Previous Editions
July 2010
30(10) Makes His First Flight- Our regular contributor Lynda was in Waderscrape Hide when the first of the Manton Bay chicks took to the air
July 2010
Guided Walks and Water Rails - Trainee warden Michelle Househam spends a week with the Osprey Project
July 2010
A Boat, Rutland Water, a Warm Summer Evening and Two Fishing Ospreys- Lynda Berry on a spectacular first Osprey Cruise of the year
May 2010
Mr Nosey Drops In- An Afternoon In Waderscrape- Val & Alan Brown write about an enthralling afternoon in Manton Bay
May 2010
05(08) Returns Home- The earlist ever return for a Rutland two year old, photographed by Brian and Liz Nicholls
April 2010
First Shift Of The Year- Ken Davies sees the return of the 5R show in Manton Bay
February 2010
A Mid-Winter Gathering- Walks, works and welsh ospreys at the Osprey Mid-Winter gathering
October 2009
Time To Say Goodbye - Lynda's Summer Diary- Goodbye to Site N, and to another Osprey season
A GATHERING OF VOLUNTEERS - February 2010
The project is extremely fortunate to have a large and extremely loyal group of volunteers. Last summer, nearly 150 people dedicated more than 7500 hours to the project. Without the input of this dedicated group of people, the project could not be the great success that it now is.
Last weekend 70 volunteers gathered at the Birdwatching Centre at Egleton for the now annual Osprey volunteers’ winter get-together; an opportunity to meet up with friends before the new ‘Osprey season’ gets underway in late March. After a walk around the reserve to view recent work on the exciting wetlands project, the group returned to the Centre for a fascinating talk by Emyr Evans on his work with Ospreys in Wales. Emyr manages the Dyfi Osprey Project for the Motgomeryshire Wildlife Trust and before that was Project Manager for the RSPB at the nest in North Wales where 11(98) has bred since 2004. Volunteer Ken Davies will again be keeping a diary of his involvement with the project this year. So what better time to start than at the first meeting of the year?
“I’ve been looking forward to today for weeks, and praying that the snow and ice would stay away long enough for everyone to travel to Egleton for the first meeting of the year. The day dawns bright and sunny, but very cold, and on the radio I hear there is snow in some areas, but thankfully not around Rutland Water. The car-park is buzzing as I arrive, and people are exchanging greetings and renewing acquaintance after a five month break. We gather just before 10.00 outside the Visitor Centre, and Tim Mackrill explains that we will be walking around the reservoir to view the amazing work that has been done since the ospreys departed last autumn. We start to walk through the woods along the icy tracks. Everyone is so well wrapped up against the freezing temperature that, at first, it’s hard to spot old friends from previous seasons, but every so often a friendly voice prompts recognition, and the memories come flooding back. The line at one point recalls a scene from ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’, where the unfortunate inmates of a remote Stalinist labour camp are marched off to a quarry, where they will be breaking up rocks with their bare hands. This image is intensified when I see a huge pile of massive stones ahead of us. But then Tim explains that they are part of the work on the new bunds and volunteers are not required to start hacking at them. We see vast machines lined up on the shore, like a row of giant ossified creatures, and then we see the bund stretching out into the water, and a second one which will ensure the safety of Manton Bay. A new osprey pole has been erected, but it will be covered up in case the work is not finished in time. Let’s hope it is! Cables have already been laid to enable images from the nest pole to be relayed to Lyndon and Egleton. Tim points out the sites of new lagoons and proposed areas of marsh. The whole development is so exciting for those of us who have not been here since last season, and there is much animated chat as we head back to the Centre for Paul’s and Tricia’s warming soup.
There is a choice of delicious soups. Everyone finds a seat, juggling a bowl of steaming soup, a large piece of bread, a spoon, binoculars and various items of outdoor clothing. ‘Ivan Denisovich’ comes to mind again ~ the prisoners always had a watery fish soup. Ivan used to dread seeing a fish-eye come up on his spoon ~ even though starving he could never take another mouthful when that happened! Fortunately, there is no fish soup today! Whilst eating, I chat to a young couple next to me who are attending their first meeting. It transpires that Jessica is a beautician from that rather swish place Ragdale Hall, near Melton Mowbray. It occurs to me that her skills could come in handy after a hard shift at Site B battling through rain, wind, hail and all the other elements we experience during a season. I hope they both sign up for some shifts!
Then Emyr Evans gives us a fascinating report, with superb pictures and films, of the Osprey in Wales, from the mid-Wales nest of 2004, through Glaslyn, to the new Dyfi Osprey Project in Montgomeryshire. Some of the photos are incredible close-ups of osprey faces, bills and feet ~ and I learn a new word : zygodactylic, describing the osprey’s ability to grip a fish with two toes forward and two back. There are frequent connections with our birds, and Emyr’s final slide shows a yellow-ringed osprey in Wales, which may well be one of our 2005 translocations!
Tim rounds things off by reporting on progress in arranging the 2011 West Africa trip, and telling us to look out for the new volunteer forms, which will be with us soon. Then I go off with Ken B and Julie to see if we can spot the long-eared owls which are reported to be roosting around Fieldfare hide. We get there and find no less than THREE long-eareds and one short-eared in a low hedge. The fierce yellow eyes of the short-eared are amazing; he wakes up while we watch. The ear tufts on the long-eareds stand up clearly; one of them opens his orangey red eyes and blinks at us. The photographers are going crazy, trying to get a clear view through the thick hedge. These are my first long-eareds since 1994 at Landguard Point. A great day to start the season! We walk back in high spirits. The 2010 season has started ~ roll on the last week of March!”
2010 promises to be a great year for the project and we are always looking for new volunteers. If you are interested we would love to hear from you; just email Tim Mackrill or phone him (01572 770651) if you would like to know more.
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