The fog will burn off. It is quite warm this morn.

On Thursday morning I had the opportunity of going to the base of the tree which provides so much for “our” osprey nest. I tagged along with some electronics people assessing our system of cameras and security. It was my first stroll over.

We walked through some old sessile oak, through reeds taller than ourselves, avoiding muck underfoot. It was not a long hike through the sweet scent of bog myrtle and overstepping wee clusters of sundew  implanted in soft sphagnum. They were awaiting insects for lunch. And then the air opened up to us humans, into a small patch of magical Caledonia forest. Lush green on earth with orange trunks rising high and out above; Scots pine. Only a few hundred years ago Scotland was thus covered. It was a quiet glade below a nest that one could miss if not aware of its’ presence. Light, bright and full of space.

I searched for the remains of fish, for I knew that at least two had flown overboard, out of the nest this breeding season. I was only hopeful, in that I knew that fox or crows would have carried or eaten the free meal long ago. As the expression goes, “not a sausage”. In my search I located only three osprey feathers.

I also looked at an area by the canal that has had otter presence. There is a tall leaning pine which offers a cavity under its’ roots. Badger also could use these places for security. No activity to report. Perhaps the autumn and winter is the time that otter relocate here. Let us hope.

Habitat is crucial. Let us remember that. Rinchen