Latest from the Tweed Valley Osprey Project nests in 2024

THE 2024 osprey season has finally started properly for Tweed Valley Osprey Project (TVOP).

The weather has held up the arrival of many birds back to their territories.

One of the first successful pairings to take up residence were the pair from the west of Peebles nest and they are well ahead of other birds this season as it seems that the female FS2 has begun to sit from April 16, indicative of having started to incubate an egg.

At nest 2 there were some last-minute preparations in place to get the tree protected from invasion by pine marten because at the end of last season one was frequently seen climbing around the nest and briefly seen there earlier this year too.

Foresters have wrapped the trunk with plastic sheeting and created a baffle to prevent the pine marten from climbing up. This will give the ospreys a better chance of raising a family there without predation.

After a few camera blips at the start of the month eventually all technical issues have been resolved and it was good to see that the resident pair Camilla and her partner FKO had returned.

Things were looking settled and mating had been taking place at the newly refurbished nest which had been strengthened by the addition of branches tied in together to prevent blowing out.

The peaceful scene was disrupted rudely by the arrival of another female, in the shape of no other than Mrs O.

Mrs O had not even visited her own nest (nest 1) judging by the recorded footage, the nest had stood empty with only one brief visitor that left soon after and with hindsight was too quiet to have been Mrs O.

Mrs O’s appearance at nest 2 was accompanied by her loud piercing calls, she has been mating with the resident male and his poor partner Camilla has been getting shoved from the nest and there have been a few matriarch scuffles and pushes as the two rivals battle it out as to who will stay and who will go.

Both have mated with FKO, the nest has barely been built up and not looking ready for eggs yet, no soft material has been added and no cup shape dug out in readiness, yet both females potentially could be about to lay any day.

But only one can stay and it looked like Mrs O was winning the battle while a slightly aloof FKO stayed out of the melee.

On April 16 an osprey finally showed up at nest 1 and looking at the recorded footage, it seems to be Mrs O’s partner PW3. (This will need to be confirmed because it was not a clear view of the ring number).

Now that he is back what will Mrs O choose to do, go back to her partner at her old nest or continue to take over nest 2 and stay with FKO? We will have to wait to see what happens. Not quite the start to the season that we had predicted.

We have had quite a few reports of sightings of Tweed Valley Ospreys recently. We were pleased to hear of the return of TVOP bird 330 with Border Ospreys male PYO at nest 10 at Kielder Ospreys, were they bred for the first-time last year.

The English birds, Kielder 29 and Rutland 3AF, have also successfully returned to breed in the TVOP area again this year too.

One of the Kielder females 224 dropped in on nest 2 briefly in April which was great to see as she was on her way to her own territory to the east of the TVOP project area where she is partnered with a TVOP male ZU or an unringed male (we are not sure which one of these two is the resident male).

Blue LS a female osprey from a brood of 2 in 2009 at what was known as our ‘back up’ nest made an appearance at a nest site in Argaty which was great news.

Her brother LT was injured in 2011 and was rehabilitated and released at his natal site. He was seen a couple of years later when he visited the main nest in 2014, so it was good to know that he had survived too.

The unusual female osprey 699 has made a second appearance at Kielder this year.

She is unusual because she returned as a 1-year-old, which was a first record of a one-year-old osprey returning from migration for this project. She is from a brood of three from nest 2. One of Camilla and FKO’s daughters from 2022.

We received news from Darren at Friends of the ospreys in Wales that Tweed Valley osprey blue 685 has hopefully taken up residence on the tribute to Chris Wood nest and has stayed for a few days. 685 is a male from a brood of three in the upper Tweed Valley where he fledged with his two sisters in 2021.

The Wildwatch is open at Glentress Forest with both screens linked to cameras on nests 1 and 2 so that visitors can see the ospreys and watch their family dramas playout.

Volunteers are on duty most days to chat to visitors and explain what the birds have been up to in the unfolding 2024 osprey soap opera.