Author Archives: Rosieshields

I’m hoping that both Samson and JW6 (Juno) are well on their way now back to their nest site. Juno arrived first last year, on 2 April and Samson on 11 April. The previous year he’d arrived on 30 March, which was the earliest we’d seen him and him not coming until nearly a fortnightContinue reading “A NEW SEASON AND A NEW NEST”

You wouldn’t expect to hear from me at this time of year but I need to advise you of significant news, especially those who visited the facility of Border Ospreys at Lanton Mill. Very sadly, the Born in Scotland restaurant and shop have been forced to close with immediate effect due to the ongoing financialContinue reading “SAD NEWS”

The site is empty, the nest is deserted and the area no longer rings to the sounds of ospreys calling. It’s actually quite a spooky thing, walking around the field and seeing and hearing no sign of our birds having had them be such a feature of my life (at least) for the past 5Continue reading “ALL OVER FOR ANOTHER YEAR”

Firstly, I’d like to apologise for the length of time since my last blog. I thought that, after fledging, there would be just one more post saying how everyone had left and it had all gone quiet. Ha! I’ve been waiting for over a week to say that and, in the end, I still can’tContinue reading “WEIRD END OF SEASON GOINGS-ON”

The first fledge of an osprey chick in 5 years at Border Ospreys took place today just before 1400 when Blue 688 (Sasha) took off and made his first flight, landing successfully in the dead tree. He was joined there by his proud parents and I was able to get a family photo of themContinue reading “UP AND AWAY”

Coincidentally, exactly 6 years after the first chicks were ringed following the rebuild of the nest and the installation of the osprey nest camera, we were back again to ring the 2022 class. Both chicks have grown exponentially since they hatched and were starting to wing flap and exercise their flight muscles ready for theContinue reading “RINGING DAY”

The chicks are growing quickly and well, getting bigger every time I look. They dropped their fluffy down overnight at the weekend to transform into mini dinosaurs and now are starting to venture around the nest, propping themselves up by their wing stubs. Samson has been working hard providing a good supply of fish; pikeContinue reading “NEAR DISASTER!”

Well, excellent news and sad news in this short blog. The more exciting is that we have a second chick, which we first saw at just before 3pm when Juno stood up to collect a fish, another pike, from Samson. This little one was very sneaky because views of the contents of the nest atContinue reading “AND THEN THERE WERE TWO!”

For the first time in 5 years, and after so much heartache and disappointment in the intervening period, I can announce that we have a chick. Hatched out overnight, it looks strong and ready for breakfast. Let’s hope it doesn’t have to wait long. Proud new parent, Juno, is being very protective so we haveContinue reading “AT LAST!”

Juno finally allowed us to see that there were 3 eggs and, at present, we are on track for the hatching window to open on 30 May. She has continued to make me eat my words of last year and she has been an attentive and careful incubator – when she has been allowed onContinue reading “THE LONG WAIT”