Wednesday, 01 September 2021
The Year of Coasts & Waters has been extended throughout 2021, showcasing some of Scotland’s most beautiful landscapes. However, our amazing coastline isn’t all about beaches or cliffs, and it comes in lots of different shapes and sizes. Here, we’ve picked our favourite coastal forests to inspire you to explore and learn more about Scotland’s incredible coastal landscape...
Tuesday, 31 August 2021
This is a very exciting time for the Tweed Valley osprey project because one of the young satellite tagged ospreys has migrated. Talla (Darvic ring blue 671) from the main nest has left Tweed Valley and set off on the first migration of his or her life. Having previously ventured no further than over the hills beside the forest and as far as the next valley, this young bird just took off on the m...
Tuesday, 24 August 2021
There are periods of quiet at the main Tweed Valley osprey nest now. The birds are moving further afield and only returning to the nest to hang around waiting for their dad PW3 to return with fish. He is still doing a great job and on 18 August there were two fish on the nest, with a juvenile sitting below on a branch. Uneaten fish on the nest suggests that the birds are full and food is plentiful...
Tuesday, 17 August 2021
It's looking increasingly likely that the female osprey, Mrs O, has left Peeblesshire to begin her migration. The last sighting of her was on 8 August and she has not been seen at the nest area since or near her offspring. The osprey season will soon be drawing to a close once more for the year as birds begin to leave us. The first to go are usually the non-breeders and females who have finished r...
Tuesday, 10 August 2021
The osprey family are often away from the nest now that the juveniles have fledged, but they are returning to feed when parents deliver fish. The young birds fly back from their watchful perches atop pine trees with high excitement and much calling at the sight of food. They no longer require assistance and can feed themselves, so the adult birds are operating a delivery service only. Perhaps Meg...
Friday, 06 August 2021
Seasonal rangers make up a crucial part of our workforce every year. From helping other staff with their ongoing work to chatting with visitors to our forests, it's a varied and interesting role. We caught up with one such ranger, Carola, to see how she was getting on. What made you want to become a seasonal ranger with FLS? I love the outdoors and feel passionate about how it can benefit us all...
Tuesday, 03 August 2021
The main Tweed Valley osprey nest is often empty now that the juvenile ospreys have fledged but they are never too far away from home. Megget (670) and Talla (671) have been fairly adventurous trying out their wings on flights around the forest but we can see from the tracking data that neither of them has ventured further yet. The greatest distance travelled so far has been by the bolder of the t...
Tuesday, 27 July 2021
This week, many ospreys across the region will have taken their first flights and have started their final journeys towards reaching full adulthood. Here in Tweed Valley, it was young Megget that was the first to leave the main nest on 18 July. Her first trip was an impressive 240 metres. This was in the evening and the tracker relayed data to show that she was still there in the early hours of ...
Tuesday, 20 July 2021
On 19 July, in the main nest, osprey chicks Megget and Talla were 54 days old and one of them fledged. The other osprey youngster was sat low down in the nest and we could not see the ring number, so we couldn’t say whether it was Megget or Talla that made the first brave flight. She probably didn’t venture far, most likely a wing lifted jump into a close-by pine. Mrs O was relaxed, sitting ab...
Thursday, 15 July 2021
On 13 July, Megget (670) and Talla (671), the two young ospreys in the main Tweed Valley nest were 48 days old. Since ringing day, they have settled back to their normal routine with mum and dad at the nest site. They are very actively stretching and flapping their wings now in readiness for flight. Flight is achieved after 7 to 8 weeks of age, with an average being 55 days after hatching. So by...
Thursday, 15 July 2021
We don’t just grow and fell trees. We also lead in conserving landscapes. For World Nature Conservation Day, we’re highlighting several projects that protect and enhance nature in Scotland. Designated sites & species These areas are known globally as important for science and nature. This includes Caledonian pine forests, Atlantic oak woods or even peat bogs. These sites are home...
Monday, 05 July 2021
The ospreys in the main Tweed Valley nest were 40 days old on Monday 5 July and this was now time for them to be fitted with their darvic rings and their unique BTO rings (British Trust for Ornithology) for identification. The Environment Team from Forestry and Land Scotland consisting of Tony Lightley (Environment Forester), Eve Schulte (Environment Ranger), Derek Rodger (Environment Assistant)...
Tuesday, 29 June 2021
On 27 June, the osprey chicks in the main Tweed Valley nest were 32 days old and we can see just how dramatically they have changed since they first hatched, when they were no bigger than a hen chick. When they first emerged from their eggs, they were weak and wobbly and covered in uniform grey down, with only an eye-stripe hinting at the ospreys they will become. And although the change is dram...
Tuesday, 22 June 2021
On 20 June, the osprey chicks in the main nest in Tweed Valley were 25 days old and while checking over the recorded footage it was great to see just how well they are growing and developing. Their feathers are coming through and this means that they are no longer at the mercy of the weather in the way that they were, or reliant on their mum shielding them from rain or strong sunlight. Now they ca...