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:
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
15.58 RAF jet does a flypast of Nest One (zoom, slo-mo repeat)
Glider said:Your tribute to Aila is so beautiful Geemeff, thank you. Every time I watch it, my eyes well up. It’s so sad that she was taken in her prime with many breeding years ahead. Gone but never forgotten. ️
Dear Aila... it's an unresolved sadness. She was magnificent, her loss still seems so fresh.
A pair of Great Tits visit Nest One as the sun rises 06.44.20
A tiny Tit visits big and empty Nest Two 06.55.22
Blast from the past:
Osperian Blues (Artistic Ospreys 2020)
Daily summary Saturday 2nd September 2023
No Ospreys or fish today of course, just a few tiny visitors showing off how big the nests are. Following on from George's post about woodland walks he can recommend (https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2022/07/7-scotland-woodland-wildlife-walks/), tonight's bonus is a guide to Loch Arkaig including the Mile Dorcha, which gave Dorcha her name. Plenty of blast from the past videos for this day in previous years as Louis was still in attendance bringing fish to his female chicks, Rannoch, Vera, and Sarafina.
https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/speanbridge/locharkaig/index.html
Ludo LY7 was last seen on 25th August at 10.03.28
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr