Caerlaverock news
The story so far from Caerlaverock...
Barnacle geese numbers were up to 6,000 on 8 October, lower than last year due to the south westerly winds holding them back on the Norwegian coast but another 25-30,000 are due soon. The first whooper swans arrived earlier than before on 15 September
20 October 2011
Heading south
Our Ospreys have now not been seen on the nest for over a week, but we have been getting regular daily sightings of Ospreys fishing on the Solway in front of our Saltcot Merse Observatory. Some days have been seeing one or two birds, other days there ha
7 September 2011
Chicks still being fed at the nest
This morning one of the chicks ZY was feeding on the nest from 10.30am in the pouring rain. The soggy conditions didn't seem to affect her enjoyment of todays flounder! Yesterday we saw both chicks on the nest at various times and on Tuesday both the ma
15 August 2011
First for Caerlaverock!!
Breeding birds at Caerlaverock, three new breeding records. Garganey A pair of Garganey was first seen on 26th March in a small borrowpit in the Corner Field. These birds remained here for a few days and later relocated to the Teal Pond. The last time the
17 July 2011
Still sitting...
Our resident Ospreys are still sitting tight on their two precious eggs despite the wilder turn of the weather- in fact such cool and stormy conditions are when their diligence is most important to keep the eggs warm. For those of us viewing the live nes
10 May 2011
Busy incubating two eggs in the sunshine
There has been no sign of a third egg laid this year and the female is sitting tight incubating the two eggs. AW as usual is taking his turn and she had to physically turf him off the eggs at one point yesterday, maybe she was ready for him to go and catc
4 May 2011
Incubations continues
Our ospreys are happily incubating their two eggs on the nest today and no doubt enjoying the beautiful spring weather. The eggs were laid on the 19th and 22nd of April and it now looks unlikely they will be joined by a third egg this year, as it has been
2 May 2011
Still no third egg
At the end of the CCTV recording yesterday I could still see only two eggs on the nest. This morning the female has been sitting tight on the nest most of the morning and has built up the grass and twigs at the front of the nest so that it is difficult to
26 April 2011
Can't see the third egg yet
Like yesterday AW has been doing a lot of nest duty today sitting on the eggs. He spent nearly 2 hours this morning before his mate came in and took over. Due to the build up of nest material on the edge of the nest it is very difficult to see if a 3rd eg
25 April 2011
Osprey Easter egg number two laid this morning
When the CCTV images came on this morning we could see AW stand up on the nest and between his legs there were 2 eggs. If we didn't know better it looked as if he had just laid them! A second lighter and more speckled egg was beside the very russet first
22 April 2011
No sign of egg number two yet
It looks hot on the osprey nest today as the birds bask in the spring sunshine. AW has flown in to take his turn on the nest 3 times today, once with a fish for his mate. We have also seen a mating attempt on the nest this morning, a precarious operation
21 April 2011
First egg laid this morning
As the CCTV system came on at the centre this morning the female was sitting tight on the nest. Was she on the first egg? Emma watched patiently and at 10.20am she saw the female stand up and sure enough there was the first egg of the season in the cup of
19 April 2011
Yet more sticks and more mating
Over the weekend we have seen both ospreys bringing in more sticks to the nest. AW as ever is a bit optimistic in thinking he can find the final resting place for his sticks on the nest. His mate rearranges his endeavours as sooon as he leaves. There have
18 April 2011
Expecting eggs
We are all eagerly expecting eggs to be laid by our osprey pair in the next few days. There has certainly been plenty of matings and lots of nest additions and 'cup scraping' which are all good signs of the birds being well bonded to the nest site and bei
16 April 2011
More DIY and mating on the nest
As we return to chilly wet wether it is all go at the nest with more sticks arriving and the bit of black plastic has moved to the edge of the nest and is flapping about in the wind. Hopefully it will blow away soon. AW has been busy bringing some good si
13 April 2011