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
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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:
Louis arrives fishless and cops an earful from Dorcha:
20.13.30 Finally! Louis arrives, but he is fishless! Dorcha can't believe it and tells him so, loudly
20.15.30 Two minutes later, Dorcha is still giving him an ear bashing
20.16.20 He’s doing some beak feaking - exactly what he did a few days ago - brought one fish, ate the second then came to the nest and cleaned off the evidence.
20.16.40 She approaches him quite menacingly, peering at his beak and shouting
20.19.27 He departs, Dorcha's voice ringing in his ears. His crop is quite rounded.
Daily summary Saturday 15th June 2024
No action on Nest One, and very little on Nest Two. Louis only brought one fish mid-morning, and wasn't seen again until suppertime when he caused consternation by arriving empty-taloned. Dorcha couldn't believe it and gave him a right earful while he cleaned bits of fish off his beak. He'd obviously eaten recently and had a nicely rounded crop which added fuel to Dorcha's ire. Earlier Dorcha had caused a bit of consternation herself when she arrived with an awkwardly shaped stick and proceeded to drag it through the huddle of chicks, although she quickly redeemed herself by being an excellent mumbrella and keeping her three big chicks warm and dry during a torrential downpour. As usual, chick2 got all the fish and beaked the other two to keep them away from the food, therefore it will be good if Louis arrives early tomorrow morning with a fish big enough that C1 & C3 get a share too. Statto Steve Q provided us with a thorough analysis of the fish stats to date - despite the odd blip, Louis' current total of two hundred and two fish is pretty much comparable with previous years. The weather was very unsettled today with a misty start turning into a rainy day and more of the same forecast for tonight.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.36.53 (02.58.59); Nest Two 23.10.58 (03.27.50)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/2hIydufKS3I Fish number one, headless trout, C2 gets it all 10.17.28
https://youtu.be/FlvoO8n_ZAk Dorcha: from menace with a stick to brilliant mumbrella 17.32
https://youtu.be/OiKvZO7vkTU Louis finally arrives but he's fishless! Dorcha can't believe it 20.13.30
Bonus info - Steve Quinn’s fish stats for week 11:
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15060802
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/ntv71sF-N_s N1 Simultaneous feeding - mum and dad each feed a bob! 2019
https://youtu.be/1RzPgaEWMr0 N1 Limbo dancing 2020
https://youtu.be/PvklkJGfZIc N1 Home alone chicks amuse themselves 2020
https://youtu.be/J8geReKxLxc N1 Mumbrella Aila does her best to shelter the chicks 2020
https://youtu.be/FJYbKk1hA-4 N1 A Jay visits the empty nest 2021
https://youtu.be/tsAAz0z9Ac8 N2 Hooded Crow intrudes and perches on the nest 2022
https://youtu.be/k6W6PKYMMYQ N2 Chicks battle it out as soon as mum leaves 2022
https://youtu.be/LTMLWBLOZnY N1 LV0 just won't get the message 2023
https://youtu.be/hFbYpDjHeyI N1 Affric reaffirms her bond with Prince 2023
https://youtu.be/yvMLAjhrNaA N2 Hangry chick attacks Dorcha 2023 (quick-time)
Sad news, it looks like No 3 has finally succumbed to the aggression and lack of food.
I think the poor chick will have gone within an hour or 2.
Richard B
Fish number one 05.06.42, small whole trout
05.06.59 Louis departs, 17 second handover
Dorcha blocks the view but chick3 is looking weak and showed no interest, looks like C1 & 2 are being fed. Feeding doesn’t take long, it’s a small fish.
RIP Chick Three.
It's very sad news. Two days of cold and wet weather and no food has done for it.
14.45 it's just about gone but sadly not yet. However, it is being left alone and not bullied which is some sort of mercy.
05.52.19 Fish number two, headless large trout
05.53.49 Louis departs, 30 second handover
05.54.33 C3 gets some while C2 is occupied dominating C1 but is looking very weak. There was still a bit of hope at this time but later events proved otherwise.
I’m so sad to hear about wee C3.
Fish number three
09.40.52 Fish number three, headless large trout arrives.
C2 starts beaking C1, C3 stays head down
09.41.17 Louis departs, 25 second handover
09.50 After some initial beaking, C1 gets an excellent share of the fish but C3 remained tucked down
Saves it from a life of torment ... it is so difficult to watch sibling aggression
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
Fish number four
13.44.49 Fish number four arrives, it's a whopper headless trout.
Too late for little chick3, alas. Looks like it has lost its battle to survive, it doesn't move. This morning’s rain after two days of cold and damp and no fish has been too much. Poor wee thing is still alive but only just. All we can do now is hope for a swift end.
13.46.31 Louis departs and the family tuck in. C2 first, but C1 also getting a share.
Sad as it is, with only two chicks to feed, C2 should hopefully settle down and both share the food without too much aggro.
A great pity C3 couldn’t hang on for this phase to have ended. There is consolation in that it is now just fading away without being harassed, although Louis did accidentally stand on it during the handover.