juvenile are still being fed, but in the next few weeks the adults will feed them less to encourage them to hunt for themselves.

The male (Ozzie) will teach the juvenile to hunt, they learn by watching him. The female osprey (Olivia) will be the first to migrate back to Africa, probably towards the end of this month.

Elsewhere on the reserve there has been a flock of lapwing up to 100, a flock of greylag geese, the kingfisher keep putting up an appearance and we are getting great views of other raptors such as buzzard and red kite from the osprey platform.

Enjoy your Sunday roast.

Osprey Ranger.

Threave Osprey Update:

The two young female ospreys are now being more adventurous and you may see them out practice - fishing on the reserve if you are lucky.

The male (ozzie) and female (Olivia) are still feeding the two juveniles. Later on they will feed the chicks less to encourage them to hunt. The male will also teach them to hunt. A young osprey has to learn quick as they soon migrate south to West Africa in early September. Sometimes they learn to hunt on the journey south. Luckily we have a very experienced father and he will teach his offspring well.

Threave Wildlife update:

Still plenty of beautiful butterflies enjoying the sunny weather. Two kingfishers were seen this morning whilst we were showing a French group the osprey. An amazing sight. A quick flash of blue. What a beautiful bird.

A lot of the resident swallows at Threave are having their second brood. You can watch the parents feed the young as you come into the reserve. They are nesting in the toilet block. It's great for your kids to see.

Enjoy the good weather.

Over and out.

Osprey Ranger

Threave Osprey Update:

It’s all happening at the Threave Osprey nest site. There are not many places in Britain, where you can get such great views of adults and juveniles flying around.

Two members of the public saw the two young female juvenile practicing fishing at stepping stones hide. I was very envious. They had a great photo to prove it.

I managed to get down to the osprey platform yesterday and had a great day of wildlife viewing. A raven came too near to the nest and got chased off by the female, Olivia. The raven made a quick exit. Two other ravens came honking along later on.

The most exciting view was a peregrine falcon that swooped in too close to the nest and the male proceeded to chase it out of his territory. What a great view!!!

Two awesome predators, one adapted to killing fish and the other for stooping on anything from a mallard to a starling. I think the peregrine was a female, as they are quite a bit bigger than the males. In birds of prey the females always tends to be bigger and this is the case of "reversed sexual size dimorphism". The size differences allow the two sexes to hunt different prey and thus reduce competition for food. For example in peregrines the male will mostly hunt starling, blackbird and smaller bird species such as woodcock and the female will hunt pigeon, mallard, gulls, and slightly larger birds. Obviously the habitat plays a part in what they catch.

There has been a flock of about 100 lapwing flying around the reserve and surroundings fields. What a sight to behold. If you like your waders come down and see it for yourself.

Have a great day.

Osprey Ranger

Recent Wildlife Sightings at Threave:

Recent Wildlife Sightings:

A rather impressive wildlife sighting for Dave Thompson one of our legendary full time rangers. At Kelton Hill wood he spotted an adult peregrine falcon and two juvenille on the 28th of July.

60 lapwing seen by myself at stepping stones hide.
Juvenille willow warbler and chiffchaff in all the hawthorn and small bushes along the path to the osprey platform.

Oyster catc...her mobbing the juvenille osprey was a great sight to behold. Really going for the newly fledged chicks at the nest site of the osprey. Think someone needs to tell them they only eat fish!

Plenty of wild raspberries around the reserve, so if you fancy some tasty free food, come along and pick some on the beautiful woodland side of the estate.

Osprey Ranger