Resident Alyth ospreys given new names thanks to local school pupils
The site of SSEN Transmission’s new Alyth substation has long been home to a pair of resident ospreys who return from Africa each year to breed on top of a special purpose-built nesting platform on the edge of the substation boundary.
Until this year the osprey pair have been nameless – but thanks to pupils at nearby Meigle Primary School, they now have new names. Not only that – but the pair’s three chicks have also been named thanks to some help from the school pupils, who have been following their progress through a special live webcam set up for the first time this year.
The resident ospreys are called Harry and Flora, with the three chicks called Rowan, Holly and Bonnie.
The winning names were announced at a special school assembly held on Friday, with the winning pupils presented with special prizes from the SSEN Transmission team. All pupils were also given their own osprey soft toy as a thank you from the teams for getting involved and for showing such enthusiasm about the ospreys.
The winning names were selected from a list of suggestions from pupils at Meigle Primary School, who earlier in the year came along to the substation to have a closer look at the nesting tower through the custom-built viewing platform and telescope. The pupils were then tasked with helping to come up with names for the birds, with the winners finally revealed on Friday.
The school pupils have been following the progress of the birds ever since they hatched thanks to the addition of a live-webcam which provides a birds-eye view of the famous residents. The ospreys have attracted quite a following, with just under 2,000 subscribers now following their movements on a daily basis.
Ornithologists have been on hand throughout the year to check that SSEN Transmission’s progress with the substation work at Alyth has not interfered with the ospreys’ development.
As autumn nears, the chicks are growing in confidence and making longer flights, exploring the countryside to perfect their hunting skills. All five birds are returning to the purpose-built platform much less, and it is anticipated that they will all soon depart completely from site to begin their long journey south over the colder seasons.
Archie Munro, SSEN Transmission Lead Project Manager, said: “A huge thank you to the pupils at Meigle Primary School for coming up with such brilliant names for our resident ospreys and their three chicks. With so many great suggestions we had a hard time narrowing it down to the final five!
“We were delighted to hear that the pupils were enthusiastically following the chicks’ development by tuning into the live webcam, so it was great to welcome them along to the substation earlier this year to learn more about our work and to see the ospreys for themselves through our telescope at our special viewing platform.
“We’re extremely happy with how the chicks have grown and gained more confidence throughout summer due to their excellent diet of readily available trout and flat fish from the Tay estuary.
“The live webcam has been a brilliant way of introducing our much-loved resident ospreys to a wider audience, and I know the team here have really enjoyed following their progress up close.
“We’re seeing the birds make far fewer trips to the nesting platform as they begin to stretch their wings and explore further afield, and we don’t think it will be long until they take off completely to begin their migration south.
“As ever, we look forward to resident ospreys Harry and Flora hopefully returning again next year, where we expect to continue with our live webcam as before and hopefully welcome even more chicks.”
The nesting platform was created in 2014 as an alternative home for the ospreys ahead of the start of a programme of upgrade and reinforcement work to the transmission East Coast network, after the birds were spotted nesting at the top of one of SSEN Transmission’s 48-metre-high electricity towers which was scheduled for maintenance as part of the project.
The construction of the Alyth substation is part of a wider scheme to upgrade the East Coast Transmission network. Once complete it will enable the connection of new renewable generation to the grid, helping to facilitate the transmission to net zero emissions. The project at Alyth is on course to be completed in autumn 2023.
SSEN Transmission has made sector-leading biodiversity commitments on all projects, introducing a policy of no-net-loss in biodiversity on all projects gaining consent from 2020, and biodiversity net gain on all new projects from 2025. This means teams will leave the environment no worse than when they found it, and where possible making it even better, leaving a positive environmental legacy at all SSEN Transmission sites.
Initial studies and monitoring for the substation development have highlighted a significant benefit in biodiversity around the site, with a current forecasted figure of an increase of 50%. Teams have worked hard to create various ecological improvements around the site which has helped to encourage native species of flora and fauna around the perimeter of the substation compound, contributing to a positive net gain in biodiversity, including planting over 5,400 native trees, sowing native grass and wildflower seeds and installing various nesting and feeding boxes for bats, birds and red squirrels.
Learn more about the project there: https://www.ssen-transmission.co.uk/projects/alyth-275kv-substation-reactive-compensation/
For information:
- View the live webcam to the osprey nest here, although please note the ospreys are making fewer return trips to the nest as they explore the countryside ahead of their long journey south: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=l-0FHB6tJpI
- Ospreys normally nest in large mature trees. This iconic species feeds almost entirely on fish which they capture in a spectacular fashion by swooping down and snatching them from near the surface in their talons. Ospreys are migratory with the majority spending their winter in West Africa (although a small number of ospreys spend their winter in Iberia). Ospreys are a protected species, and it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb the birds close to their nest during the breeding season.