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LOCH ARKAIG - THE WOODLAND TRUST - March 2023 to February 2024

Geemeff
01/03/2023 20:23

Loch Arkaig Ospreys season 7

Will Louis and Dorcha return to Nest 2?

Will someone take up residence in Nest 1?

Will any of Aila & Louis' chicks be seen (Doddie JJ6 is a good bet!)

Link to 2022 thread (season 6)

community.rspb.org.uk/.../1394415

2023 season highlights:

Louis returned on Sunday 2nd April at 12.26.54

Dorcha returned on Sunday 9th April 08.09.46

They reunited on Monday 10th April at 12.33.03

First egg laid Friday 21st April at 05.44.19

A Golden Eagle touched down on Saturday 22nd April at 11.50.56

Second egg laid Monday 24th April at 07.03.30 

Third egg laid on Thursday 27th April at 07.35.39

Violent Owl strike sends an egg overboard 23rd May at 00.26.46

First chick hatches - and it's Egg3! 31st May at 13.08

Another Owl strike - Bob's unharmed. 6th June at 00.18.16 

It's a boy! The chick is ringed LY7 on 9th July around 10am

Fledge! LY7 finds his wings and flies 19th July at 15.05.11

Hello Ludo! The voting results are in and LY7 is named Ludo! 19th July

Dorcha leaves on her travels - last seen on 17th August at 06.30.34

Louis was last seen on 24th August at 15.50.34

Ludo LY7 was last seen* on 25th August at 10.03.28  (*on the nest)

Ludo sighted in France 24th September! Still there 8th October

We wish all of them fair winds and fine fishing, and hope to see the adults safely back in 2024!

Brief history of the nests:

2016 Woodland Trust acquire the Loch Arkaig ancient rainforest remnant and manage it in partnership with Arkaig Community Forest.
2017 A nest cam is installed on a refurbished Osprey nest. A young male Louis and a young female Aila take up residence and raise one male chick to fledging: Lachlan JH4.
2018 Louis & Aila return but a Pine Marten steals all their eggs.
2019 Louis & Aila return and raise two female chicks to fledging: Mallie JJ0 and Rannoch JJ2.
2020 Louis & Aila return and raise two male and one female chicks to fledging: Doddie JJ6; Vera JJ8 and Captain JJ7.
2021 Louis returns but sadly Aila doesn't. Louis takes up residence on a new nest with a new mate Dorcha and they raise two male chicks to fledging: Aspen LW3 and Alder LW4. This is designated Nest 2, no one takes up residence on Nest 1.
2022 Woodland Trust install a nest cam on Nest 2. Louis & Dorcha return and raise two female chicks to fledging: Willow LW5 and Sarafina LW6. Still no residents on Nest 1.
2022 season: Louis and Dorcha returned to Nest Two on 12th April, laid three eggs 24 and 27th April and 1st May.
The first chick hatched on 31st May, the second on Jubilee Day 2nd June and the third on 5th June but sadly passed away on 12th June.
The other two progressed rapidly and were ringed LW5 (eldest ) and LW6 (younger) on 12th July, and both gender assessed as female.
Willow (LW5) fledged 25th July and Sarafina (LW6) 31st July.
Last seen on the nest: Dorcha 18th August, Willow 28th August, Louis 8th September and Sarafina 9th September.

Link to Woodland Trust Osprey page: keeps coming up as blocked! Weird! copy and paste then join up:

https://    www    woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/  

community.rspb.org.uk/.../loch-arkaig---the-woodland-trust---march-2022-to-end-of-february-2023

Dorcha bringing her one and only fish on 18th August 2022 before departing and not being seen again


Louis incubating the eggs while Aila is seen flying with a fish in the misty distance on 9th May 2020.

All captures in whatever format are copyright Woodland Trust - with many thanks for allowing captures from their nest cam livestreams

  • 11/07/2023 00:19
    Daily summary Monday 10th July 2023

    Wet but not too windy today, just as well as LY7 is growing up fast and spending a lot of time wingercising, including standing very close to the edge of the nest. The books say fledging takes place at approximately 52-57 days old, but LY7 is 40 days old today and his half-sister Mallie (JJ0) fledged at only 49 days, so perhaps we'll see lift-off soon.No fish delivered to Nest One despite Affric's wishes, however Garry did drop in a few times to do a bit of nest work and try his luck with her. Intruder alarms kept Louis busy but he still managed to bring three fish to the nest today, taking the tally to 249. Suggestions for a name for the chick are still open, keep posting your suggestions here on the Osprey forum, and if you live in England, Woodland Trust would appreciate your help to call on your council to act now and reverse nature loss, link: campaigns.woodlandtrust.org.uk/.../1
  • 11/07/2023 19:48

    Tuesday 11th July 2023

    Back in the dark days of lockdown, viewership increased dramatically to about 400,000  - people worldwide who'd all discovered the benefits of nest cam watching in general, and the joy of following the Arkaig Ospreys in particular.

    The family was all over the media, and when the naming contest was opened, our very own WT George was interviewed by the BBC. Here he is on BBC Breakfast on this day in 2020.

  • 11/07/2023 19:55

    Very fresh breakfast arrives! Fish number one, whole flapping flatfish 10.04.16

  • 11/07/2023 20:02

    Nest One: Affric arrives fish calling, Garry follows and tries to mate 10.33

  • 11/07/2023 20:03

    Dorcha arrives with a twiggy stick, chick gets in a flap 11.51 (in double speed)

  • 11/07/2023 20:04

    Nest One: tail-enders - Garry's saved some fish for Affric 11.58

  • 11/07/2023 20:06

    Sky high mating 12.52 (zoom) Wow - Louis flies in for a quick mating attempt, not only does Dorcha allow it but there's full tail-lift!

  • 11/07/2023 21:35

    Another fish from Louis.Fish number two, headless trout 14.23.16

  • 11/07/2023 21:36

    And another - fish number three, a whole trout 17.29.22

  • 12/07/2023 00:37
    Daily summary Tuesday 11th July 2023

    Another dreich day which held a few alarms but no intruders were seen on either nest cam. What was seen was unusual mating behaviour - not from Garry LV0, who kept trying with Affric and nearly got pecked for his trouble, but from Louis, who appeared to hit the jackpot with Dorcha while she was perched on high, watched by their chick LY7. Garry caught a fish and teased Affric by eating it nearby before bringing the remnants over to her, while Louis did his usual sterling job and delivered three fish to his family, taking the tally past the 250 mark up to 252. Still plenty of time to get your naming suggestions in if you haven't already posted:

    www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/.../