To escape the tedium of the World Cup blocking out the TV channels, I made a number of evening visits to the Middlebere local patch. The combination of a rising evening tide, the long warm evenings, the start of the Wader migration & hopefully people staying indoors to watch the footie meant I couldn't resist a few recent visits to Middlebere. They have been good visits with generally one or two Spoonbills present, a Great White Egret (that I found on 24 Jun 18) flying over to roost every visit & a few Waders.
The Great White Egret: It gives distant views as it flies over high on the way to its roost in the failing light (11 Jul 18)
As I arrived this evening, I was disappointed that there were few Waders left on the last patch of exposed mud. I looked up & the culprit was immediately obvious.
Osprey: The first dive
Osprey
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Osprey: Close crop of the last photo confirming this individual is unringed. Currently, there is a second Osprey with a red ring in the area
The second dive.
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This circling Osprey was flying over the top of the creek: It eventually spooked all the Waders
Osprey: It was a tatty looking individual
Generally, the adult Ospreys on view from Middlebere in the Autumn & sometimes the Spring are quickly able to grab a fish & head off to enjoy it. On one occasion a few Autumns ago, I saw a perched Osprey drop a fish, fly down channel & within about ten minutes return with another fish. I guess one of the local Foxes might have had Fish that evening. However, this Osprey was having a much harder time. In twenty minutes, it dived four times, hit the water on three of these occasions & failed each time. Finally, it landed on the Osprey post for a long rest. It disappeared down channel close to dusk & looked like it was still hunting. This is the first time, I've seen Ospreys feeding so close to the Middlebere hide. Enjoy the photos.
For those of you wondering about the score that evening: it was Osprey 1 Footie 0. A total victory for Osprey. The Osprey showed more typically the following evening: it sat around on its pole & in two hours it managed to turn around once so it was no longer facing the hide. Just like most of the footie fans that week: couch potato.