Osprey live webcam

[Margaret M.]

..... as the last of the three chicks hatched last night. So far, so good - EJ seems to be feeding them equally from the endless supply of fish suppers brought in by Odin.

Rehab helped me but I have relapsed every now and then but not hooked .....yet. Let's hope nothing happens to Odin, he's a star fisherman and all three may have a chance with him around. EJ is a lovely bird -- such a good mother.

[Kevin Milkins]

Rehab helped me but I have relapsed every now and then but not hooked .....yet. Let's hope nothing happens to Odin, he's a star fisherman and all three may have a chance with him around. EJ is a lovely bird -- such a good mother.

Well Margeraret M, despite the rehab it looks like you have fallen off the wagon again.
It all looks a bit more chance for all three chicks this year and lets hope we will not have to witness the bullying we saw last year.

Well done on your next post Margaret M and to become a 1K orger.

[nightowl]

I swore after the heartache of last year "never again" but here I am again, thrilled with the new babes. Are they a wee bit closer together this year, in age I mean? Hopefully mum will keep feeding them equally and they'll all survive. Odin is a star.
So with the Goshawks and the Eagle and the Barn Owl and the Springwatch nests, I could sit here all day, and often do...........

[Margaret M.]

Well done on your next post Margaret M and to become a 1K orger.

Well, yeeeeehaw, it just took me 6 years!

[Kevin Milkins]

Well, yeeeeehaw, it just took me 6 years!

It's quality and not quantity that counts with you Margaret.

[Aaldtimer]

http://blogs.rspb.org.uk/lochgarteno...2E002E00_.aspx

[Kevin Milkins]

http://blogs.rspb.org.uk/lochgarteno...2E002E00_.aspx

This has nightmare written all over it.

[Moira]

Oh my goodness, bad news indeed Aaldtimer. I've not had time to log onto the site today.

I do understand that we are witnessing nature, raw as it is at times, from a truly, privileged vantage point through the wonders of modern technology, but....

...and it is a BIG but...

I'm almost questioning the Loch Garten team for not intervening. This is probably going to be EJ's last season raising chicks and Odin has proved to be such a great defender and provider for his family. It just seems such a shame if the worst case scenario follows.

[Margaret M.]

This has nightmare written all over it.

Have mercy, just when I thought it was safe to watch again. Let's hope the lovely Odin can free himself of the line. At least he has people watching him who can maybe help him if need be, goodness knows how many times this happens in nature with no hope for a good ending. I know there are times when fishing line breaks off and one cannot retrieve it but shame on those who make no effort to ensure that there is none left lying in places where it can spell disaster for wildlife.

[Kirdon]

Well, yeeeeehaw, it just took me 6 years!

6 years to have your say? not like you!!!! Ha Ha.

[Margaret M.]

6 years to have your say? not like you!!!! Ha Ha.

I think I finally know who you are -- tall, dark and handsome?

[nightowl]

Heard about this on last nights Scottish news at tea time. Just when everything was going so well too. Hopefully he will disentangle himself and carry on to be a great dad. I haven't seen any line dangling so far but maybe it's just too fine for the camera to pick up. Fingers crossed for a good outcome.

[Margaret M.]

Dang webcams, dang birds, dang the lack of willpower, I'm being sucked right back in. Great news about Odin from the blog:

What a day...........

Right. The up-date you've been waiting for. Firstly though, sorry for not keeping you informed until now, but we've had a very anxious time today, to put it mildly, and rather than give you incomplete piecemeal up-dates, we've awaited developments to see how things would pan-out. But now I'm able to give you, not good news, but GREAT NEWS!!
Chronologically it goes like this, roughly. Odin as you know was trailing this long length of fishing line. He returned with a fish at c.8pm last evening and it seemed like he had lost the majority of the line, but not all. When he flew from the nest after having delivered the fish, the line must have snagged on a nest stick, because he was seen flying away, line still trailing and now a stick attached. Very worrying.
He arrived again at the nest at about 10.50pm with another fish. The volunteers again thought that he had much less line on his legs and feet, but it was dusk, light was fading and the infra-red camera had kicked-in, so the pictures weren't the clearest, but we could at least hope that this was the case. It seemed like the line had snapped at the junction with the swivel. Though this left a shorter length attached to him, the weight of the swivel was now at the end, which could mean this might act as a bolas, whereby, when alighting on a perch, the swinging weighted line could wrap around a branch, Very, very worrying. Anyway, off he went to roost somewhere.
I phoned the duty volunteers at 6am this morning and the word was, no sign of Odin. Currently it is getting light here now at about 03.40am and Odin usually shows up at the nest early on, at say 4am at least, but this morning, no-show, which was a bit odd and all the more worrying. There was no sign of him all morning in fact, until about 11am, when to our huge relief, he arrived at the nest but without a fish. What had taken him so long?
As far as we could see, it did look like the line had indeed gone. But one of his wing feathers was sticking verticaly up in the air, still attached but looking like it had been wrenched out of place. Could he possibly have been strung up over night somewhere, struggling to free himself, hence his very late arrival at the nest and with this feather damage? We'll never know for sure. But it could be that Odin had a very close call.
Anyway, he was only at the nest briefly, to support EJ in repelling an intruding osprey that arrived and landed on the pillar adjacent to the nest. EJ lunged at it and sent it packing. Odin then promptly flew off. To fish, we hoped.
Several hours passed, but no sign of him returning. On such a glorious day of weather, very warm & sunny, we expected him back with a fish in an instant, but no. Again we worried. Why on such a good fishing day was he not coming back? Ordinarily, a male osprey away for several hours would be neither here nor there, but given all that gone before, we were concerned about this period of absence. Did he still have some line? Was he injured in any way as a result of a struggle to free himself?
Finally, at about 3pm this afternoon, he arrived back, and with a fish. To say we were hugely relieved would be an understatement. The tension had been unbearable, but now once again we had the chance to look for line on him and he does indeed appear to be clean. Returning with a fish was a re-assuring sign too. Maybe he's just a bit out of sorts? A little traumatised perhaps? Or possibly his fishing ability has been temporarily impaired? That out-of-align wing feather, could that affect his accuracy, making him less deft in his movements when twisting & turning when diving? Who knows?
For now though, we're back on an even keel, thank goodness. Odin, EJ and the nest seem to be free of fishing tackle, Odin has brought in a fish, chicks have been fed and are enjoying basking in the wonderful sunshine.

[nightowl]

Just watching mum feeding all three chicks equally. Its lovely to see them waiting their turn. In a wee while I'm sure it will be a scramble as they all fight to be fed first, squakking all the way.

[Moira]

Yes, you are so right nightowl. Long may it continue.

I'm keeping Margaret M's "dang" word in mind for the occasions where it might go wrong. I may even use "ding" before the "dang" for extra emphasis.

[Margaret M.]

Have you all been following the drama? Odin went AWOL for 30 hours and after the babies hadn't eaten for 27 hours, the Loch Garten team got approval to sneak some Tesco trout up to the nest. It looks like he's back now. He''s such a wonderful provider when he is there but let's hope he doesn't pull a disappearing act again.

DANG BIRDS, DANG WEBCAMS!

[Shabbychic]

I'm so pleased to hear that Margaret. Was on the site earlier and was saddened to hear Odin had gone AWOL. Great news.

[Moira]

I missed this latest drama, thankfully. All seems to be back on track now.

[Margaret M.]

That osprey nest is like a cruise ship, food everywhere you turn. Not sure what's going on with Odin, maybe he's just sick of being a meal ticket.

[Moira]

I'd not actually thought about it like that MargaretM but you could be absolutely right,

This is only my second season observing the Loch Garten Nest and I am still trying to make sense of it all.