Welcome to Loch Arkaig Ospreys season 8
Will Louis and Dorcha return to Nest 2?
Will someone take up residence in Nest 1?
Will any of Louis' chicks with Aila and Dorcha be sighted?
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:
Half a dozen! Whopper fish number six arrives 20.38.02
Geemeff said:Half a dozen! Whopper fish number six arrives 20.38.02
What an AMAZING job Louis has done today - he's an absolute
Great to see a fleeting visit by Garry to N1, Geemeff!
Daily summary Monday 27th May 2024
No one is going hungry to bed tonight - six fish were delivered by Louis today, and the last was the biggest of all. What a magnificent fisherbird he is. His tally now rises to one hundred and twenty eight. Dorcha played her part too, making sure all the bobs were fed. Obviously big bob1 was first in line, but she made sure bob2 and bob3 got a good share, and for anyone worried about little bob3 - at times the chick didn't even bother standing up when fish arrived, being in a food coma from the previous feed! However bob3 did manage to join in with some beaking and aggression earlier today among the three of them, but it didn't last long and didn't appear to be very serious - the chicks certainly don't need to fight over food. Various little birds visited Nest One today, and Garry LV0 also paid a visit, albeit very brief. He didn't bring materials nor did he do any nest prep, perhaps indicating he's settled elsewhere, possibly with Aida. It was wet and windy overnight and throughout the day, and tonight's forecast is more of the same, with a good possibility of a bit of a dry patch tomorrow morning before the heavy rains arrive.
Night cam switches over (day cam): Nest One 23.18.56 (03.46.09); Nest Two 22.55.05 (04.11.56)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/r_GHe_iyWFE N2 Fish number one, headless trout 04.50.55
https://youtu.be/GBSbBKvyrhE N2 Home alone bobs vie for supremacy 07.48.57 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/Zrf1JH9FI9Q N2 Fish number two, smallish whole trout, Dorcha downs the tail 09.14.46
https://youtu.be/Yyb6ff5vsxc N2 Fish number three! Louis returns with another whole trout 09.39.42
https://youtu.be/U5F3EUvsJ8g N1 Garry LV0 arrives quick visit 10.04.33
https://youtu.be/q028X1W6tk8 N1 Crossbills flit about the nest 12.02.23 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/Dj2MYZR0mNc N2 Fish number four but only two bobs have any room 13.27.55
https://youtu.be/HuhYKTJ7LXk N1 Chaffinch chases a butterfly and a Jay also visits 13.46.39 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/sKHtUZwEQiY N2 Fish number five! Another trout 17.29.53
https://youtu.be/0VbDIZh81KI N2 Half a dozen! Whopper fish number six arrives 20.38.02
Bonus watch - have a wander through Woodland Trust’s playlist of Osprey cam videos and the drone flyovers:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbKmvYI09zizagB--Hw8Y_Gw_WgV8vupZ
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/gcPkGALUl_o N1 Aila gracefully removes the stick Louis dumped on her 2019 (slo-mo)
https://youtu.be/7XXlxV3M5cI N1 Louis brings a log and gets sent fishing 2020
https://youtu.be/qT3I0WiNGu8 N1 Unringed dark female with very striking looks visits 2021
https://youtu.be/XJeMlH6pvWE N2 Louis chases crows until Dorcha sends him fishing 2022
https://youtu.be/DvMe1U8d1ro N2 Osprey Blue 105 intrudes on Dorcha 2022 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/pWLDu_1Rzso N2 Unringed male seen off by Dorcha 2023 (slo-mo)
https://youtu.be/gp1_5UsYKK4 N2 Woodpecker and Dorcha scare each other 2023
Sandra said:Geemeff said:Half a dozen! Whopper fish number six arrives 20.38.02 What an AMAZING job Louis has done today - he's an absolute Great to see a fleeting visit by Garry to N1, Geemeff!
Louis is pretty amazing - all nests should have a dad like him, don't you think, Sandra? Mr Reliable!
Yes, it was great to see Garry, I do hope he' settled with a partner somewhere in the area and just dropped in to say hello. I have a soft spot for him, he's really worked quite hard from that first sighting in 2022 to becoming the more mature bird he is now..
It would be wonderful if these 2 could rear 3 chicks this year. If Louis continues to provide in the way that he does and nothing untoward happens, they have every chance.of success.
Yes, it is great to see Garry still around. I really thought this would be his year for breeding. So disappointed that Aida hasn’t been seen for a while. I hope she returns to the nest or Garry finds another female to bond with for next year.
Spectacular sunrise colours on Nest One this morning
That is beautiful, so scenic, Thank you Geemeff.
I think of Nest One for sunrises, and Nest Two for sunsets. The scenery is just spectacular!
06.36.36 Fish number one, whole trout, it's a little tiddler. Dorcha takes it and the bobs sit up, feeding commences
06.37.49 Louis departs, feeding continues
Intruder!
07.54.06 Louis, not in view, starts chipping, Dorcha takes note
07:54:12 Dorcha starts alarm calling, and then two Ospreys fly past the nest, one of whom perches in the Scots Pine in front of the nest - probably Louis, as he remains there for a very long time, and Dorcha is not overly concerned by this. She raises up and alarm calls a couple of times, then settles down flattened over her chicks.
07.54.31 Intruder Osprey flies past the nest again. Dorcha doesn’t react but Louis perched on the Scots Pine is reacting.
07:55:19 Intruder flies into view again briefly and then disappears out of sight on the right.
(zoomed)