We're always a bit tired after a day up the mountains so fully intended to do little on the following day. Even though we had already seen a couple of Ospreys on this trip it's always good to see a few more. There are lots of Ospreys in the Speyside area, some can be seen easily enough, and a "sit-in" near one of the many lochs in the area will no doubt gain sightings. But the place to go to in order for guaranteed views of fishing Ospreys, and without paying a fortune to rent one of the photography hides, something that I have no yearning to do, which I like to think entitles me to call myself a birder and not a togger even though I enjoy taking photos (not that Mrs Caley would agree sometimes), is Lossiemouth on the Moray coast. Several Ospreys hunt on the River Lossie, we happened on them by chance a few years ago, and they can be seen there at all times of the day. The best time to watch them however, is on a falling tide when the river is reduced to a shallow and narrow watercourse. There is a carpark next to the river so you don't even have to leave the car to watch the birds if the weather turns inclement.
Low tide was to be at midday so we left a couple of hours before, stopping off at a well known Country Store for a bit of extravagant shopping on the way. While we were headed to Lossiemouth at the right time with regard to the tides, there was nothing we could do about the horrendous and torrential rain that hammered down as we perused the expensive wares of the Store. The coffee was as excellent as ever though. It was still raining as we entered the outskirts of Lossiemouth but the clouds miraculously disappeared almost as soon as we parked overlooking the river. An Osprey was already fishing there too although by the time I had retrieved the camera from the car it was in the process of being hounded out of the area by an irate Herring Gull.
We didn't have to wait long for another Osprey to arrive and this one treated us to a fine show while hovering above the river almost directly opposite our position. You can choose to walk along the river, all the way its mouth if you wish, or you can stay put by the cars. It's pot luck where the Ospreys fish really but at low tide there are a couple of deeper pools that seem to be the favoured spots. The bird we watched made a few unsuccessful dives into the river before giving up and heading off towards the river mouth.
Most of the Ospreys that come to hunt for fish on the river are ringed and local enthusiasts can keep track of how often and when individual birds visit the estuary. We spoke to Ian Rollo, a local birder and photographer who has taken many superb photos of the Ospreys over the years. He offered lots of current information about the Ospreys, 2022 it seems was a good year for them. We've met Ian a few times over the years. Another Osprey flew in, surprisingly from the direction of the town. It was sporting a blue leg ring, which I think read "AV3". With hardly any rigmarole at all the new arrival was torpedoing towards the water, hitting it moments later, and bingo, it had caught a fish, a flounder. As easy as that!
I managed to miss the moment of impact on the water of course, the background buildings had confused the camera's focus, a common fault when using automatic focus. Just fifteen minutes later though another Osprey flew up the river towards us and again it was straight into the water with very little fuss. This time I actually managed to capture the bird partly submerged in the water (but missed the actual dive). It takes a great deal of effort for the Osprey to wrestle itself free from the water and get airborne again. Some birds can get into trouble and struggle to get back in the air, and can even perish in the attempt. Thankfully all the birds we saw managed to get away. This third bird had also caught a flounder.
We stayed for another half hour, I photographed a very odd looking Gull which my friend and expert birder, Lew, confirmed was a very bedraggled and sick looking Herring Gull. On our last visit here last September I had found a Glaucous Gull here but they are generally winter visitors so not around in June. There were some fine looking Hooded Crows strutting around and of course other fish eaters such as Grey Herons were in the river as well.
With the wind strengthening and heavy rain looking likely we retreated back to the Country Store for more excellent coffee and a lunch to match. The rest of the day was spent watching torrential rain through the cottage windows.
No comments:
Post a Comment