Skip to main content
Ospreys play fighting in the nest

Feeding time at the nest

Tuesday, 28 June 2022

Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. On 20 June the young osprey chicks in the main nest were seen panting in the heat and indulging in a few sibling squabbles. Nothing serious but those sharp beaks are weapons not to be ignored. It seems that to disengage in battle, osprey style, is to put your head right down almost into the nes...

Rachel at work

The Apprentice's View

Monday, 27 June 2022

Rachel Orchard is one of our Trees and Timber Apprentices working from our base in Durris, Aberdeenshire. As a newcomer to the forestry sector she has hit the ground running by winning the Lantra ALBAS award for Learner of the Year. After almost a year in the role, we asked Rachel to give us her thoughts on modern forestry, the challenges faced, and how young people can thrive in this industry. ...

A painting of an osprey is unveiled by a man and a woman

A fitting tribute to a famous osprey

Tuesday, 21 June 2022

Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. The Tweed Valley Osprey Project volunteers and staff from Forestry and Land Scotland held a celebratory get together for the first time since the pandemic began, on Friday 17 June. The reason for the celebration was the unveiling of a beautiful painting of osprey White Leg SS in the Glentress W...

Family picnic

Top ten perfect picnic spots

Monday, 20 June 2022

They say you should plan your meals, but never a picnic - and this is doubly true in Scotland where, even during peak summer time, our weather can be changeable! Below, we've got suggestions for easy-to-access picnic spots near you, suggestions for snacks, main meals and drinks, and even some ideas for alternative activities and destinations in case it starts to rain cats and dogs. Find the per...

Downed trees in a forest next to a river

Storm damage to help riparian restoration

Wednesday, 15 June 2022

The damage caused by storms Arwen and Corrie could speed up efforts to restore a strip of land along the River South Esk and the White Water in Glen Doll, Angus. About a third of conifers on this site came down. These conifers would have been slowly removed in the next 30 – 40 years to widen and improve the riparian zone running through the forest. The recent storms have sped up this process...

Osprey chick hopping about in nest

Three healthy chicks

Tuesday, 14 June 2022

Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. > A young chick hopping about in the nest This week, at the main nest in Tweed Valley, we have seen some very good sized brown trout being brought in to the nest by the male, PW3, for his family. The three chicks are doing very well and are being fed so tenderly by Mrs O. It is encouragi...

Osprey family in nest

PW3 settling into fatherhood

Tuesday, 07 June 2022

Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. The osprey chicks at the main Tweed Valley nest hatched a couple of days apart - two on 29 May and the third two days later. This small time gap makes a lot of difference in terms of physical appearance and stature of the youngest chick. It is quite obviously smaller and weaker than its older si...

Adult osprey feeding its chicks

It's triplets!

Tuesday, 31 May 2022

Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. We have much to celebrate at the Tweed Valley Osprey Project this week because, on 29 May, Mrs O stood up on the main nest to reveal that two of her chicks had hatched. The third egg was still visible in the nest but the two wriggly little hatchlings were squirming about and probably feeling ve...

Bike tyre

Breaking ground on the long-awaited Glentress Masterplan development

Monday, 30 May 2022

After almost two years of COVID-19 delays, work is beginning on delivery of the Glentress Masterplan, including new mountain bike trails, walking trails and increased visitor car parking space. It’s exciting to see things finally happening on the ground. Over the next few months, we’ll be constructing trails and trail features and a new activity area. Robertson’s Construction, and expert tr...

Nest on top of timber stack

Nesting round-up

Tuesday, 24 May 2022

Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. Good news is being received across the UK from osprey watchers at sites where chicks are beginning to hatch. Congratulations are due to Loch of the Lowes, Kielder, Rutland and Dyfed who all now have little hatched ospreys in their area. Expected hatching time first week of June for Mrs O and ...

Two ospreys looking up from nest

Protective parents

Wednesday, 18 May 2022

Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. Mrs O and PW3 have had a few disturbances this week and have been seen looking skywards in alarm. PW3 has been hunkering down over the eggs, adopting a defensive, wings out posture and alarm calling. We cannot see what has caused the alarm and have to surmise that it is most likely another ospr...

Large Sitka spruce tree trunks

Sitka Spruce

Monday, 16 May 2022

Sitka spruce. It’s the most common productive tree in Britain. But why has this native of the pacific coast of North America become so widespread in NW Europe? In this article we look at where Sitka comes from, why it has been so widely adopted and what the future holds for it.  Origins and statistics  Sitka spruce is named after the community of Sitka in southeast Alaska. Its natu...

Osprey in nest with 3 eggs

Incubation and egg minding

Friday, 13 May 2022

Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. Things seem to be progressing nicely at the Tweed Valley main nest site. We are happy to report there have not been any dramas so far this season. Mrs O and PW3 have three eggs in the nest and the long process of incubation is taking place. PW3 was very late back compared to Mrs O and she had t...

Female osprey on a nest

The 2022 Tweed Valley osprey season begins!

Monday, 09 May 2022

Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. The 2022 Tweed Valley osprey season has finally begun. The Glentress Forest Wild Watch room is now open to the public and the main nest camera is streaming live images to the screen. Volunteers are back on duty and have started their shifts to monitor the action on camera, ready to zoom in a...