The Ospreys are coming? They've arrived!

Monday April 11th   First of all, an apology to Mary for giving misleading information in my last blog.

When I stated that “Leo and I chatted about birds while his Grandma was giving him a necessary bath after playing in his football team”, it was of course Leo playing in the football team, and not Mary.

I digress......You will gather that I am stretching my standard 550 words because it’s been a No News week – again.

But what I can report is the Osprey season has started well.

Friday 1^st April   Reported on the Bird Guide website was one Osprey passing through and surprisingly heading South West. Logically at this date, the bird would be en route back to its place of birth in Scotland or the Lake District; South West is normally the route to Senegal. So without any id features such as a ring, Bird Number 1 will be a mystery.

Tuesday 12^th April, again a single bird, at 11.35 am, which was seen fishing and then left NE over Hall Wood. Mystery Bird No 2.

Another bit of late news was that on the Osprey bonus walk on the 10^th, BOD was some nice viewable Redpolls on Stones Island. And they could also be seen through a scope on Horseshoe Island on Sunday 17^th, the latter being alongside Goldfinches (they both like the same food) so an instant comparison was useful.

Sunday 17^th April, I was at a meeting at Carsington to see if we can erect an additional hide, or even a screen, as the volunteers’ project for the year 2017, the 25^th Anniversary of the year when H M Queen opened Carsington. I gather my daughter and her husband had a walk round Carsington to celebrate their WA, drinking a celebratory “Gin and Prosecco” at Sheepwash car park. (And they say romance is dead!) 

Had a message later to say that when they reached the Wildlife Centre, they encountered a very happy volunteer team who had just seen a Whimbrel come into roost, presumably one of the 5 that Roger Carrington saw very early on Monday morning. Quite a thrill for my daughter to use the VR scope, and see a bird she had not seen before. 

Well I’m sorry the maximising of my passed contributions to the NHS has limited my blog this week, and even Boots welcome me on Christian name terms, but I have greater plans for the coming week.

 Because Osprey sightings have started well this month, this appropriate picture is the first landing of an identifiable Osprey on one of the newly erected Osprey nests, on the 5^th May 2011. 

We were able to read the white ring on the left leg and the letters “KR”, and found out that this male Osprey was ringed (=borne – almost!) on the 28^th June 2009 (as a nestling), and was heading to its place of birth near Dingwall.

Did I see it? Nope. I was stuck in a Polling Station handing out voting papers to the great British public, and not allowed to have my mobile on, so I just got all the recordings "have you heard.....etc"

Ring details really make bird watching come alive