LINK TO MAY 2019
Everyone is waiting with baited breath on a first hatch for Louis and Aila.....
Korky's Laying times
Egg 1, 23 April Egg 2, 26 AprilEgg 3, 29 April
Work out the days yourself, its too early in the morning for me to do it ha ha....
EJ's Memorial Balgavies Loch Ospreys 2023
It sounds quite windy at times, and the sea-sick phenomenon is in danger of kicking in! It is dry at the moment.
From George on chat - I've found there are two chats. One on YouTube and the other on the main web site.
12:01 PMGeorge Anderson So now there is a backup second camera alongside the one we are watching, which we can switch over to if the first camera fails for any reason.
I also found an interesting post from George from yesterday :
George Anderson 21 hrs ago I have managed to catch a moment with our osprey expert Lewis Pate - who is currently zooming all over the west coast and inner isles monitoring ospreys and eagles. Busy times for him!
Lewis gave me an update on the other Loch Arkaig nests.
There are thought to be chicks in the nest at the far west of Loch Arkaig, This is the nest which produced Pean, the osprey killed on a powerline in Spain earlier this year.
The nest at Bunarkaig near the eastern end of the loch has unfortunately failed to produce chicks this year although ospreys have been seen using it (Liz I think you might have mentioned this before?). This is the nest which produced Bolt last year.
Our sea eagle pair have also failed this year.
We don't have any more information on why the sea eagles and east-end ospreys have failed to produce young, or if they laid eggs or not. The nests are not closely monitored. It is clear though that, between its three longstanding osprey nests, Loch Arkaig is in good shape to once more send new young birds off south at the end of summer.
Its great that these birds are back in such good numbers now that we can be confident where some fail, some will fledge chicks successfully.
Did anything happen with the alternative nest that Aila and Louis seemed to be contemplating?
Liz Bracken 14 hours ago I haven't seen any more activity there since Aila and Louis settled on this nest
George Anderson 14 hrs ago Further message from Lewis on the sea eagles. He thinks the problem is that there has been a new young male for the last couple of years and it is not really up to parenthood yet. So we can remain hopeful for future years at least. Good to have them around anyway.
Liz Bracken 19 hrs ago The nest at Bunarkaig did have ospreys seen on it at the beginning of the season but not since. As far as I know they haven't been seen in the area around the nest again and I certainly never see them there despite having a look every time I pass. I'll try and find out from someone who can see that nest from their house and keeps an eye on it.
12.07 Louis has landed and moves sticks around, and stands guard.
12.15 Aila has a fly about, returns and feeds the chicks from a tail end. Louis flew off 12.17
Birdie's DU Summaries 2018 https://www.imagicat.com/
More from George Anderson about the cam, on chat
12:00 PM George Anderson There is a back-up camera this year. Last year the circuitry of the camera got fried in a lightning storm and that was the end of the live feed for the year.
12:01 PM George Anderson So now there is a backup second camera alongside the one we are watching, which we can switch over to if the first camera fails for any reason.
12:03 PM George Anderson The whole operation at the nest - camera, relay dish and even the marten barrier is powered from a solar panel. There is little risk of powering down due to dull weather. It should all keep going well into autumn when the daylight hours become too short.
I seem to recall the camera powering down in early/mid September 2017, well after Lachlan had fledged but before the birds had started their migration. Given events with the nest in 2018, I have no recollection when the camera lost power that year. Ian
13.00 approx, Louis arrives with a decent sized whole fish. Aila has a feather really out of place, sticking up vertically. Ian
EDIT - feather now moved from the vertical to the horizontal!
And probably repeating what we are aware of about the protection of the nest against the lovely Pine Martens
12:38 PM George Anderson There is wire around part of the tree trunk which will give a mild shock to any climbing pine marten. This is in addition to the slick coating at the base of tree to make it hard for them to grip on.
12:40 PM George Anderson Lower branches have been removed to avoid offering jump on points.
12:41 PM George Anderson Martens sometimes burrow through the bottom of nests to get at eggs. This nest has a chicken-wire layer running through it to stop any that try.
12:42 PM George Anderson You can see lots of background info on the kit, here:
1:04 PM George Anderson If you have a look at that link you will see an image of the nest with a person in shot for scale.
Two moulting feathers, left over fish for the next meal, and a snoozing Aila
© The Woodland Trust Loch Arkaig OP
And more from George Anderson
13.12 WT George Anderson Really puzzled as to why Louis' menu has not had the usual saltwater species in the mix this year.
I haven't seen a single mackerel or flounder so far (has anyone?). Perhaps he has just got more adept at trout fishing on Loch Arkaig, so has less need to go on seaside jaunts. Flounder in particular are easier to catch than trout - they are slow moving and very predictable in their movements with the tide as they feed in shallow water over beaches. Trout has always been the most common arrival at the nest but in previous years sea fish made up a substantial portion of the diet.
Response: George I haven't seen any sea fish so far this year. I suppose if there are plentiful supplies close at hand and he is catching good amounts (which he is) the energy expended in travelling further wouldn't be justified.
Another feed
(c) WT Loch Arkaig
The wind has got up, Louis has arrived with a tiddler, Aila has taken it and is feeding herself first. Once again, Louis lands from the right and blocked our view. Louis has flown, Aila lost her balance in the wind as she tucks into the fish. An osplet shot a poo over of the edge :)
Feeding. Perhaps the fish is longer than I thought
#2 is closer to mum, so I guess both are getting a good feed.
Lovely osplet squeals!
16.52 Feed over, Aila struggles to get them under her!
That's better, but doesn't exactly look comfortable
Gusting wind and some spots of rain in the air