LOCH ARKAIG - THE WOODLAND TRUST - February 2024 - May 2024

Welcome to Loch Arkaig Ospreys season 8

Will Louis and Dorcha return to Nest 2? White check mark

Will someone take up residence in Nest 1? Question

Will any of Louis' chicks with Aila and Dorcha be sighted? Question

2024 season:

Louis arrived on Thursday 28th March at 15.18.38

Dorcha arrived on Saturday 30th March at 14.21.27

They reunited on Saturday 30th March at 16.13.37

First egg laid on Sunday 14th March at 11.13.48  Congratulations!!

Second egg laid on Wednesday 17th March at 05.55.52

Dorcha is injured in an eagle attack on Friday 19th April at 11.08

Third egg laid on Saturday 20th April at 02.26.08 

Welcome little bob - first chick hatches! Wednesday 22nd May at 06.16.45 

Welcome little bob - second chick hatches - it's twins! Wednesday 22nd May at 22.26.15

Welcome little bob - third chick hatches! Friday 24th at 16.36.10

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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

Link to 2023 thread: 

https://community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisit/lochgartenospreys/f/loch-garten-ospreys/282446/loch-arkaig---the-woodland-trust---march-2023-to-february-2024

Brief history of the nests:

2016 Woodland Trust acquire the Loch Arkaig ancient Caledonian rainforest remnant and manage it in partnership with Arkaig Community Forest. An Osprey pair is seen.
2017 A nest cam is installed on a refurbished ancient Osprey nest. The old pair don't return but 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.
2023 Louis & Dorcha return, and raise one male chicks to fledging: Ludo LY7. No residents on Nest 1 but male Garry LV0 spent a lot of time flirting with Affric 152 despite her mate Prince still being around.
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Louis is a father of eleven, six with Aila (2017-2020), and five with Dorcha (2021-)
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In hatch order 2017 - 2023:
2017 Lachlan (JH4)
2019 Mallie (JJ0), Rannoch (JJ2)
2020 Doddie (JJ6), Vera (JJ8), Captain (JJ7)
2021 Aspen (LW3), Alder (LW4)
2022 Willow (LW5), Sarafina (LW6)
2023 Ludo (LY7)
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Highlights:
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2023 Nest Two highlights https://youtu.be/frFhrnS7Vvo
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2023 Nest One highlights https://youtu.be/qpxRv2OIsFQ
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All captures in whatever format are copyright Woodland Trust - with many thanks for allowing captures from their nest cam livestreams.
Osprey cams funded by People's Postcode Lottery
  • And my video of the drone filming Nest One!

  • 16.08.25 Fish number two arrives, half an old dried up trout! Dorcha takes it anyway 

  • 17.52.50 Louis delivers fish number three, a fresher looking fish than last time.

    Dorcha takes it quickly and departs, leaving him happily settling down on the eggs 

  • Daily summary Friday 3rd May 2024

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    Today saw the welcome return of Aida to Nest One. She looked very hollow-cropped but luckily Garry LV0 followed right behind her with a fish, taking his tally to six since they met on 28th April. It was a quiet day all round, Nest One was visited by other birds - two Wrens, a Tree Pipit and a Coal Tit, while Nest Two was visited by a pair of Lesser Redpolls. Louis had plenty of time for fishing and delivered three fish to Dorcha, taking his tally to seventy three since they reunited on 28th March, and also brought a big stick via the scenic route before managing to land it successfully. The weather was settled and dry, but tonight's forecast is for light rain and light winds. Woodland Trust treated us to fabulous drone footage of the nests, increasing our understanding of our Ospreys' world.

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    Night cam switchover (day cam): Nest One 22.20.11 (04.21.22); Nest Two 22.23.59 (04.34.47)

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    Today’s videos:

    https://youtu.be/D8JzRAB4-PI N1 little Wren visits 05.55.06 (zoom)

    https://youtu.be/0yimE8umLLc N2 Fish number one, whole tiddler trout 08.37.55 

    https://youtu.be/9NftDmPybXk N1 Garry brings fish number one for hollow-cropped Aida 10.00.39 

    https://youtu.be/mmOwq1QEOTQ  N2 Louis misjudges landing with a big stick 10.23.11

    https://youtu.be/zp36YlZE3yA  N2 Two Lesser Redpolls arrive and one perches near Dorcha 13.04.10

    https://youtu.be/eAqcolh9_VQ N1 Woodland visitors: Tree Pipit, Coal Tit, Wren 15.15.34

    https://youtu.be/1DoIxjH07Eo N2 Fish number two, half an old dried up trout 16.08.25

    https://youtu.be/YQ_hVK_eiTY N2 Fish number three, much fresher trout 17.52.50

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    Bonus watch - stunning drone footage of the nest area, filmed before the birds returned of course:

    https://youtu.be/HKIxtz_ICXU N1

    https://youtu.be/wiSNcrl7_mM N2

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    Extra bonus - my video of the drone filming Nest One on 28th March:

    https://youtu.be/digVShP1ssE

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    Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

    https://youtu.be/_ldayacEJVk  Domestic abuse? Aila wants Louis to move 2020

    https://youtu.be/O66MzVbKdEk  Louis chases a Hoodie wanting his fish 2020

    https://youtu.be/EXKZvJIsSnU  Poor old Louis! First a kick then a bit of fish stuck in his beak 2020

    https://youtu.be/U-5w06vRVgc Dorcha wears a fake moustache 2022

    https://youtu.be/475Qa4mMr_M  Louis gets a bashing with a big stick 2022

    https://youtu.be/aGybeh25I3I  Size matters! Coal Tit is startled by Dorcha 2022

    https://youtu.be/YevTSQLmv2k  A Cuckoo calls as Dorcha departs with her breakfast 2023

    https://youtu.be/hr9oHiTH2EA  Mute button needed as Dorcha sees Louis bringing dinner 2023

  • Season's earliest fish is delivered to Dorcha

    05.41.32 Louis delivers fish number one, a headless trout, which Dorcha takes immediately

    05.41.51 Dorcha departs with the fish 

  • Wow, Geemeff, the drone footage, commissioned by the Woodland Trust prior to the Opsreys arriving, is absolutely wonderful - thank you so much for sharing! Hugging 

    Your own vid of the drone at work is fab too - I thought it was an alien spaceship attempting to take up residency! 

  • Woodland Trust (@WTScotsocial) have just tweeted a guide to birdsong, ahead of International Dawn Chorus Day tomorrow:

    https://x.com/WTScotsocial/status/1786803093746700577

    None of you probably need it, but I do! 

    • Wow, Geemeff, the drone footage, commissioned by the Woodland Trust prior to the Opsreys arriving, is absolutely wonderful - thank you so much for sharing!  

      Your own vid of the drone at work is fab too - I thought it was an alien spaceship attempting to take up residency! 

      Thank you, Sandra. George had warned us about the drones, and I was really glad to catch it on the N1 nest cam. Luckily they'd done Nest Two long before Louis and Dorcha made surprise early returns. The drone footage is absolutely amazing, so wonderful to see the nests in the way the Ospreys do.
    • Shocking heartbreaking news coming from LotL - Laddie has been found dead, the police are involved, and there's a Crimestoppers number to call.
      George has posted this on Woodland Trust's forum:

      I am going to break from our usual practice of avoiding updates from other nests, because unfortunately it seems there has been a development at another nest that is extremely concerning.

      Police Scotland Tayside have posted on Facebook:

      “We are appealing for information after the remains of an osprey were found near Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, on Friday, 3 May, 2024.

      The protected species is believed to have been nesting at Loch of the Lowes, close to where it was found.

      Enquiries are at an early stage to establish the full circumstances.

      Inspector James Longden said: “It is illegal to kill any protected species and we are working closely alongside partner agencies to confirm what has happened here and whether there is any criminality involved.

      “Information from the local community could prove vital and it is important we speak to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area, or who may know something which could assist our investigation.

      “Any information can be passed to Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident number 3266 of Friday, 3 May, 2024. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

      It sounds like foul play may have been the reason for Laddie’s absence from the nest for several days.

      I just wanted to express our solidarity with our friends and colleagues at Scottish Wildlife Trust.

      As we know, these birds face all sorts of natural threats and difficulties. It is really galling to think they still have to face harm from people too.

  • Nest One 07.59.15 Garry LV0 arrives with moss, calling softly, who's he watching? 

    08.01.21 No one comes, so Garry departs to Pole Tree and perches there