WELL, WELL, WELL

I’d put my special blog-writing keyboard away for the season and was dreaming of 500 paddling in the warm waters of coastal Gambia or somewhere and Samson not far behind but it was not to be, so I have 2 bits of interesting news for you.

The first is that 3AF came calling again on 14 Aug. She is the successful female at a nearby osprey nest but was with us for most of 2020 and some of 2021. She tends to leave her nest after the chicks have fledged and then pop across to see if Samson is around and he, like an idiot, often provides fish for her for a few days. You know from his track record that he’s a complete mug for a flash of fluffy white pantaloons but she was unsuccessful in prising any food from him this time, so she didn’t hang around. He was last seen on camera on 16 Aug.

It’s always very frustrating that they don’t actually tell you when they’re leaving so the dates at this end of the season are always a little vague but with nothing to see, only a bout of Covid has prevented me from turning the camera off now we’re into September.

However, imagine my surprise when a friend sent me some photos, taken this afternoon from a nest at Foulshaw Moss, in Cumbria, showing a very familiar figure intruding just before 4pm, until she was driven off by the resident male. It was Augusta! Screenshots are all taken by Mary Cheadle and the webcam is courtesy of Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

I have no idea where she’s been since we last saw her on our camera on 2 Aug. She might well have been around but not shown herself in front of the camera or when I was there. She may have only just left the nest area, although I doubt Samson would have left if she was still there. Conversely, she might have been doing the same as 3AF and found herself a gullible male who fed her in the hope of pairing up with her next year. Either way, she hasn’t got very far on her migration but looks well fed and sleek.

It just goes to show that you must always expect the unexpected with these birds. That really should be it now, unless she starts camera hopping down the osprey nests in England, in which case I’ll update you as she goes along.

See you in 2025.