27th July - Fishlake Meadows, Hampshire

The weather was kind to me after some concerning forecasts through the week, the rain had eased but it was still overcast and quite humid which added some mist in the air.  There had been recent reports of an Osprey at Fishlake Meadows, a regular site for these birds of prey as they start their journey back to Africa for the weekend.  One had been seen the previous day and there was every chance it was still around today, however they have a habit of disappearing at certain times of the day, and when they are around they more than often sit still in the many dead trees.

I set off for the road side viewing point of which there now is two.  It was the newest one I visited first and scanned across the dead trees.  Aside from Cormorants and a few Woodpigeons there was nothing on the trees.  On the water there were several Great-crested Grebes, at the back of the lake Greylag Geese.

I decided to wait and continued to scan across the trees when I noticed something in the trees that looked familiar.  I turned to the scope but couldn't relocate what I had seen, then with a gust of wind it appeared, the Osprey.  The photo is digi-scoped due to the distance hence the quality, 

As the wind blew the branches moved and revealed more.

It seemed quite content and would have been easily missed.

I watched it as it started to flap its wings and then it turned around and then took off and headed off in the direction of the river.  I waited to see if it would come back or even give a fly past but it never did.

I had a decision to make do I stay put, or move on to walk around the rest of the reserve, there was also the chance the Osprey could appear and would be easily seen from the canal path.  I decided to move and walked down the canal path.  From the first viewing platform I couldn't see anything, but from the second I could see a bird at the top of a dead branch while what was definitely a Cormorant below it.  With the scope I could see it was the Osprey.

Swift and Swallows flying past the Osprey.

It also attracted the attention of the Magpies and three were looking to mob the Osprey, climbing up the branch.

Then there was some wing flapping from the Osprey.

But it settled back down and I spent the time watching the Osprey through the 'scope.  The Magpies would return every so often but the Osprey was unmoved.

A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers distracted me for awhile, they were moving around the line of dead trees, probably a small family that may have nested in the dead trees.

I took some video of the Osprey being mobbed and then finally flying off.

I picked it up a little further to the right of the view area as I looked at it, and settled once again in the a dead tree.

My time was up, the Osprey did not appear to be going anywhere and I left satisfied with being able to watch one for at least two hours.  Later on there was a report of two Osprey in the area, so maybe the bird I saw at the end was different to the one seen flying off earlier and had been there all the time.  There is the chance they will stay and there will be more opportunities for better photography.