Wednesday, 8 April 2020

More Osprey watching (sort of)

After mentioning remote Osprey watching from my lockdown flat in my post on 6th April 2020, I have found some more Ospreys to watch in addition to those at Loch of the Lowes in Perthshire!

There is another Osprey nest site in Scotland at Loch Arkaig 20 miles north of Fort William which is being monitored by the Woodland Trust. I remember seeing an Osprey at the eastern end of Loch Arkaig several years ago and certainly before any nest site became common knowledge. Live stream .... Loch Arkaig.

In addition, there are 2 Osprey nest sites in Wales featuring live streams.

The first is at Llyn Clywedog in the Hafren Forest north west of Llanidloes in Powys. This an area that I know fairly well from my trips to Wales although I haven’t visited it since this breeding pair became common knowledge. Live stream .... Llyn Clywedog.

The second is at the Cors Dyfi nature reserve managed as the Dyfi Osprey Project by the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust. This is close to the town of Machynlleth in Powys and it is a regular stop on my annual visits to Wales. Live stream .... Cors Dyfi nature reserve.

It is now too late to see a fly-over Osprey from my flat or any of my wildlife watching sites since they will nearly all be back on their breeding territories.

My only guaranteed chance of seeing an Osprey this year had been at Rutland Water when visiting the annual Birdfair in the third week in August but on 7th April 2020 the organisers confirmed the cancellation of this year's event due to the COVID-19 health crisis. Therefore my only remaining opportunity is the remote chance of a fly-over returning migrant heading back to west Africa for the winter.

UPDATE - 9th April 2020. There was some amazing news on the Self-Isolating Bird Club show on Twitter this morning hosted by Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin

The Poole Harbour Osprey Project in Dorset is a multi-partner project aiming to restore a breeding population of Ospreys to the south coast of England. Yesterday their Osprey webcam picked up a female Osprey arriving at the nest platform and started nest building. Although they are still awaiting the return of the male, the project partners are hoping that 2020 will see the first nesting Ospreys in the south of England in over 200 years!

Hopefully, there will be a day not too far away when Ospreys are successfully breeding in Essex. Maybe Abberton Reservoir will be the site given that Ospreys pass through almost every year on spring migration and sometimes linger for a few days.

💚🦆 🦉 🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature




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