Osprey set to take flight

Jul 31 2009 by Our Correspondent, Dumfries Standard Friday

By the time you read this our young osprey should have taken his maiden flight.

He has been exercising his wings all this week, flapping wildly and becoming airborne for brief seconds before landing again on the nest.

Soon he must take that great leap from the lofty eyrie and test those new wing feathers.

He is still being fed scraps of fish by his parents but often they will leave the remains on the nest for the youngster to grasp in his talons and finish off.

It is amazing how this one young bird has given us all so much pleasure this last month, watching him grow so quickly and turn from a “plucked chicken” to a fine feathered bird.

We are now seeing more of the male osprey fishing the Solway then landing to eat the fish on driftwood on the merse, just out from the observatory.

Hopefully in the next few weeks, when the youngster is ready, we may see his first fishing attempts.

Then sometime later in August the female osprey will be the first to head south to west equatorial Africa for the winter, the male will stay behind a few weeks longer with the youngster before heading off himself.

Then the young osprey will have to hone his fishing skills and fly south on his own, an amazing journey of more than 5,000 kilometres (3,000 miles).

His genetic programming and some good luck and good weather will see him arrive in Africa to spend at least the next 18 months before returning to Scotland.

The centre is open every day from 10am to 5pm so why not join us to see this chapter of the life of the first Dumfriesshire osprey unfold.

Apart from our ospreys, there is plenty to see and do at this time of year at WWT Caerlaverock.

Pond dipping is always great fun and available at our raised pond every day. You can wander round the mown grass path in the wildflower meadow and marvel at the flora and fauna of a habitat which nationally has declined by over 95 per cent in the last 50 years.

The Lochar Water path takes you along the banks of the tidal river which can reveal the footprints of deer, badgers and even the elusive otter.

Join the warden as the birds are fed at 11am and 2pm before heading off on the afternoon guided walk (staffing levels permitting) to see the best wildlife of the day.

There are also brass rubbings, a robin trail, osprey trail and you can even make an osprey hat. In the year of the centenary of the birth of our founder, Sir Peter Scott we are showing the BBC film, A Passion for Nature in the theatre every day. See our living fossils, the tadpole shrimps scuttle about in the aquarium and our barn owl family on CCTV live from inside the nest.

We have three almost fledged barn owlets this summer, they are very active in the nest during the day stretching wings and moving their heads at almost impossible angles to perfect their judgement of distances which will be so crucial when they start to hunt for themselves.

At this time of year, most people are thinking of summer holidays despite the summer showers turning to almost monsoon conditions this last week, however many birds are already flying south on their epic autumn migrations.

We are beginning to see large flocks of waders massing on the Solway. In this last week we have counted over 3,000 oystercatchers, 300 lapwings and 220 curlews, also a large flock of over 1,000 of the now rather scarce and misnamed common gulls.

This is also the time of year when feral or local geese start to gather on the Solway. We think that these greylag and Canada geese, which are now resident in northern England and southern Scotland are undertaking a post-moult flight to the estuary.

This week we have seen around 300 greylags and about 50 Canada geese which will increase over the next month or so.

Other bird highlights of the last month have been the sight of a peregrine falcon hunting over the merses and a goshawk chasing pigeons down the avenue.

This Sunday, August 2 why not join me on our Merse Walk. These special guided walks will take you to places never before visited on the vast saltmarshes of our reserve.

The emotive sound of skylarks singing from the sky above, the carpet of pink thrift, meadow pippits flitting from fence post to fence post and the Lochar Water meandering gently to the Solway.

The walk starts at 2pm and is about 4 miles long over uneven ground, stout footwear and binoculars are recommended. Normal admission prices apply to all, booking is essential, phone 01387 770200.