Those of you that have been following the blogs over the winter/spring will know about the generous donation given to the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust by Network Rail. Half a mile of armoured fibre-optic cable pulled off a 2½ tonne drum by over 100 volunteers, then fed under the railway track and finally terminated both ends by the Network Rail experts. (Information about The Big Pull here and here).

Over the last 12 months, those of us with a wildlife background have learnt quite a bit about trains and how the railway network works. Similarly, those folks with a train and railway background have learnt a bit about wildlife. Isn't it strange that these two seemingly very different fields of interest have come together like this?

Have a look at this short video. It has three clips - two Arriva Wales trains passing the Dyfi osprey nest and a yellow train. (Select 1080P for best clarity)

If you would have asked me a year ago about the last clip, all I could have told you was that a yellow train passed the osprey nest. Now I can tell you that 'train' was a Class 97 (formally Class 37) diesel locomotive, number 97303. I can also tell you that 97303 has been recently refurbished in 2008 and has been testing a new European Rail Traffic Management System on the Cambrian Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth/Pwllheli line. Impressive eh?

'The Grunter'. Class 97 - 97303

There is a more serious side to all of this, of course. Firstly, that all that hard work and commitment by Network Rail and the Trust has resulted in the most incredible, detailed and astonishing images we have ever seen. They are even better than what we thought they would be - they have to be seen to be believed. That highly specialised fibre-optic cable is doing its work well and sending over 100Mb of data per second to the visitor centre, 24hrs a day.

Secondly, we have been amazed by how much interest there has been in the Dyfi ospreys from the railway fraternity - on a daily basis we welcome the likes of train conductors, maintenance guys, office people, even some of the train drivers  themselves, you name it - keen to see how the ospreys are doing and how the green cable is helping us tell Monty and Nora's story.

Finally, and most importantly, the one thing that stands out when you watch the video is how much the ospreys are at ease with all the goings-on on the track - both Monty and Nora have completely habituated to living 55 metres away from a busy railway track. That 'yellow train', (nick-named The Grunter I believe?) is incredibly heavy - we can hear (and feel) it passing at the visitor centre half a mile away. Yet, Nora hardly bats a nictitating membrane; she stands up, spins her eggs around and settles straight back down again.

Monty checks to see who's on the early morning 5.50am Aberystwyth to Birmingham service

When ospreys re-colonised Scotland in the 1950s after being extinct in the UK for many years, they chose very remote spots. When Einion and Dulas (and Leri hopefully) return to the UK to breed from next year and 2014 onwards, they will have a degree of imprinting to trains and tracks so that the busy movements of a train track will seem normal to them, and form part of the ambient environment.  We may never get to the breeding patterns that exist in some parts of the world - ospreys in Florida and some of the other southern states practically nest in your living room! Acclimatising to trains, tracks and people on stations is a good start however.

Egg Update.. Did you guess which egg was which based on their descriptions from the last blog? Here they are..

It may sound silly to dedicate a blog to someone, but why not? This one is dedicated to Ian Smyth and the whole Network Rail team that gave their time and resources so readily, quickly and willingly. Network Rail also provide the electrical infrastructure and the actual electricity to the nest cameras as well, free of charge. The study, protection and research of the Dyfi ospreys has taken a huge leap forward in 2012 - thank you.

Looks like HD cameras this year Monty, 100 Mbs per second they reckon. How many fish is that?