August is the month when we've seen the Loch Arkaig ospreys depart on their journey south. We've enjoyed watching them this year - the wonderful parenting skills of Aila and Louis, and the antics of their 3 chicks, Captain, Vera and Doddie.
Mary GK did an absolutely wonderful video summarising the 2020 season. Thank you so much Mary! And here is Geemeff's great compilation, thank you!
2020 last dates:
Doddie JJ6 was last seen at the nest on Saturday 15th August 2020
Aila was last seen on Saturday 22nd August 2020
Captain JJ7 was last seen on Sunday 23rd August 2020
Vera JJ8 was last seen on Saturday 5 September.
An unidentified osprey was seen off camera on Sunday 6 September eating a fish. This could well have been Louis, having arrived and found no Vera around to feed.
Doddie JJ6 was videod and photographed fishing for over a fortnight at Avalon Marshes in Somerset
Link to July 2020 thread
Link to Youtube channel
Link to Woodland Trust Loch Arkaig page/webcam feed
Record-breaking fish day yesterday - TEN arrived on the nest! Some several times so it took a bit of sorting out which was new and which was a returnee, but definitely ten fish. Three from Aila and seven from Louis. And Vera did her best to get them all! At one point she wouldn't let Captain land.
I'm fish counter today, looks like I'll have a slow day after yesterday's marathon ten deliveries. Two bits of action so far this morning: Vera has difficulty taking off in the breeze, and Captain seems afraid to land:
Is Captain afraid to land because Vera's there? 06.09
Weather problems for Vera 05.53
A bit of a mystery after 11.00!
11.12 JJ7 landed on the nest, and JJ8 joined him. Both were calling. JJ8 became distracted and appeared to recover a fish or piece of fish on or just over the far rim. She was seen with something in her talons which I am sure wasn't there before. JJ8 flew off leaving JJ7, who a few minutes later also flew off.
There was a short visit by JJ8 at 12.22, who flew off at 12.23.
JJ7 landed
Joined by JJ8
Did JJ8 spot a piece of fish just over the rim? This is her backing from the rim
Possibly safely retrieved
JJ8 flew off suddenly
JJ7 flew off ENS
JJ8 returned with a piece of flat fish!!?? Was that the piece she retrieved or was she fed off the nest?
She flew off, but returned an hour later for a brief visit - empty taloned!
13.00 ENS
© The Woodland Trust Loch Arkaig OP
Birdie's DU Summaries 2018 https://www.imagicat.com/
JJ7 Captain with his flat fish earlier
JJ8 Vera looks like a force to be reckoned with, she is a female that will go far I think
© THE WOODLAND TRUST, LOCH ARKAIG OSPREY PROJECT - POST CODE LOTTERY
EJ's Memorial Balgavies Loch Ospreys 2023
SheilaFE said:
11.12 JJ7 landed on the nest, and JJ8 joined him. Both were calling. JJ8 became distracted and appeared to recover a fish or piece of fish on or just over the far rim. She was seen with something in her talons which I am sure wasn't there before. JJ8 flew off leaving JJ7, who a few minutes later also flew of
That was the remains of one of yesterday's flatfish, three were delivered. JJ7 got the only fresh fish today, a delivery from Louis at 13.17, also a flatfish. JJ8 and JJ7 have been on and off the nest since dawn eating up the remains of yesterday's record ten fish deliveries.
I did a slo-mo of her flying off with a big flatfish remnant at 11.20
Here are some old BBC clips in which Roy Dennis follows a tagged Osprey to Africa, and a reminder of the free webinar next Thursday 27th at 18.50: "Through unparallelled expertise as a field naturalist, Roy Dennis is able to write about the natural world – in a way that considers both the problems and the progress in ecology and conservation. Beginning with cottongrass, whose snow-white blooms blow gently in the wind across the wetter moors and bogs, this is a year-round trove of insight and knowledge for anyone who cares about the natural-world from birdsong and biodiversity to sphagnum and species reintroduction." www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/.../2020-08-27-cley-calling-presents-roy-den www.bbc.co.uk/.../p024k6br www.bbc.co.uk/.../p024k6dt www.bbc.co.uk/.../p024ck8h
Vera, giving it laldy
(c) WT Loch Arkaig
Geemeff said:Here are some old BBC clips in which Roy Dennis follows a tagged Osprey to Africa,
Thanks for the links to some wonderful footage which I think I watched at the time, as I remember the osprey feeding the gull! Einion was a special bird, being the first hatched on the Dyfi for 400 years. Sadly, I'm not sure if he ever made it back here, and I think his 2 siblings' trackers stopped working in the first year or so.
Unknown said:
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Korky I am sure I read recently Emyr mentioning Einon hoping he was still out there, I think we can never write them off for sure unless there is a recovery, so many that we thought were lost have turned up breeding in different parts of the country. It is one of the wonders of Osprey watching isn't it, when we get news of an Osprey turning up that we were sure was long gone.