And the wind blows cool this morn.

I would like, at this juncture to express a few thoughts about the committment to this blog and this osprey season at the Loch of the Lowes by Emma the Ranger. As many of you are aware, the “nature” of many conservation positions is a seasonal one. Her position here too is seasonal. Emma will be moving on in about a weeks’ time. She is moving a wee bit south of here to continue to do some very exciting conservation work. I wish to personally acknowledge my recognition of her diligence and care of the osprey file here in 2010. Initially, she was the human focal point for the monitoring of three absorbing eggs and coordinated many a volunteer over the 24 hour incubation period. Once the eggs hatched, although her main duties were consumed by oversight of the other 6 nearby reserves, she continued to have a third eye on “our” ospreys. The word dedication comes to the fore.

And the wind blows cool this morn.

Air moves with heat rising from earth and sea, in layers, in concentrations of different pressure areas, moist air, dry air. It is often during or after strong winds that migrant birds appear to us. Somehow, having partaken in this spectacle over my life, birds seem to “return” to earth. It feels as if they are not always connected to the world in which we reside. The strong connection to flight allows them to inhabit another “world”, somewhere other than our own. Perhaps this is one of the fascinations that we have for these beings.

“Our” young ospreys, I have commented, relished the wind before even being able to fly. They held out their wings to truely feel the resistance of feathers against the air. Once they were able to fly, they seemed most active on breezy skies. Avian migration is well under way with millions of feathers exploring “their” world.

Sail on. Rinchen