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
05.38 N2 Louis is heard skydancing before arriving at the nest at 05.40.56
12.58.02 Lunch is served - Fish number one! Headless trout arrives. Still no one there to take it..
15.20.00 Nest 2 Fish two? Or fish one returning? Looks fresh. Patiently waiting with his fish. Jumps up to middle perch 15.31.30
Louis made ‘This week in wildlife’:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2023/apr/07/the-week-in-wildlife-in-pictures
Geemeff said:
https://youtu.be/VkRrbSaTpkY
Consensus is it’s a returnee, so his tally to date is seven fish.
A little bird visited Nest One - hoping for big birds there this year!
Great Tit visits Nest One 19:46:39
Today has been a strange day - no activity, no fish, only one visit, lasting 35 minutes early this morning. Are he and Dorcha having a secret rendezvous off camera? There was a report this afternoon of an Osprey sighted 30 mins southest of Loch Arkaig flying in a northwesterly direction. 05.34.08 Night cam is still on when Louis arrives. He looks around for a bit, standing quietly. 05.44.18 day cam switches over. 05.52.03 He gets to work on the nest, moving moss and nest cupping. 06.09.02 Louis departs.
Not been seen since.
Louis' one and only appearance on the nest today