The 2022 Tweed Valley osprey season has finally begun.
The Glentress Forest Wild Watch section is now open to the public and the main nest camera is broadcasting live images to the screen. Volunteers return to work and begin their work on camera, minimizing the need to record some of the best action photos and videos. You will be ready to chat with the visiting public to find out how Osprey is working and to explain the latest pairings of the resident.
Mrs. O., who returned from her first operation at the main cottage, was earlier this year, arriving on March 22. She ate fish in the nest and looked good and healthy after her migration, preparing to breed in the Tweed Valley during the summer months.
Days and Days Sitting in the nest, looking up at the sky, she waits for her partner PW 3 to return. During this time, a man without a ring, Osprey, had unwanted attention from the prospective husband. We have seen half-hearted attempts and an egg appeared in the nest on April 13, but Mrs. O showed no interest, no attempt to enter the nest or care for the egg. She stays awake all day and sits down.
On April 16, PW 3 returned and appeared in the nest for the first time this season. We had to rely on images taken from the phone screen to say that we could not see the ring number at first, as was the case before the opening of the center. But it was clear from their behavior that the couple seemed to be very calm and clear. Three days later the secret egg disappeared from the nest, probably pushed by PW3 because it was not.
The bond between O and PW3 was strengthened when he began fishing. Marriage at the nest quickly followed.
On April 23, for the first time, we were able to see for sure that the couple had eggs. The two were in the nest, and the couple were seen on camera as they switched to embedding. On April 29, the on-duty volunteer was pleased to see that there were now three.
So, the main cottage looks ready for a good start to the season and we hope everything goes well. We have confirmed that at least five other Osprey nest sites are now occupied by resident couples near the Tweed Valley Osprey project. The area west of Pebbles has a resident who has been living there since the end of April. We hope that the female FS2, who returned last year with the ring number, originally came from Lock Architecture Highland. Her partner is a man without a ring.
The couple does not appear to be back because it is not such good news at the backyard hut. There is no certified viewer and the camera has experienced technical problems, so we are waiting to solve these to find out what is going on there.
The bird from that nest was regularly seen fishing on the Tweed River, and last year it was spotted several times at Walkerburg. Unfortunately it has not been seen this year and this is not good.
The Ospreys go on such a long journey to return to the race and face many dangers along the way. It was sad to read the news of bird life in Malta on April 28, during the Osprey and Red Cross hawk flight to Malta. Osprey was taken to a veterinarian but soon died of his wounds. The falcon was shot and killed.
