On the 15th of March the 360 cam went live and an Osprey landed on the nest. It didn't take too long for a pair to begin bonding:
Male: BlueAX6 "Axel" - Ringed at a nest in Glen Affric on 1st July 2016, he was the only survivor of 3 eggs.
Female: Unringed "Mistle" - a very beautiful specimen, according to our long view.
(Unofficial names - LG will decide on names if deemed appropriate.)
This inexperienced couple is bonding well - Axel has been a good provider, they're both enthusiastic nestbuilders, the only element that requires more work is the mating technique.
EDIT 01 JUNE - Axel & Mistle deserted the nest in May, apparently spooked by intruders. As there has been very little activity since then, this thread will continue to the end of the 2021 season, unless dictated otherwise by ospreys.
Photo ©RSPB LochGarten
Cam info kindly provided by Peter @ Carnyx.tv:
There is an identical camera and microphone on this nest as the HD camera at Llyn Clywedog (Osprey). However the nest was struck by lightning. This took out the camera, the camera power supply and the WiFi link back to the centre. We managed to replace the power supply and Wifi but it was too late in the season to climb to the nest.
IMAGICAT
http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/
RSPB Giving Nature a Home
Mistle just now. C Carnyx and LG
billy r said:I wasn't sure if it's the camera angle. She does look hungry though
It is so difficult to tell whether she is sitting low or not because I think they have built the nest rim up so much. I was hoping Scylla might be able to produce a side by side comparison of what the nest looked like before they became a 'pair' and what it looks like now.............. but to me the signs are very very favourable that an exciting event may happen soon!
Some people think Ospreys are a matter of life and death. I don't like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.
16 April with the cam started
30 April
2 May
Birdie's DU Summaries 2018 https://www.imagicat.com/
Unknown said:Good question Lynette. I think Mistle and Axel were first spotted together on April 22. So potentially time for an egg to have developed although as we know, his technique is taking time to perfect. But, everything crossed for this pair, for the LG team, and us!
I think 7 - 10 days is the 'norm' from when a pair get together until date of first egg laying - longer perhaps when they are new pair.................... so again............. the timing is looking good!
Richard B
A few more days to wait then! Particularly as Axel has had a steep learning curve on the mating front! Isn't it between ten to fourteen days from successful copulation to egg laying? When the first successful mating was I wouldn't like to say. So possibly before the week is out. Exciting times ahead!
Dyfi has a useful table on 'egg stats': here
Thank you for the 22 April date, Korky.