BIRDCAM.IT

Our Boy is Back…..22nd March
Posted on March 22, 2014 by rangeremma
We are delighted to be able to confirm that the osprey which arrived yesterday at Loch of the Lowes is indeed our regular breeding male. Your ranger spent last night pouring over the video of his arrival yesterday around 2pm, and comparing plumage patterns to photos and video from the last two breeding seasons. All the plumage patterns match- a particularly telling one, for example, is the large brown dot under his right wing that is clearly visible in yesterdays pictures by Val Gall, and in these 2012 and 2013 images:

Add to this, that this morning the bird was back on the nest at 5.50am doing the ‘housework’ i.e. moving sticks around and digging the nest cup, which is of course the behaviour of a resident bird. He fished over the loch twice this morning and has been perched on the loch shore quite a lot, though not on the nest. He will likely keep returning to it a few times a day to check if anyone else has arrived.

Osprey Diary 23 March
Posted on March 23, 2014 by rangeremma

Our male osprey is really settling into his role here at Loch of the Lowes, bonding with the nest site whilst he awaits a mate to join him.

He was back at the nest at 5.30am , and spent most of the morning going to and fro bringing is sticks and fresh moss clumps to reinforce and decorate the nest. This is classic early breeding season behaviour. He ahs even been doing some excavation of the nest cup- lying on his chest and kicking with his legs in a comical but effective way to deepen the centre.

Still no sign of his usual mate, or any other female osprey as yet, but we are still really only in the early part of the typical osprey arrivals window, so we are not yet concerned at all.

She’s Home! 31st March
Posted on March 31, 2014 by rangeremma

We are delighted that our beloved veteran female osprey know by many as “Lady” has arrived home to her nest. She breezed in at 6.49am and sat confidently on her usual nest, before realising that her partner and his rival female were on flat top tree. She then took off and proceeded to dive bomb them both and see the rival female off in no uncertain terms!....

Osprey Diary 31st March

Posted on March 31, 2014 by rangeremma

Q: Can you show us how you are able to identify Lady from her markings,

How far back do you have pictures that you can use and what makes her different?

A: A great question. We have detailed records both photographs and drawings, going right back to the early 1990’s of this birds plumage markings etc. It was only about 10 years ago we got HD cameras and the ability to zoom in to the level of detail to allow us to use iris recognition as a form of ID. Her distinguishing features, (apart from her behaviour!) are: A ‘concord’ shape of dark feathers on the back of her head; a very dark chest band with a distinctive ‘upper circle’ of dots; a mark in her right iris in the shape of a lightning bolt on the lower edge, and in her left eye, a series of clear dots on the lower right. Here are some photo’s of these taken this morning :

Osprey Egg Laid by Moonlight 13th April
Posted on April 13, 2014 by rangeremma

Wonderful news here at Loch of the Lowes with out first Osprey egg of the 2014 breeding season laid overnight. At around 12.30 last night our nightwatch staff noticed classic egg laying behaviour- the bird lying low and panting, and at 12.47 the female stood up to reveal her new egg. It is just as well the birds have built such a deep , snug cup in the centre of the nest as it was so windy last night, the whole nest tree was rocking.

Since it was laid, the egg has been carefully tended and both birds have taken a turn incubating. The male is particularly keen to have a go- just now he pushed the female right off , insisting it was his turn- this is a fantastic sign that he is bonding with the egg and his instincts to provide and care for it are fully aroused, which bodes well for the future.

What a fantastic treat to celebrate SWT’s 50th anniversary this weekend!!!