UKH

An Osprey fishing - what a sight to be able to see.

Great stuff, trout?

Brilliant. I saw three ospreys the other day, closest one was about miles away!

I know little about fish species but I was told trout were there!

Usually I only see them from a distance but was incredibly lucky to be there. 

Cupar’s Osprey nest has failed this year. Had had one egg I heard but whatever happened it was abandoned last month. 

Saw these yesterday. Had a good days birding especially considering this time of year can be a bit flat. Saw two barn owls in the morning followed by two yellow wagtails and two greenshanks (and a probable spot red, but at distance and with scope shake). Moved on the see the little owl, then moved on to see avocets, ruff, little ringed plover and dunlin, then moved on to see loads cattle egret, a hobby, a bittern, green and common sandpipers, ringed and little ringed plover , marsh harrier, Sparrowhawk. Saw a knot which is unusual at Martin mere, and a cattle egret on a longhorn cow walked within eight of the hide !  Lots of other stuff as well. Weather was at times diabolical for July. 

Great list. If only I could see so much. Been quiet up here for a while for me now. 

That's a good set of sightings for this time of year.

Just been looking at terns again, juveniles will be flying soon. Reed warblers back to their usual "you can hear me but you can't see me". Lots of house martins. Young coots, young moorhens and a young great crested Grebe. Couple of rats 😁

Reminded me of last month when I watched a few getting mud and constructing their nest. Done in stages adding small sections. They would then disappear feeding for half an hour or so and return for some more mud then back to the nest.

Wonderful.  You've got to love a house martin and that's a fabulous photo.

Here's a pic, best of a bad bunch really, that I meant to post a wee while ago but forgot - arctic terns at the Skerries (aka Ynysoedd y Moelrhoniaid) a month or so ago.

Landing isn't allowed during the nesting season (enforced by the terns themselves as much as by the RSPB wardens who move into the lighthouse for a few months each year).  But if you arrive by kayak you can get away with sitting on a pebbly little beach below the high water mark, and it feels like a real privilege to be there.

Gannets on Helgoland.

 I'd put my money on that being a trout - its about the right overall shape, size and colour.

Amazing.  The photo looks like it was taken by someone standing right in the middle of the colony, were you as close as that?

Yes a metre away, they take no notice of humans.

Basstolpel in German after Bass Rock.

if this is a Scottish Loch then most likely a trout (though some have perch and other coarse fish) 

Some more pictures of an Osprey swimming. ok, fishing

Excellent photos.

They seem to have to put a huge effort to get back out of the water. The Osprey I saw took over a minute from the initial splash down to get fully clear of the water.

Subsequently learnt it is stocked with trout.

Thank you Climbing Pieman.

Yes, it's incredible they can muster enough strength to get out of the water, let alone airborne.

Must be quite dangerous manoeuvre for them, with risk of death.

Reminds me of those Fish Eagles that were pulled out of the Danube (IIRC) by a canoe-ist. 

Whilst it’s hard to tell, it looked like a rainbow trout to me.  

I believe that the tendons on an Ospreys talons are ‘highly strung’, making it easier to grip fish, but iirc there have been examples of ospreys sinking their talons into an unexpectedly large fish that has basically pulled them under water and drowned them. 

Not something I knew. Pros and Cons I guess.

From the thread title I'd imagined a big fish whirled about on a line with a fishing rod. An easy misunderstanding 

Agreed, I've heard of Ospreys drowning because they "catch" a fish that's too heavy and can't un-release their grip. Predators don't hold all the aces.

Gorgeous photos everyone, thanks for brightening up my morning.  I wish I had more time for birding, and am reminded of one of Pliny's letters (to Caninius).  It's a bit of a tangent for the thread but I like it so am posting.  Enjoy yourselves!

"Are you studying, fishing, hunting, or everything at once? All of this can happen at the same time on the shores of Como. For, the lake has fish, the forests around the lake have beasts, and your most isolated retreat supplies constant opportunities for study. But whether you are doing it all at once or just one thing, I cannot say that “I hate you for it”, but I am still anguished that I can’t join in when I long for them the way a sick man desires wine, baths, and springs.

Ah! how shall I ever drop these tightest of bonds if there is no way to untie them? Never, I am afraid, for new business keeps piling up on top of the old, and that without even the old being got rid of. Every day the entangling chain of my engagements seems to lengthen by acquiring additional links."

I hope it pleases the thread to know that it inspired me to get for an hour of bird watching last night after dinner. I had a lovely time and as well as birds kept bumping into this Roe deer.