Our little chicks are growing up and have become little wild toddlers, learning to use their feet and move around the nest to the dismay of the mother. She has to continually come back and block the path of the chicks and force them back into the centre of the nest before they work their way over the edge. They are being typical kids, fighting each other until one backs down, usually the youngest, and goes into the submissive pose of lying down and not moving. The youngest one is fighting back and is becoming a lot more dominant, pushing itself into the front of the feeding queue to get the first dibs on food.

The male is bringing in lots of fish and both chicks and mother are being fed regularly. Although our chicks look a bit scraggy just now by next week we will be able to see their feathers emerging properly. The weather has been wonderful here and it is another scorching day, perfect for the chicks to get up to plenty of mischief. On Tuesday we had a very determined female osprey trying to take over the nest by continually swooping and trying to land on the nest but our female never lost sight of her and made sure she was unsuccessful in her attempts. We also had a bit of rivalry on Saturday when the male spotted another male fishing on the loch. As the intruder dived to catch a fish the male swooped in and stopped him then sent him on his way.

Our bird feeders are still away due to a sick greenfinch which appeared when we placed the feeders back outside but they will be replaced on Friday. Even though we do not have nuts out for the squirrels they know where we keep the food and have spent the last week making a hole in the lid and breaking into the bins to steel the nuts!

If you have ever wondered what the scratching noise on the osprey camera is then we recently found out. Our once fluffy microphone has now been stripped at the top and the fluff on the better-protected middle section is being removed by great tits to line their nests. We have a brilliant video of a great tit being caught in the act, stealing the microphone lining and there is a great twist at the end of the video which is sure to make you laugh. So if you are ever at the centre then be sure to watch our little clip before you leave to give you a wee smile for the day.