Beatrice is off!! It’s snowing again outside and not migration looking weather but I’ve just checked the satellite data from Argos in Toulouse and found that one of the satellite tracked ospreys has started migrating and it’s not the furthest away Nimrod in Guinea Bissau, but the nearest in Spain – Beatrice. She’s already flown 305 kilometres – if she keeps up this rate she will be back home in March – but there’s a long way to go yet and probably weather events in her path.

I’m excited that another osprey season will soon be underway in Scotland – this past week I’ve checked 14 ospreys nest to see whether the December gales or the heavy snow in January has caused problems – two nests have gone. Yesterday, we climbed the alternative nest at one of them, and removed a big tussock of grass which had grown up in the cup during the two summers it has not be used. Now it’s suitable for nesting ospreys again – I hope the old female (20 years old) will return – she winters I think in Extramadura – or she did when we tracked her in the winters of 1999 and 2000, and a local Spanish bird-watcher there is sure it’s the same osprey which still spends each winter on the big reservoir.

I’ve updated Beatrice’s pages now the migration has started – please let your friends know a new osprey migration is underway on these webpages.