The two osprey chicks that we have enjoyed watching grow up to fledge via the Loch Garten web cam over the last month seem to have begun their long migration south.

A really fantastic way to follow their paths is to use the free Google Earth download. To use this software please follow these instructions:

Google earth is available free from the Google website: http://www.google.com/earth

Adding the osprey data to your Google Earth software

It's easy to add the osprey satellite data to your copy of Google Earth - just follow the steps below:

  1. Launch the Google Earth software
  2. Go to the Add menu and click Network Link...
  3. Enter Loch Garten Ospreys in the Name field
  4. Paste the following address into the Link field

http://www.rspb.org.uk/kml/lochgartenospreys.kml

  1. Click OK to add the Loch Garten Ospreys data to the Places list on the left hand side of the screen. 

Using Google Earth to keep an eye on the ospreys

Once the ospreys are in your list of Places you can double click them to zoom straight to their location. You can also use the standard Google Earth controls to zoom and pan around the globe.

Choosing how often to update Google Earth

The satellite data will be updated approximately once per day. To make sure you have the latest updates, you can tell Google Earth how often to refresh its data. To do this, right click on the Loch Garten Ospreys item in your Places list and choose Properties. Go to the Refresh tab and change the options so that it updates Periodically every 12 hours.