Loch of the Lowes Osprey Wildlife Diary

It is a beautiful morning here at Lowes- blazing sunshine, and our female osprey is doing her best to provide shade for her chicks. Ospreys invariably choose exposed locations to nest, being paranoid about security and wanting a good view ( i guess if you.;d been hunted to extinction you’d be sensitive to risk too) and these sites are not the best for shelter! Our nest is about 60 feet up a large scots pine tree and despite having a small tree limb above them, it is to the north so it provides no shade this time of year. Consequently mum will use her body as a very effective parasol on hot days, just as she uses her warmth to sheild them on cold ones.
Our wee chicks have had two breakfast already and are doing well.
Emma Rawling
Perthshire Ranger

Good morning all!
After all that heavy rain yesterday and overnight ( which was sorely needed by the land and the loch actually) our chicks are doing just fine as mum kept them well covered and warm. You can imagine that the tiny short down coats the chicks are wearing are very poor insulation and make it very hard for them to thermoregulate, hence mum being so careful with them.
You will also notice that the older chick is starting to look a little different, as it is already moving into the next stage of its coat- one we jokingly refer to as the reptilian phase. Osprey chicks change amazingly fast -just look at thier size compared to the egg to appreciate how much they’ve grown in just a week. By week two they begin to leave behind the baby white and become a darker grey colour, which makes them look for all the world like a baby dinosaur I think.
We have already had a fish delivery this morning and the chicks have had two feeds, as well as some classic intruder activity around 7.30am ( well done laird for joining in the defence) – thats to all the overnight bloggers!
Emma Rawling Perthshire Ranger

We’d like to thank everyone for their amazing dedication to this new blog and your informative and amusing contributions. Your kind and appreciative comments too have kept up our morale especially during the long hours of nightwatch.

As the nightwatch winds down, there will no longer be a member of staff at the computer 24hrs a day ( though the birds security will continue to be monitored). Consequently during the hours of darkness the blog will be online and you can continue to comment, but there will be a short delay in your comments appearing until the next morning. This is because we need to read every comment posted, and reply to your questions etc. My apologies to our overseas watchers who may have to wait a wee while, but PLEASE DON’T STOP commenting overnight- it is invaluable!

I will be writing a new Opsrey Diary post each day, in the early morning, but if you notice something noteworthy before the days page has started, feel free to add it anyway. Thankyou again for your contributions and we welcome any suggestions you may have.
Emma Rawling
Perthshire Ranger

The End of Night Watch.
Today marks the 41st Day of incubation for the third and final osprey egg in our nest, which means it is now unlikely to hatch at all. This could be becasue the egg was originally unfertilised, or because it was damaged or exposed to cold. It is interesting to theorise as to whether its unusual colouring could indicate it was not ‘normal’ to begin with, but this link is unproven.
Consequently we are winding down our 24hr nest protection watch ( designed to prevent egg theives and nest disturbance) over the next week. This is because the risk is now considered minimal. However, rest assured we still have security in place around the nest 24hrs and dedicated watchers here in all daylight hours.
The tremendous hard work put in by our volunteers and staff ( especially Kyle and Andrew our nightwatch team) has been vital to the breeding sucess of the birds this year and I’m sure you’d like to join me in heartily thanking them and wishing them a happy sleep catch up.
So far today there has already been a dawn fish delivery and mum is keeping the chicks well tucked in because it is a cold but beautiful morning.
Emma Rawling
Perthshire Ranger

What a Wonderful First Week!
Our two wonderful osprey chicks are a week old and doing incredibly well. They have already doubled in size-compare them to the still unhatched third egg in the nest for size. Those of you who are new watchers of ospreys will not believe just how fast these wee chicks grow, and even I who have watched for years and know what to expect, am amazed all over again each year.
The fast growth is fuelled by the high protein diet of raw fish in amazing quantities- watch how the wee ones crops ( food storage area in their gullet) are stuffed so full they almost become top heavy and fall over!
The chicks need to grow fast in order to make full adult size by about 7 weeks of age- hard to imagine now isn’t it. They need to be fledged, and fit in time for autumn migration, and it is almost impossible to image these tiny wee chicks flying to Africa in just three months or so.
Emma Rawling
Perthshire Ranger

No sign of the third egg hatching yet- could today be the day or is it a dud?
Yesterday was brilliant veiwing with lots of tender loving care of the chicks from mum and a record breaking fish delivery by our male at about 8pm- by far the largest fish he has brought in and a nice ‘blue’ trout to boot.
We are also seeing the first signs of sibling rivalry on the nest between the two chicks, but this is entirely normal. Commonly it is at this age that the chicks squabble to establish their ‘pecking order’, which is crucial in minimising fights over every mouthful of food and more serious battles. Though it looks awful, real damage is rarely done and in fact this is an important stage in the chicks developement. The dominant chick will always thereafter be fed first, but the less senior one will still get its share of food as long as there isn’t a drastic shortage. Keep up the great work dad so that won’t happen!
Emma Rawling
Perthshire Ranger

Will it be Three?
There has been a lot of discussion about our third osprey egg and whether or not it will hatch, so I’ll try to bring together some of the answers, but we will all have to wait and see what today brings!
Today is the 38th day since it was laid and osprey eggs have been known to hatch after up to 40 days of incubation, so it is definately still possible. If it hasn’t hatched by Friday we will probably give up hope for it and be content with two chicks.
If it doesn’t hatch it will be because either it was unfertilised at laying ( quite common and not necessarily to do with our ladys’ age) or because it was damaged at some point during incubation (for example by exposure to cold).
If it does hatch, the chick will be smaller but not necessarily at a huge disadvantage. It is not uncommon for ospreys to be born up to a week apart and still co-exist happily on the nest, provided there is enough food to go around. The female always ensures the strongest chick is fed first, but will then dilegently feed each in turn so no one misses out unless there is a serious shortage.
Our male osprey should be quite able to catch enough food for a family of three chicks- especailly if he keeps up his excellent average of the last few days! There is plenty of fish around, unless we get flash flooding or rivers in spate which make hunting difficult for him.
If the egg doesn’t hatch we would expect the female to stop incubating it and to push it out of the nest or to the side out of the way. It may remain on the nest for weeks, gradually getting buried under fresh bedding.
So which scenario will it be? Only time will tell.
Emma Rawling
Perthhsire Ranger

Update: I have had a closer look at the 3rd egg and can’t see any cracks yet. There may be on the other side of the egg though. Hopefully mum will turn it at some point today so we can get a good look. There’s no reason to worry about it just yet as it was only due to hatch today going on averages, but it could easily be another 2 days yet before there is any movement. Fingers crossed!
Fiona

As our first two osprey chicks are four and three days old respectively today, we have to say they have been very lucky, coming into the world in good weather ( warm and crucially dry as they are so vulnerable in just their tiny down coats). The female has been dilegently nursing them- helping maintain just the right temperature for them alternately using herself as a duvet or a parasol as required. She has been serving many small meals of fresh fish , and tenderly feeding the chicks fairly. She has even been stowing away some fish for later (as she knows they need little and often) and it sometimes looks like she’s incubating half a fish alongside the chicks!

However, the biggest surprise so far has been our male osprey , who has amazed us all with his dilegance and sudden improvement. He has jumped from two or three fish a day to five or six , and has been regular as clock work in his deliveries. He has even been seen tenderly feeding the female himself- a truely touching moment. Credit where it is due- I have to say he has exceeded my expectations wildly and has been a model father so far. Mind you , last time I said nice things about him he gave us a nasty scare the next day with his negligence- so lets just hope he keeps up the great work!

Will our third egg hatch today? My guess is -probably , simply because I am on a day off after a whole weekend of night duty and it seems to be sods law that I miss the hatchings! I’ll be following online though, just like you, so here’s hoping!
Emma Rawling
Perthshire Ranger

Will it be three today?
After two months of intrigue and expectation we are over the moon to have two bonny osprey chicks on our nest at Loch of the Lowes. After all the early season worry about the females fertility (considering her veteran status) , her new male partner’s unproven record, and the eggs exposure to cold during incubation, I have to say that two chicks is more than I dared hoped for.
Will the third egg hatch and be as healthy? Today marks the 35th day for this egg, and time for it to hatch, though it is always possible for it to go a couple of extra days.
It is not unusual for osprey chicks to be born up to a week apart and still happily co-exist on the nest, and all go on to fledge, so even if it’s a bit late, it is not a cause for concern. We are all just impatient to see if it will be a happy hat-trick!
Thanks again for all the good wishes and lovely feedback you’ve sent the team- it has been greatly appreciated.
Emma and Kyle on nightwatch

And then it was two! Our second osprey chick fo 2010 joined us last night at approx 7.45 pm and appears as healthy and characterful as the first. It started to hatch about lunchtime but a lot of the action took place underneath mum. When a fish was delivered by the male, which was still flapping, some chaotic moments on the nest resulted in the new chick being unceremoniously dumped out of its remaining shell a bit abruptly! No harm done though, as it has opened its eyes and put its head up instinctively already. It hasn’t yet fed ( as dad didn’t have any luck before nightfall) but it should be fine tucked up warm under mum until dawn- let’s just hope dad does an early breakfast!
It is interesting that though the eggs were laid three days apart, they have hatched only a day apart ( IE the first egg was incubated for 37days and the second egg only 35 days)- will the third egg similarly be on the early side? Only time will tell. Emma Rawling
8am: Two fish this mornng and two happy wee chicks!
P.S. Please bear with us today with a short delays in responding to blog posts- it is going to be very busy here at the reserve with so many people coming to see our beautiful wee chicks on this glorious sunny day, but we’ll do our best. Thanks Emma and Rinchen.
P.S.

STOP PRESS: Second chick hatched at around 7.50pm on Friday!

After yesterdays excitement we’re all rather exhausted, but very very happy to have welcomed another healthy osprey chick into the world. The chick hatched amazingly quickly and appears to be very strong- opening its eyes very quickly, and begging for food within a couple hours.
It is amazingly hard for a wee chick to hold its much too large head up for long- and descriptions of the chick as a ‘bobblehead’ are amusingly accurate. Like any young animal it needs to spend a lot of time sleeping, and needs feeds little and often- the tiny portions of raw fish mum has been serving are ideal.

We all have to agree that the male stepped up his game BIG TIME yesterday- five fish no less- so we all have to give him credit and thank heavens that his paternal instinct seems to have kicked in.

Lets hope the wee ones second day in the world is as successful- it will surely be just as fascinating.
Emma Rawling

Update: There is a hole in the 2nd egg!!! Hold on everyone, here we go again!
Fiona

*Camera update* We seem to be having few issues with the camera connection to the web, so I have put the webcam over to the night cam while I have a play about with cables, so you won’t get any close ups for a bit. Sorry for the inconvenience folks, I’ll do my best to get it back on ASAP!
Fiona

Update again! Camera back on line, but you get some disturbance throughout the day. I think it may be something to do with the machine over-heating so I’m off to find a fan to keep it cool!
Fiona

Hopefully all should be working with webcam 2 now.
We have 5 blue tit chicks (that we can see) all hungrily gaping for food and mum and dad are doing a grand job of keeping them well fed. There is another egg in there which probably won’t hatch now. Lets hope they can keep all 5 alive and give them a great chance of fledging. Enjoy the 2 extremes of nests!
Fiona

In case you haven’t heard the squeals of excitement coming from Loch of the Lowes, we have our first osprey chick, hatched at 10.32am! This was an amazingly fast hatching, chicks sometimes taking a full 24hours to emerge, so if you saw the whole thing, lucky you! There is possibly a crack in the 2nd egg so will keep a close eye on this, although it’s not due to hatch for another 2 days! We are all so happy here at Lowes and incredibly proud of our Lady for being successful once again. Lets hope the Laird can fill the shoes of the previous male and keep the family well fed.
Thanks to all our dedicated staff and volunteers for keeping those eggs safe and to our bloggers for helping with observations and keeping us entertained with your superb commentary!
Fiona

Update: Dad has stepped up his game and brought a nice fish for mum and chick. There was no chick last time he was on the nest but didn’t seem to shocked to see it on his return. Maybe he does know what he is doing after all! We haven’t got a clear view of lunchtime but the chick is already holding his head up asking for food with open eyes so here’s hoping he gets a bit of fish to recoup some energy. Chick really is doing amazingly well very quickly. Good sign of a very healthy osprey!

7pm: What a day! Our first osprey chick, over four hundred blog comments and so much joy and excitement! Hi folks, Emma here, and yes you guessed it, I missed the hatching! I came in this morning about 7am (after 6 hrs sleep) to see the first tiny egg tooth hole, but then had to go on a training course day. I managed to phone in every couple of hours for an update and have just had the pleasure of watching the footage recorded of the hatching.
I just wanted to say a HUGE thankyou to Fiona and Rinchen who are responsible for the amazing camera work and blog replies today- they’ve been awesome I’m sure you agree. Also thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences of this amazing day- I only wish we’d had webcams on all of you to capture the cheers, tears and fun of your reactions.

The wait continues……It is now officially the 37th day ( will it’s just past midnight) since the first egg was laid on our osprey nest, so hatching has to be imminent! I know it is hard to wait but it will happen all in natures good time as my grandma would say!
Talking to many volunteers and staff here who have watched over rmany years, there does seem to be consesncus that hatching is most often in daylight hours, with early morning being the most common. Whether this is by luck or good design ( so the chicks stand the best chance of drying out and being fed) is uncertain. Surfice to say they will probably wait until I am out of the building! more news as it happens….
7.30am….there is definately a crack in one egg and it has been moving…there is hope….
10am…nice big crack in the egg and chick is making great progress chipping its way out. We’re all as excited as you lot!