A fanciful story about a rare lichen that grows only on Swedish ospreys nests, discovered growing on Monty and Glesni's nest, and an elaborate translocation programme to remove the lower lichen-infested sticks to other osprey nests in the UK for biodiversity reasons.
It got a few hundred of you! http://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/sites/ ... chen11.jpg
BREAKING NEWS - CLARACH IS BACK
Monty and Glesni's 2013 female offspring is back in the UK. Clarach has the ring number Blue 2R.
She was spotted for the first time as an adult last year at a few locations, now as a four-year-old she has been spotted yesterday evening 'advertising' herself to unpaired males at Rutland Water.
We owe the Rutland guys a few birds - let's hope she stays there and breeds :-)
BREAKING NEWS - CLARACH IS BACK
Monty and Glesni's 2013 female offspring is back in the UK. Clarach has the ring number Blue 2R.
She was spotted for the first time as an adult last year at a few locations, now as a four-year-old she has been spotted yesterday evening 'advertising' herself to unpaired males at Rutland Water.
We owe the Rutland guys a few birds - let's hope she stays there and breeds :-)
Yesterday's Intruder: A massive female osprey, unringed (what a shame!), thick legged and dark chested. We can see evidence of the same secondary feather moulting on both wings (flight feathers usually moult in symmetrical pairs), but all the other feathers look in pristine condition. Maybe this is a two-year-old bird just returning back to the UK for the first time as an adult? The time window is exactly right for 2015 returnees.
This huge female caught both Monty and Glesni by surprise. Ospreys build relatively flat nests so they can see intruders and predators approaching, even when sat down incubating - if this intruder were a goshawk or eagle, the outcome could easily have been very different. This female flew low and fast from the south, gaining height at the very last minute; in a second it was over, she was on her way.
It is extremely unusual for two experienced ospreys, both situated on or around a nest, not to see another large bird approaching like this.
DAY 37 - As hatching time gets closer the excitement is mounting here at DOP. All eyes are on the eggs for the first sign of a crack. Glesni has had a quiet night, but she can clearly feel and hear her first chick trying to emerge from her egg.
