PROGRESS

I’m delighted to report that everything is going well, so far, on our nest, with Samson supplying fish on a very regular basis and 500 (Augusta) quickly becoming proficient at feeding the bottomless pits that are their 2 chicks.

The 4 days’ difference in age is very apparent, especially as chick #1 has now lost its fluff and is well into the ‘dinosaur’ stage, which is when growth seems to be particularly fast. Chick #2 is starting to follow suit and will continue to do its best to catch its sibling up. They are very well behaved at mealtimes, due to the abundance of food provided, and I’ve only seen the very occasional tiff, often started by chick #2! It hasn’t worked out that pecking its sibling is not a clever idea, especially when one is not yet very fast across the nest. Another bit of progress is that Augusta has now started to allow Samson to feed the chicks, something he has been desperate to do.

The third egg is still on the nest and can occasionally get in the way of feeding. I’d like to see the back of it but 500 still collects it under her when she broods the chicks and doesn’t seem to realise it’s unviable. She was very quick to stop incubating the eggs last year when the clutch failed, so I’m hoping she will soon push it out to the side of the nest and be done with it.

We’ve had good weather for most of the time but the 14th saw torrential rain with poor old 500 doing her best to keep the chicks warm and dry.

We’ve had a couple more intrusions over the last couple of weeks but only a very persistent 724, a bird hatched on a local nest in 2022, has been identified.

So, a positive report from our nest in all respects. Our hatchings were later than on many of the nests that have cameras installed, so even though several are getting to the ringing stage, we are still some way off that. We will let you know of any news as the chicks continue to grow.

Before I go, I’d like you to indulge me while I tell you about something that I was involved in yesterday that’s nothing to do with ospreys. I was sitting at home and suddenly saw something clinging to an outside wall of my house. I went to have a look and discovered a bat. Luckily, we have a wildlife rehabber in the next village who is particularly knowledgeable about bats. He advised that it being out in the day meant it probably needed rescuing, so I got a ladder out and, wearing gloves (a sensible move when you look at its teeth in the second photo!) and handling it with a cloth, I managed to get it into a box and down to the rehabber. He told me that it was a whiskered bat, one of the rarest species in Scotland, and he will keep it to rehydrate it and get it back to a healthy weight, before releasing it back here. I was really pleased to do my little bit to help this tiny creature. Fingers crossed it makes a full recovery and can be released quickly.