Latest news with #ForestryAndLandScotland
The Independent
23-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
‘Very rare' love triangle between osprey birds in Scotland caught on camera
This is the moment that a trio of osprey birds were caught nesting together in a love triangle. Footage captured by Forestry and Land Scotland shows the three birds - two female and one male - sharing a nest of four eggs at Glentress near Peebles in the Scottish Borders. Experts have said that the behaviour exhibited is 'very rare', with the two females even sharing incubation duties. 'The only tension witnessed so far has been on the arrival of a fish delivery from the male as the two females both make a grab it,', said Diane Bennett, a Tweed Valley osprey project co-ordinator. Observers have said the egg hatching will only add more intrigue into how the polygamous relationship functions.
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Three birds share a nest in osprey ‘love triangle'
A 'very rare' love triangle involving three ospreys is being captured on a livestream camera for what is thought to be the first time. The trio of birds – one male and two female – are sharing a nest together in the Tweed Valley in the Scottish Borders. The male has mated with both females, a form of polygamy known as polygyny, and they have laid four eggs between them. They are said to be getting along with each other all right so far apart from tension over fish deliveries from the male which both females, one named Mrs O, want to grab. Viewers can watch the domestic saga playing out on a livestream camera set up by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) as part of the Tweed Valley Osprey Project. Diane Bennett, Tweed Valley osprey project co-ordinator, said: 'So far things are looking good. The females seem amicable and tolerant with both having mated with the male bird and laying four eggs between them. 'The only tension witnessed so far has been on the arrival of a fish delivery from the male as the two females both make a grab it. 'Mrs O usually wins the fish and flies off to feed but has been seen to return with a portion remaining and letting the other female have it. 'This nest behaviour with all the birds in the same nest is very rare and as far as we know it is the first time this has ever been on a livestream camera with most other research involving such a set-up previously conducted though distant observation. 'Getting to watch this saga close up as the season unfolds is exciting both for the drama but also for the important research insights it will allow.' Mrs O has nested at the site before and has been joined by a new female and young male this year. FLS said the identity and background of the new arrivals is not clear. Although they both have British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) rings which provide information on survival and movements they do not have the coloured, alphanumeric Darvic rings that enable researchers to identify individual birds. While Mrs O is also only fitted with a BTO ring she can be identified from her head markings as she has been returning to the site for several years. The eggs are expected to hatch in the coming weeks. The Tweed Valley Osprey Project was set up in 1998 to help to establish a breeding population of ospreys in the Scottish Borders. The livestream can be viewed at
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Tweed Valley cameras capture osprey nest love triangle
A rare osprey love triangle has been captured on a live camera feed in the Scottish Borders. Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) monitors the nest where two female birds and one male have been breeding in an unusual but apparently amicable arrangement. Cameras were set up as part of the Tweed Valley Osprey Project (TVOP) at Glentress near Peebles, which has run for many co-ordinator Diane Bennett said the relationship of the birds seemed "tolerant" so far and they had laid a total of four eggs. One of the birds involved - which the project has named Mrs O - has previously nested at the site but she has been joined by a new female and young Bennett said that up to this point the relationship between the three was "looking good"."The only tension witnessed so far has been on the arrival of a fish delivery from the male as the two females both make a grab for it," she said."Mrs O usually wins the fish and flies off to feed but has been seen to return with a portion remaining and letting the other female have it."This nest behaviour with all the birds in the same nest is very rare and as far as we know it is the first time this has ever been on a livestream camera with most other research involving such a set-up previously conducted through distant observation."Getting to watch this saga close up as the season unfolds is exciting both for the drama but also for the important research insights it will allow." FLS said the background and identity of the new arrivals were they both have British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) rings they do not have the coloured, alphanumeric Darvic rings that allow researchers to identify individual O is also only fitted with a BTO ring but because she has been returning to the site for several years, she can be identified from her head have been coming to the Tweed Valley to breed since the 1990s and the project - funded and manage by FLS and backed by volunteers - aims to protect and provide safe places for them to settle and said the eggs were expected to hatch in the coming weeks which would only bring "further excitement and intrigue".
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
A82 landslip risk to be lowered through native tree planting
A project to lower the risk of landslips on the A82 by planting trees on the slopes above it has road along the shores of Loch Ness has been closed in the past due to and Land Scotland (FLS) has started work to establish a new native aim is to strengthen hillsides against the impacts of wind and rain and make the A82 safer for road users. The first stage of the project was recently completed, with 5,000 trees planted in high density pockets on sections of cleared slopes near some of them 100 years old, are being felled as part of the project because they are at risk of being blown over, or collapsing due to erosion.A mixture of blackthorn, hawthorn, hazel, birch, cherry and oak are being planted in their north region assistant operations manager, Luke Wilson, said: "It will make the landscape – including the A82 and the infrastructure that runs alongside it – more resilient to extreme weather events that we may be seeing more of in the years to come."
