“What’s fascinated me is how much has to be in place when the birds arrive in Scotland from Africa each March,” says filmmaker John Wallace.
The video artist spent a year studying ospreys and the fragile ecosystem they inhabit for a fascinating new documentary that tells how one of the rarest birds of prey was re-introduced to an area in the Scottish borders after being wiped out 100 years ago.
A year in the landscape of the Threave ospreys will be screened this month at Kelton Mains Farm, on the Threave Castle estate near Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway - one of the handful of places where the birds can be easily viewed by the public.
The project is part of Artful Migration, a programme which supports artists to create work informed by wildlife, the natural world, the environment and climate change.
READ MORE: Delight as first osprey chick flies the nest at wildlife reserve
Among the compelling images in John’s work is a close-up of a young osprey’s eye, which was taken when the un-fledged birds were being ringed for study purposes.
The artist, who is based in the region, said: “There’s a huge and diverse system of flora and fauna that changes during every season and creates the right conditions for them.
“The story of how these birds were able to re-establish in the area is also notable.
“They were spotted in the area, a nest platform was built to get them started, and sure enough a pair moved in – or rather back into a landscape they were always part of until they were wiped out 100 years ago.
“With this work what I’m trying to do is to dig into this one place where they breed and rear young and show it across the year, including when they’re far away.”
Ospreys are listed globally by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a species of Least Concern. While not endangered on a worldwide level, in Europe where persecution has historically been worst, they are extinct or threatened in most of their former range, and are only now recovering.
READ MORE: Wildlife reserve in Perth and Kinross welcomes third osprey chick
There is evidence that ospreys used to have ancestral nests which were used for hundreds of years.
Ospreys have a number of features that make them perfectly adapted to hunting fish.
They have a special transparent eyelid like a contact lens that protects their eyes underwater and are capable of speeds of up to 125km/h in steep dives to capture unsuspecting fish.
“As top predators, osprey catch the large fish, but the big fish need small fish to feed on and the small fish need their own conditions to thrive and so on," said the artist.
“This has to happen all along their migration path, so you just have to hope the ecosystems in all those stopping places will be able to cope with continuing climate change.
“Hats off to the NTS that they’re already doing work to help that happen here.”
The art project has involved getting very close to nature, with John spending substantial amounts of time wading in the River Dee and neck deep in vegetation and biting insects.
He said: “It’s Scotland, but in summer it really is a jungle out there. Getting the kit and myself into position can be tricky, you get a wee bit warm you know, but it’s been a real gift being able to work at all during Covid.”
READ MORE: How Scottish ospreys became the stars of the latest NASA Mars landing
The multi-screen installation is free to watch, from August 21-29, at the National Trust for Scotland’s Threave Nature Reserve.
It coincides with the start of the conservation charity’s 100-year project to improve habitats and make the area at Kelton Mains more resilient to climate change.
“It’s been amazing getting to meet some of the people involved,” added Mr Wallace.
“All the volunteers and workers who devote their time to watching over them, building and maintaining nest sites and viewing places, helping visitors see and learn about them.
“It’s been a privilege to share in their excitement and expectation across this strange and difficult year.”
Dr Samuel Gallacher, NTS Operations Manager for Threave Castle and Estate, said: “We are very pleased to be involved in this incredible project which showcases Threave and all the reasons why it is loved by so many, so powerfully.
“It’s very fitting timing as we’re just embarking on our 100-year project to restore this landscape and make it even better for the many species, including the majestic ospreys which visit us each summer.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here