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Recent Events

May

Mon 1: With three eggs to care for, life on the ospreys' nest has settled into a steady pattern. The male is obviously bringing in plenty of fish, as the female was not interested in fish brought in mid-morning. He then brought in what appeared to be a large piece of netting, causing some concern to those watching. Our tree sparrows were much in evidence today, ignored by the ospreys.  Several times the nest appeared to be left unattended, but one  of the birds is always nearby.

Tues 2: A cold, wet, windy day. Crows or rooks could be clearly heard, and the sitting female seemed restless, frequently leaving the nest for brief spells, possibly to chase a crow. These brief absences gave us  good views of the three eggs!

Wed 3: The 'netting' brought in two days ago caused alarm today, as the male was seen to be entangled in it as he got up after a turn at incubating the eggs. It was caught around his left foot. He managed to free himself,  leaving the netting across the eggs, under the sitting bird.

Thurs 4: The 'netting' was still causing concern, although the birds were continuing their regular daily pattern unconcerned by it. In consultation with the RSPB, our regular tree climber scaled the tree in the early after- noon to remove it. The 'netting', which was well entangled with the eggs, was found to be a piece of frayed old rope. Whilst there, the climber cleaned the camera lens, and was away from the nest within two minutes. The female returned almost at once, seemingly much more worried about a nearby crow.

Fri 5: The tree sparrows were much in evidence today, frequently hopping across the edge of the nest. The female sat on the eggs all morning, to be relieved by the male in the early afternoon. At this time, starlings were seen behind the nest, but neither osprey seemed disturbed by them. Then a crow appeared, and the male left to chase it away while the female settled on the eggs. Later on, crows were heard again, and the female appeared to be watching them circling overhead. She retrieved a piece of fish from the edge of the nest, and tucked it in close to her.

Sat 6: A warm and sunny day. The female was 'on duty' all morning, with the male taking over for an hour in the middle of the day. Plenty of fish brought in by the male through the day. No alarms today, a good peaceful day.

Sun 7: The crows (or rooks) were around alot today. The female was restless,very vocal and extremely watchful. When the male took over incubation, she left the nest briefly,  possibly to chase the crows. The male brought in a nice mullet early in the evening.

Mon 8: Very windy. When the female briefly left the eggs, we had another good view of them. The male brought in plenty of fish, and took his turn on the nest at midday. He also brought in some black polythene later in the day. Crows were around again, and at one point the female was so agitated we were concerned that she would trample the eggs, but all was well - we had a good view of them later!

Tues 9: Both ospreys on the nest first thing, looking alert and possibly watching crows. Later on we had a good view of the female feeding while the male incubated the eggs; then the female cleaned her beak on twigs at the back of the nest and took over incubation. Early in the afternoon the male was again sitting, with tree sparrows hopping around the edge of the nest. In the evening, the female was on the nest looking quite agitated, but she soon settled down again.

Wed 10: A hot day, with the birds taking it in turn to sit. By the afternoon, the female was panting with the heat.When she left the nest briefly we had a good view of the eggs.

Thurs 11: Hot and sunny. In the morning we had a lovely view of the female preening on the nest, with a tree sparrow standing behind her, also preening! By late afternoon the female was standing panting, with her feathers raised to try to keep cool. Crows were heard in the vicinity during the day, but caused no problems to our birds.

Fri 12: Tree sparrows were much in evidence today around the nest. The ospreys had a peaceful day, with both birds seen incubating the eggs.

Sat 13: No unusual activity today, a quiet domestic scene. Both birds took a turn incubating, the female more than the male, who brought in several fish.

Sun 14:A cold, windy, cloudy day. Both birds on the nest for some of the time. Crows attacked mid afternoon,and were seen to make contact with the female. However, she settled down quickly once the attack was over.

Mon 15: A drizzly day. Little activity of note, the female incubating for much of the day. Crows were heard but not seen, keeping the female alert but not obviously concerned.

Tues16: Both birds took their turn on the nest today. During the afternoon, when the female was sitting, crows were heard, and she became very alert and agitated, but no attack was witnessed. Later the male brought a fish for a hungry female.

Wed 17: A cold wet day, but the male managed to catch a trout mid morning. Crows appeared briefly,  but the female settled quickly once they went, after she had turned the eggs. Lots of tree sparrow activity today. Early afternoon, when the male was on the nest,the crows attacked again.The male spread both his wings out to protect the nest, sitting low over the eggs. The female returned and chased the crow away. Later in the day we had an unconfirmed report from a visitor that one of the eggs was cracked.

Thurs18: Very cold and windy, with the ospreys sitting low on the nest; both birds around in the morning. At midday the female stood up to reveal a very broken egg. She settled and continued to incubate the remaining eggs.

Fri 19:Female quietly on the nest. The tree sparrows are very active, and we can hear cheeping, suggesting that they have hatched young - so that's a success story for the nest! Crow appeared mid morning. We had anothet view of the eggs mid-afternoon, and it appears we have 2 broken eggs and only one that seems to be intact. Oh dear, but that's life. Fingers crossed for the remaning egg!

Sat 20: Crows heard first thing but not seen. Later female seen turning egg and bringing in cracked egg as well.

Sun 21 The one remaining egg seen, with fragments of shell alongside. A quiet day, but very wet.

Mon 22: Female sitting most of the morning, with the male supplying fish for her. Brief crow attack midday, followed by a sustained attack 2 hours later. This lasted about 10 minutes, and the female became very agitated. She was jumping up to defend the nest, and we were concerned for the remaining egg. Then the male returned with a fish and took over 'nest duty' for a while. When the female returned, he went off and brought another fish back for her, a mullet this time.

Tues 23: Female on the nest first thing, moving nest material around. We still  have one egg. Then the male took over, and the female spent some time chasing off the crow, before resuming incubation. Later in the afternoon the female seemed very hungry, and rapidly ate a fish tail that the male brought. All was quiet during the evening.

Wed 24: Dry and windy, still quite cold and the female is sitting very low in the nest. Crows were frequently heard in the background, and an attack was witnessed in the afternoon. Otherwise an uneventful day, and in the evening we had a nice family picture, with the female incubating and the male on the edge of the nest.

Thurs 25: A quiet day, with both birds seen incubating the egg and the male brining in fish for the female. No crow attacks witnessed today.

Fri 26: A dull wet day, with the female sitting tight most of the day. Tree sparrows seen several times during the day.

Sat 27: Dry, but dull and cold today, the female sitting on the egg most of the morning. In the afternoon she was quite restless, fidgeting around and very alert, occasionally tidying up the nest.The male brought a trout in early evening, and took  over nest duty whilst she ate. No crow problems witnessed today.

Sun 28: female incubating most of the morning, occasionally standing to turn the egg before settling again. Mid afternoon the male returned with a fish,  which she took and left to eat, leaving him to mind the egg. Late in the evening, she was restless and calling constantly. Still no sign of the egg hatching.

Mon 29: Miserable morning, heavy cloud and raining, a very wet female was sitting on the nest. Crows were heard in the morning, making her very alert.The male was around intermittently, taking a turn on the egg at lunchtime.Late in the evening, GREAT EXCITEMENT! A hole was seen in the egg, and the chick was visible moving inside, so at least we know we have a live chick at the moment.

Tues 30: No chick hatched overnight, but the crows are around again, making the female very alert, but sitting quietly.  Late morning the female stood up, revealing the egg still with one small hole near the broad end and the chick moving inside. The female moved the egg around, but didn't turn it. Afetr she sat down, she looked a bit uncomfortable and fidgety. He brought a fish mid-afternoon, mullet, which the female ate sitting on the edge of the nest. Early evening we saw the egg again,with a larger hole, and the egg tooth was seen though the hole.

Wed 31; WE HAVE A C HICK!! Checking of the overnight recording showed the chick finally hatching at 4.50 am. It took a long time, but all seems well, and we saw the female feeding it at noon. She fed it several times through the day, including still managing to feed it whilst it was lying on its back, which looked quite comical.