LOCH ARKAIG - THE WOODLAND TRUST - June 2024 - February 2025

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? X

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

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:

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 & Alder LW4. This is designated Nest 2, no one takes up residence on Nest1.
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 thirteen, six with Aila (2017-2020), and seven 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)
2024 males 1JR, 1JW (Spain)
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Highlights:
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2023 Nest Two highlights 
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2023 Nest One highlights 
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All captures in whatever format are copyright Woodland Trust - with many thanks for allowing captures from their nest cam livestreams.
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Osprey cams funded by People's Postcode Lottery
  • Louis brings nesting materials and does some housekeeping 

    16.25.52 Louis arrives at the nest with a stick, looking hollow-cropped

    16.35.42 Louis leaves

    17.19.14 Louis returns bringing more nesting materials, does some nest scraping

    17.22.41 Louis departs

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  • Daily summary Friday 12th July 2024

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    Today's main story is seeing footage of the Spanish aviary where our two 2024 Arkaig chicks are now living, and the big thrill of having 1JR walk right in front of the camera giving us a good look at him. He looks in great condition and holding his head up, not thin, weak and submissive as he was before removal, and ready to play his part in helping establish a thriving Osprey population in Valencia. Nest One had some little visitors before Garry LV0 arrived bringing nesting materials and doing a bit of housekeeping. Over on Nest Two, Louis did the same, bringing nesting materials and doing a bit of nest-scraping, although Dorcha let him know she would much rather have fish. The weather was settled and should remain so with tonight's forecast of light cloud and light winds, continuing through tomorrow. 

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    Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.31.09 (03.36.57); Nest Two 23.17.57 (03.38.38)
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    Today’s videos:
    https://youtu.be/Nb4V8EKa_os  WTS tweets and footage of our chick 1JR in the Spanish aviary
    https://youtu.be/6qeyNmLWYWc  N1 Little birds visit - Great Tits and juvenile Robins, possibly 06.34.00
    https://youtu.be/Zv55S0PD-T0  N2 Dorcha arrives fish-calling, Louis arrives but brings no fish 09.02.36
    https://youtu.be/WnoPi5nkNGY  N1 Garry LV0 brings nesting materials and keeps a lonely vigil 09.29.21
    https://youtu.be/VpDVwAJsY_A  N2 Dorcha does her exercises before leaving 12.16.37
    https://youtu.be/2XLYBfvjFLo N2 Louis brings nesting materials and does some housekeeping 16.25.52

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    Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
    https://youtu.be/7TuZUUU01Zk N1 Fish arrives but Aila is reacting to an intruder 2020
    https://youtu.be/Wikzl0L2al0  N1 The chicks are too big for mumbrella 2020
    https://youtu.be/y9bWx04ZpDs N1 Silver tourist arrives but Aila keeps calling 2020

    https://youtu.be/j9Q-6R_wTsA N2 Dorcha in hi-def close up 2022
    https://youtu.be/gQtZdZ87KiY  N1 Is that Louis chasing away visitors? 2022
    https://youtu.be/mVPRbvjXYak N2 Meet LW5 and LW6: now we await the gender info 2022 

    https://youtu.be/bRudS4fVdnU N1 Affric's out of luck, Garry doesn't have any fish 2023
    https://youtu.be/l6BBOafiVbs  N2 Dorcha aborts landing - is the eagle still around? 2023
    https://youtu.be/qVf3XW17uNY  N2 Chick self feeds, moves around the nest holding a fish  2023
    https://youtu.be/s9fhcpnTL90  N2 Chick plays football with the egg  2023
    https://youtu.be/Iq1v2o1P-Yo  N1 Late night mating attempt but no fish 2023

  • Sky Dancer!

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    03:56:53 The lovely sound of a male Osprey sky dancing is heard for some time, getting nearer and louder

    04.00.17 It's Louis! He arrives on the nest and stands proudly.

    Chest is concave so hasn't eaten recently but is strong enough to fly around displaying during his sky-dancing episode.

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  • Mating attempt!

    04.00.17 Skydancing is heard then Louis lands on the nest, and begins mantling. 

    04.01.06. Dorcha arrives, Louis continues coy-mantling

    04.02.46 Louis moves over to Dorcha, flies up and makes a token mating attempt

    04.02.55 Louis departs, Dorcha remains

    04.03.26 Dorcha flies up to the high perch and sits there silently - Louis must have left the area

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  • Another mating attempt:

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    09.06.21 Dorcha is on the nest moving branches around, then starts fish-calling

    09.06.30 Louis arrives and attempts mating, the coy-mantles before doing a bit of nest tidying

    09.11.57 Louis leaves, Dorcha remains

    09.32.33 Dorcha flies off. Chipping calls heard a few seconds later

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  • Daily summary Saturday 13th July 2024

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    Another day with little action, nothing on Nest One, and just a few early morning visits on Nest Two from Louis and Dorcha, neither seen on the nest after approximately 09.30. However, Louis spent some time sky-dancing before landing on the nest and making a couple of mating attempts with Dorcha along with coy-mantling. Of course, this is not to try for a second brood, it's much too late in the season for that, but the mating attempts and the coy-mantling all reaffirm their pair-bond and is a healthy sign of the strength of their relationship, their fourth year together. In other news, Chaddie14 provides this update on the Bunarkaig nest: Lewis, our local raptor man, was up in the Bunarkaig nest today and found one dead chick and one healthy, possibly male, chick which he ringed. All just as was expected, so all good so far for the one chick. So success for the probable resident pair Affric 152 and Prince this year following the failure of that nest last year - we wish the surviving chick and his parents all the best. The weather was settled, and tonight's forecast for the Inver Mallie area which covers the nests is light clouds and light winds, and sunshine tomorrow.

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    Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.34.51 (03.31.49); Nest Two 23.22.11 (03.41.31)

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    Today’s videos:

    https://youtu.be/f4cyHgyr1-c  N2 Louis is heard skydancing before landing 03.56.53

    https://youtu.be/39BScubJvE0  N2 Louis affirms his bond with Dorcha with a mating attempt 04.00.17

    https://youtu.be/kAKf8Ur1RrI  N2 Another mating attempt by Louis 09.06.21

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    Bonus opportunity - volunteer with Woodland Trust:

    https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/act/volunteer-with-us/opportunities

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    Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

    https://youtu.be/0Cl8FINNtoo  N1 Ouch! Ungrateful chick! (2019)

    https://youtu.be/ffII5_YiOdg  N1 The chicks' names are revealed on BBC Breakfast (2020)

    https://youtu.be/GP_us9LEcMw  N1 Doddie JJ6 tackles nest furnishings (2020)

    https://youtu.be/CGdPBqFGdz8 N2 Dorcha brings a very big stick (2022)

    https://youtu.be/bN7HPh85yqs  N2 Takes two to tangle! The girls are hooked! (2022)

    https://youtu.be/e7hhGQs5TC8 N1 Fish please but Garry has other ideas, as usual.. 2023

    https://youtu.be/UcwVIYkX9kc  Ospreys and wildlife disturbances: BBC Breakfast 2023

    https://youtu.be/LOk6dL2laVY  N2 LY7 kicks the egg and gets in a flap preparing for lift off 2023

    https://youtu.be/S68l64FV5oQ N1 Affric departs chased by another bird 2023 (zoom)

  • Update on the Bunarkaig nest and the private one at the western end of the loch:

    WTS George says:

    .Here are some pics by LizB of the male chick ringed at Bunarkaig yesterday

    The remains of a sibling were found in the nest.

    We understand there were also two females ringed at the nest at the far west end of Loch Arkaig.

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    Link to Liz Bracken's photos:

    https://x.com/WTScotsocial/status/1812421162921500757

  • Wingercising ready for lift off! Valencia Ospreys including the two Loch Arkaig chicks 13 July

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    Woodland Trust Scotland statement 14th July 2024:

    "We received some lovely video of the Scottish ospreys in Spain, testing out their wings yesterday (13th July).

    The film is a phone video of the CCTV screen used to monitor the aviary.

    You can see there appears to be four “nests” in separate sections, each with three birds. Not sure which are our two."

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    The Loch Arkaig chicks, assessed as both being male, were ringed Yellow 1JR and 1JW

    The chicks are 53 days old today and they fledge anywhere from around 55 days old, so anytime soon.

    Video footage: © Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation

    Tweets: © Woodland Trust Scotland

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  • Super news that 3 young ospreys have been ringed in the area this year. Sad that others have perished. 

    Like you’ve said before Geemeff, our 2 could’ve/would’ve perished as well. Instead, they are thriving in Spain with a future ahead of them. Slight smile

  • Dorcha arrives early, Louis arrives a little later but without fish

    04.30.14 Dorcha arrives on the nest

    04.31.40 flies up to the high perch

    04.41.05 gives a few brief call and jumps down onto the nest.

    04.47.33 Louis arrives, starts mantling. Dorcha checks for fish and becomes vocal. Louis’ crop looks empty, Dorcha seems somewhat better.

    Louis begins rearranging sticks on the nest, with Dorcha calling constantly for fish

    04.53.55 Louis departs, Dorcha falls quiet and remains on the nest

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