Osprey Update 09/08:
The story so far -
So just a quick recap for everyone to get you up to speed with what's happened so far this year. Our male osprey (Darvic ring Black80) arrived back on the 28th March. The female bird did not arrive back until the 11th May and was in fact a different bird to previous years. We were able to tell by the fact that the new female bird was ringed whereas the previous female was not ringed. The new female could be seen to have a blue Darvic ring on her leg but unfortunately we have not had a good enough view through a powerful scope to identify her yet. The arrival of the female on the 11th May was rather late as pretty much all of the other UK birds had arrived at their nests by mid April at the latest.
The birds showed signs that eggs had been laid around the 30/31 May. We believe the chicks hatched on the 5th July. Again these dates are very late as a result of the late return of the female. It is believed that these are the latest chicks to hatch in 2012. The week beginning the 16th July we had confirmation that there were two chicks in the nest and over the weeks since we have had more and more regular sightings of the chicks as they were being fed and as they were starting to grow and stretch their wings.
Osprey Chick Ringing -
On the evening of Tuesday 7th August we successfully ringed our two osprey chicks. The process involved climbing the tree in which the nest platform had been constructed.
The two chicks were then lowered to the ground where they could be ringed and weighed. The details are as follows:
Chick 1:
Darvic Ring - Blue/White CU3
BTO Ring - 1408278
Weight - 1.673 kg
Chick 2:
Darvic Ring - Blue/White CU4
BTO Ring - 1408279
Weight - 1.474 kg
We believe that both birds are males.
We believe that both birds are males.
Whilst the chicks were on the ground a camera was installed close to the nest to hopefully get some pictures of the females ring. This would enable us to find out her history and where she is from. If we don't get a clear shot of it then hopefully we will get some interesting shots of some of the chicks.
During the ringing both the male and female birds were seen to be keeping a good eye on the nest and by the time our volunteers got to the platform the next morning things looked pretty much back to normal.
During the ringing both the male and female birds were seen to be keeping a good eye on the nest and by the time our volunteers got to the platform the next morning things looked pretty much back to normal.
The chicks will hopefully fledge the nest around the 27th August.
any id on the female yet?
ReplyDeleteWe have not got an Id for the female yet, BUT during the ringing process we placed a camera on the nest which will hopefully capture a clear enough image of the female's ring. The camera will be retrieved in a week or two.
DeleteLovely pictures of Threave chicks, they look good.
ReplyDeleteHave posted your blog onto Wildlife Village @ www.ladyoftheloch.co.uk, a site dedicated to wildlife, especially Loch of the Lowes ospreys, they report on many of UK osprey sites.
Glad you have put a camera up to try and identify our female, will be interesting to know where she came from.
Jenny Cartwright - Castle Douglas
Member of Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT)
Hi Jenny,
DeleteGlad you like the pictures. We are also very looking forward to the story behind the female. Will post info as soon as we find out. I've put a link to Wildlife Village on the blog too.
Thanks for the update - so good to hear how they are getting on. We were staying in the area last week and managed to get some lovely views of the ospreys. On Monday (13th) we were lucky enough to see the male deliver a fish , and on Friday morning there was lots of activity despite the rain. Good views of the chicks stretching their wings and both the male and female going back and forth to the nest. Magical. Will be keeping an eye out for any further updates from you and very interested to know if you manage to id the new female.
ReplyDeleteThanks again and best wishes