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 May at 16.36.10
Sad death of little chick three Sunday 16th June at approx 19.02
Louis disappears, last seen Wednesday 26th June 11.22.56
Louis returns but is clearly not well Saturday 29th June 08.26.37
Decision made to place the two surviving chicks in a translocation programme Sunday 30th June
Licensed raptor team collects the chicks Monday 1st July 10.15
Chicks 1&2 arrive at Pego-Oliva marsh, Spain and ringed Yellow 1JW (C1) & 1JR (C2) Thursday 11th July
Sadly, 1JR (C2) started having seizures and succumbed to a heart condition Tuesday 23rd July
FLEDGE! The surviving chick 1JW (C1) found his wings and flew Thursday 25th July 3pm
Dorcha last seen on camera (Nest One) 11.19.43 Saturday 27th July
Louis last seen on camera (Nest Two) 13.31.18 Tuesday 30th July
1JW (C1) last seen at Pego-Oliva marsh (Spain) on Tuesday 10th September
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Link to February 2024 - May 2024 thread:
loch-arkaig---the-woodland-trust---february-2024---may-2024
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:
N2 Fish number five, whole trout, C3 asserts itself and gets some food 17.13.19
N2 Fish number six, headless trout, all three get some 21.28.15
Daily summary Thursday 13th June 2024
Another six-fish day for Louis, taking his tally to one hundred and ninety eight. He did several lightning fast handovers, the swiftest at just nine seconds, but did occasionally stay on the nest and do a little tidying. Six deliveries didn't stop Chick2 from constantly having a go at C1, who is more and more submissive, or at C3, who stands up for itself and occasionally picks a fight and once even shoved C2 out of the way to get to the fish. However, the aggro wasn't as sustained today, and all three chicks went to bed with bulging crops, with C2 looking like it might fall over from being unbalanced by the grapefruit-sized protuberance hanging off its chest. Several birds visited Nest One, and one of them was Garry LV0, who spent a few moments standing quietly just looking around before flying off again. The weather was reasonably settled during the day but by cam switchover time has turned very wet and the wind's come up, and that's forecasted to continue through the night. Dorcha is doing her best mumbrella, but the chicks are so big that inevitably bits are sticking out from under her, and soft squeaking is heard.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.52.34 (N/A); Nest Two 23.05.08 (03:50 13)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/ijeXkzHe_Ew N2 tAWNY OWl attack 01:46:12 super slo-mo
https://youtu.be/NpGqBcT6124 N2 Fish number one arrives with night cam still on 03.47.35
https://youtu.be/jppiOHQt_ZI N2 Louis sticks around doing housework after delivering fish two 04.35.48
https://youtu.be/Xvulvoc7oZU N1 A pair of Redpolls (Carduelis Flammea) flit around 07.21.01
https://youtu.be/QItqhgI1oBE N1 A Jay (Garrulus glandarius) visits, is it yesterday’s visitor returning? 07.37.31
https://youtu.be/vCjAiac_o9w N2 Fish number three, small trout, chicks queue politely 09.24.54
https://youtu.be/rYxZu39Rl4g N1 A pair of Redpolls (Carduelis Flammea) visit, earlier pair returning? 13:49:02
https://youtu.be/l2NfkpeONbw N1 Garry LV0 pops in for a quick visit 15.14.22
https://youtu.be/Dt61o5Id-ic N2 Fish number four, whole trout, C3 gets none 16.10.29
https://youtu.be/-KeC7f16UvI N2 Fish number five, whole trout, C3 asserts itself and gets some 17.13.19
https://youtu.be/whmEolVOxFI N2 Fish number six, headless trout, all three get some 21.28.15
Bonus read - Woodland Trust's public affairs teams making this high priority case to all UK parliamentarians:
Pests and diseases - What We're Doing - Woodland Trust
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/Oec9yfsqzI8 N1 Dad breaks up a fight (2019)
https://youtu.be/7h8o4P1BjOc N1 Toy-like deer graze near the nest (2020)
https://youtu.be/CmnoKwCdweU N1 Crashing and bashing: mum creates chaos (2020)
https://youtu.be/RownqjRW6Hg N2 First fish arrives in the dark (2022)
https://youtu.be/qmnWqyl9Nrw N2 The two surviving chicks enjoy a good feed (2022)
https://youtu.be/sgCSDSOspIs N2 Chicks take lumps out of each other until mum returns with a stick (2022)
https://youtu.be/QNDrgxWxl6M N1 LV0 attempts mating and is rejected again Nest One 2023
https://youtu.be/BnWHTwPBiX4 N2 Chick helps sort out the cot rails 2023
https://youtu.be/xCx56MCLBJw N2 Crash bang wallop! Dorcha lands on the chick 2023
https://youtu.be/n0Ev_HsN01M N1 More rejected mating attempts 2023
04.22.28 Fish number one, whole trout
04.22.47 Louis departs - a 19-second handover
Chicks are well behaved and subdued, perhaps because their crops are still full from yesterday’s six fish.
04.25.04 C3 gets an exclusive feed until C2 muscles in but they all ate well, with chicks 1 & 3 getting fed first.
The fish was gone in about 16 minutes.
Double century for Louis!
Fish number two today, and number 200 for the season! 04.53.17
Fish number three, chicks are calm and queue up with no aggro 13.48.30
13.48.30 Fish number three, whole smallish trout
13.49.09 Louis departs - 39 second handover
Chicks are calm and queuing up with no aggro
13.50.15 C2 starts having a go at C3 which lets C1 get a peaceful feed.
Oops! Dorcha gets decorated
20:11:37 A chick lets fly but squirts directly on mum Dorcha and leaves a bit of a mess!
20.11.51 Dorcha departs, perhaps for a bath, and the three chicks snuggle up together in her absence. A peaceful scene.
Daily summary Friday 14th June 2024
No action on Nest One but plenty on Nest Two where the chicks' battle for dominance had calmed down somewhat today despite the nest cam watchers' fears. All three chicks ate plenty, and even allowing for bouts of aggression by C2, the chicks cuddled up to each other when Dorcha left the nest after being on the receiving end of an ill-judged squirt. Louis delivered three fish to the nest, taking his tally past the double century mark to two hundred and one. Weather was unsettled with spells of rain, and there's a damp sounding forecast for tonight of foggy with light winds.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.42.34 (03.11.31); Nest Two 23.13.13 (03.53.10)
https://youtu.be/aQCTyzusjdo N2 Fish number one, whole trout, everybody eats 04.22.29
https://youtu.be/xL0saakThcE N2 Fish number two today, number 200 for the season! 04.53.17
https://youtu.be/7J_4iIlHbGE N2 Fish number three, chicks are calm and queue up with no aggro 13.48.30
https://youtu.be/pDQXzJzcvDw N2 Oops! Dorcha gets decorated 20:11:37
Bonus read - Woodland Trust Scotland's successful initiative to increase the availability of rare native tree seeds:
https://www.charitytoday.co.uk/scottish-tree-seed-project-collects-2-2-million-seeds-for-rewilding/
https://youtu.be/Exn19098zow N1 First self-feeding - big bob helps herself 2019
https://youtu.be/vat-pks8C0o N1 Good luck getting those growing bobs settled for the night! 2020
https://youtu.be/Er_He7M1Z_s N1 Tawny Owl returns and strikes Aila 2020 (slo-mo)
https://youtu.be/KaaAklC7VMY N2 When mum’s away, the chicks do play - not very nicely! 2022
https://youtu.be/owboya14Psw N2 Bob2 gets a really good dinner as Bob1 is finally full! 2022
https://youtu.be/FreDgrNdCn4 N2 Bob1 dominates bob2 when Dorcha goes flyabout 2022
https://youtu.be/bony4Vt5TEw N2 Little bird visits, so tiny Dorcha doesn't notice 2023 (slo-mo zoom)
https://youtu.be/BecclFVDPAw N2 Fish number one, chick has a go at self-feeding 2023
https://youtu.be/tOd-hoc2Cxo N1 High drama: rivals Prince & LVO both bring gifts 13.06 (slo-mo zoom)
https://youtu.be/R-32UJt7tBY N2 Dorcha takes a direct hit! 2023 (Classic Ospreys: Tchaikovsky)
https://youtu.be/cgcWVSNAr4k N2 Dad's turn to get hit! Equal opportunity squirter 2023
Late breakfast arrives:
10.17.28 Fish number one, headless trout. Chick2 immediately starts beaking the other two and forcing them into submission
10.17.41 Louis departs - 13 second handover Dorcha carries on feeding and C2 gets it all
Dorcha: from menace with a stick to brilliant mumbrella:
17.32 Dorcha returns with a stick and causes havoc by dragging it through the huddle of chicks
17.44 It starts raining and Dorcha becomes a protective mumbrella
17.52 Dorcha shelters her three big chicks keeping them warm and dry as the rain turns into a torrential downpour