LOCH GARTEN - August 2022 to end of season

July 2022 thread

Our Osprey family


"Axel", Blue AX6(16) male (yes he does have strong chest markings), a single chick (possibly from 3 eggs) hatched Glen Affric, near Beauly, seen Lossiemouth 2020, then at LG in 2021

"Asha"- Female - Unringed - partnered Axel in 2021.

Axel & Asha (as "Mistle") fled the nest May 2021 due to unknown intruders.

HATCH #1 - 11 June @ 05:30

HATCH #2 - 13 June @ 04:11 (first sighting)

AT RINGING - Quote RSPB Abernethy Facebook "The male BLUE 1C2 is thought to be the older one at 1.5kgs with the female BLUE 1C1 being the younger one at 1.5kgs."

RSPB Video Channel - Osprey, Goshawk, Barn Owls: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl8QdQ9ZaBT65tF1yOmbMBQ

All pictures & videos ©RSPB LochGarten & WildlifeWindows 

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  • I really really really  hope you're right Bart. Especially about IC2 looking like he's eaten. Crop doesn't look very full to me. Thanks for positive news

  • 11.00 he's back on the nest. Crop does not look full by any means to me. This juvie, in my opinion, has been abandoned
  • Me too Patily, me too  

  • Bart molenaar said:
    1c2 chased a friendly osprey yesterday, and it wasn’t kl5… so at least 1 parent is still around

    Who ID'd the friendly osprey as "not KT5"?  RSPB or someone else on-site with bins?

  • 1C2 = 67 days old

    14 August            

    10.18.56    Asha last seen -  returned to the nest, gave a gentle contact call, looking around, before a few louder calls.

    10.30       Asha lifted her feathers all over her body, she shook them and took off    She looked really puffed up and quite pretty!

    15 August  06.35       Last fish for 1C2 from Axel, a small whole one.

    16 August 14.14.45   1C2 spotted a large bird flying left to right above the skyline, and he quietly flew over to possibly           meet it. He didn't call.  He flew out in front of the line of flight of the other bird.  Could that have been Axel he was going to meet? 

    1C2 landed at 05.44, calling.  He stayed there until 05.50 when he flew to the dead tree.  He returned to the nest at 06.08, calling again, breaking off twigs.  It wasn't long before he flew off again, 06.41 and he landed on the branch that appears to come from the right side of the satellite dish, on top of the tower.  He stayed there until 07.02 when he flew silently to the right.

    07.22 he could be heard, before he was seen landing to the near rim.  He made his way across the nest, picking up twigs in the process, and pecking at lichen - was he eating it?? Probably not.  He was using his talons to hold the twig down as he pulled on it to break if off.  He wandered around pecking at this, picking at that.  He left the nest at 07.46 and flew towards the dead tree - he could be heard, but not seen initially, then I spotted him quite well camouflaged lower down.

    An hour later he returned to the right side of the nest, calling.  09.13 he appeared to see something flying high in the sky above.  He focuses, takes off calling.  Did he see Axel?

    10.57 I could hear him call before he landed, calling furiously.  Was Axel around somewhere?  He wasn't mantling, but constantly looking to the right.  There was a lot more calling, with pauses in between, and looking up and around.  11.53 after more calls he did a deep stretch and flew over the back of the nest, and out of sight.

    12.42 He retuned with more loud calls, then became quiet and preened, with a few shut-eyes in between.  For the next hour plus he quietly kept an eye on things above and behind, preened and snoozed.  He called again briefly at 13.58 and was quite again.  It wasn't until 14.16 that he had a short burst of unenthusiastic calling, another go at thee stick stick, a call, back to the stick, another irritated call, etc, etc.

    15.37 He has been quietly looking over the back of the nest, until

    15.41  Another short loud call, and again.  A real expectant call.  Oh dear.

    He takes his frustration out on the sticky stick again!

    Shakes his feathers, and looks around again, particularly the back of the nest.

    15.48  He suddenly spotting something to the left of the dead tree, and shot off calling. 

    ENS  I can hear him occasionally, but not see him.

    Birdie's DU Summaries 2018   https://www.imagicat.com/

  • Hmm… good question really… nobody id’d it, it was more an assumption as 1c2 didn’t call out any warning cries… I might jump to conclusions here that are totally incorrect and it’s wishful thinking