

I had my latest afternoon of volunteering yesterday at the Tweed Valley Osprey Watch centre beside Glentress Forest in the Scottish Borders. Upon arrival I was astounded by how much the lone chick had grown since I last observed it six days previously. Its two siblings sadly perished from heat exposure almost a month ago during a particularly hot spell of weather. The inexperienced mother failed to shield them from the sun at critical times and was far from attentive to the surviving chick. Nevertheless, its future now looks very promising; having benefited from a steady supply of fish – including a pike – from the mature male who has once again proven himself to be an adept hunter.

The mother has also redeemed herself by paying the chick more attention and sheltering it from a number of torrential downpours we’ve had recently. Although it can now regulate its own body temperature effectively, its covering of feathers have yet to develop the oiliness needed to repel water. The word ‘chick’ now seems wholly inappropriate given its dramatic increase in size thanks to all that calorific, protein-rich fish. I almost mistook it for the adult when I first arrived yesterday! In a few weeks, it’ll be capable of flying and has already been flapping its impressive wingspan in the nest.

The accompanying photos are of a mature chick being ringed during a previous season. This is usually done when they are around 5 weeks old and have fully developed bone structures.

You can view live footage of the nest at the link below:

http://scotland.forestry.gov.uk/forest-parks/tweed-valley-forest-park/the-tweed-valley-osprey-project