LOCH ARKAIG - The Woodland Trust - May 2020

Link to April thread

Louis arrived on the 5th April and Aila a day later. They were quickly into the old routine of making the nest cosy, stickifying, catching and eating fish, and mating of course. Three eggs were laid ON THE SAME DATES as last year - 23rd, 26th and 29th April. Last year's eggs hatched on 1 and 4 June, although egg 2 failed during hatching and was removed from the nest on 7 June. Let's hope for a healthy trio this year, although we don't want a repeat of snow on 13 May.
  • 16.36 and it is still windy but Aila looks a bit drier.   I hope she gets some time off incubating before nightfall.  

    At least she is getting 20 winks every now and then, don't think she lasts as long as 40 winks Smiley

    © THE WOODLAND TRUST, LOCH ARKAIG OSPREY PROJECT - POST CODE LOTTERY

  • 17.34, Louis brings in a headless fish. Aila sits on the eggs calling for ages after he lands and only takes it from him at 17.46. She flies with it in her beak. She comes back at 18.21 and takes over incubation. Ian

  • There's been a problem with the cam buffering/not loading for some time, I see whinging (by non-experts like wot we are) on the WT website, where I went to find out if it was "them or me".

    Hopefully it's recovered, I've got 4 minutes and counting now.

    EDIT - And!  Thank you to all for today's coverage - brilliant as always :-*

  • Scylla, I haven't had any problems. 20.29, Louis comes to the nest with a stick & I'd like to think to provide moral support to Aila (it seems like it has rained most of the day). As I type (20.37) Louis is still on the nest with Aila. Ian

    EDIT - 20.38, Louis leaves.

  • Ian S said:

    Aila comes back some bark & lichen. The lichen ends up on Louis' tail and as he takes off at 12.27 it ends up on the camera lense. Ian

    EDIT - the lichen must be on the camera frame, it is blowing across the lense from time to time rather than sticking to it.

    EDIT 2 - I think it may have blown away now.

    I've just come across that as I wander thru the day Slight smile  So I checked back in case it had already been covered pictorially:

     

    Louis made great inroads into that half-fish at teatime, whatever was Aila thinking?!  She took off with a mere scrap

    Surprisingly she was gone for nearly 35 minutes - unsurprisingly she didn't bring any back Laughing

    I would like to have done a vid of Aila removing a reluctant Louis from the eggs but am flagging with lots to do.

    Shove!

    Louis came back with a small stick which made Aila flinch - at this point the cam was freezing and skipping and Louis ended up disappearing from the nest @ 19:35:

    I wonder if it was a server issue, given that some suffered and others didn't?  I've had to delete severalf files less than one minute long.

    20:30 Louis brought a good thick stick and stayed with Aila for a minute or so, that was his final visit for the day:

    Aila's first nighttime flyabout - a lot of water came off her:

    And when she returned she landed very violently, as if she was aiming for an unwelcome visitor - but it wouldn't be the first time she'd misjudged her landing :-/

  • Breezy but dry, haven't noticed anything untoward.

    G'night folks!
  • Good Morning Everyone

    Thank you for the daily round up Scylla...  I did see a video of Aila's eviction of Louis on FOA, it was comical. 

    Nothing much to report, Louis paid a visit to the nest around 05.38 hrs... bringing  a stick, after placing it he stayed for a few minutes then left when Aila was not for moving. 

    Aila looks pretty wet :-(

    © THE WOODLAND TRUST, LOCH ARKAIG OSPREY PROJECT - POST CODE LOTTERY

  • It looks less windy than yesterday and less than at Rutland and Aila's crop looks full showing off her lovely necklace
  • Louis arrives on the nest with a stick, he places it, and then tries to move the big stick to the right of the nest.   

    Moves the stick 

    Aila looks as though to say "where's the fish" Smiley

    He flew off @ 07.46 

    © THE WOODLAND TRUST, LOCH ARKAIG OSPREY PROJECT - POST CODE LOTTERY

  • Morning all. The wind seems to have abated and the osprey have survived unlike a chunk of my garden shed roof felt which is currently adorning the back garden! Aila has been chuntering away for the last wee while, maybe she would like breakfast. Ian