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

Nest One - Affric 152 gets a teeny tiny fish from Garry LV0

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16.36.28 Affric 152 returns to the nest, fish calling

16.37.09 Garry LV0 arrives with a tiddler - Affric grabs it immediately

16.37.30 Affric flies off with it 16.40.00 Affric returns having eaten the fish and calls for more

17.27.51 Garry leaves suddenly, in his hurry he disturbs a stick and almost takes it with him. Affric remains.

17.48.39 Affric leaves, heading east and disappearing out of sight near the logo.

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Daily summary Thursday 15th August 2024

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Plenty of action today as Affric 152 and Garry LV0 flew on and off Nest One over a period of several hours, ignoring a quick flypast by the RAF. She spent a lot of time fish-calling and was eventually rewarded with a fish - but it was a teeny tiny little tiddler which she demolished in about three minutes. She called for more, but Garry didn't oblige. The weather wasn't very obliging either, wet and windy most of the day, and same again expected tonight and tomorrow.

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Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.02.27 (05.12.15); Nest Two 21.52.38 (05.17.08)

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Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/pL-09gIw4A8 N1 Garry LV0 brings moss, tidies, and has a preen 12.08.32 

https://youtu.be/sAin2I829BE N1 Garry LV0 returns with a stick 13.05.22

https://youtu.be/1mt2ZZZhteM N1 Affric 152 arrives followed shortly after by Garry LV0 14.55.05

https://youtu.be/U9CxLSmhoTM N1 Noisy RAF flypast doesn't faze Affric & Garry 15.30.39

https://youtu.be/-c3lZKY7Blc  N1 Garry brings Affric a teeny tiny fish  16.36.28 

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Bonus action - last chance to nominate Woodland Trust for a £5k grant, closes midnight tomorrow:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15743696

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Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/2EqB8ZLlLNQ  N1 Get a grip, Mallie! (2019)

https://youtu.be/q4v0VblhLDE  N1 Confirmed: final sighting of Doddie on the nest (2020)

https://youtu.be/JNjzfsGJMd0  N1 Stramash over the first fish (2020)

https://youtu.be/Btn2GxS_waQ  N1 Fish delivery from Aila (2020)

https://youtu.be/41z2mZ9rRNI  N2 Dorcha chases crows but they return to plague Willow (2022)

https://youtu.be/N-Z7Z-WV_1U  N2 The Mystery Fish makes its appearance! (2022)

https://youtu.be/GOsbIENNolA  N2 Spotted Flycatchers visit (2022)

https://youtu.be/_KZr32ZVd74  N2 Dorcha's fish calls get no response 2023

https://youtu.be/TorII7K__-g  N2 Spotted Flycatcher on Dorcha's perch 2023

https://youtu.be/3ReQ1_Bhj0I N2 Ludo does a faceplant 2023

https://youtu.be/mwUhXluhRss N2 Great Tit catches Ludo's attention 2023

https://youtu.be/DOjTPRRcbj8 N2 Louis does a three-second fish handover to Ludo 2023

More photos and tweets from Fundación Migres and Woodland Trust Scotland, with an update on our Arkaig osprey chick 1JW and the other ten translocated Scottish Osprey chicks.

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All are doing well, exploring Parque Natural de la Marjal de Pego-Oliva Spain.

One of the photos is of 1JW but we don't know which one!

All the birds look in magnificent condition, getting ready for the long hazardous migration journey.

Or will some stick around in Spain or Portugal? With climate change warming things up, that's also a possibility.

Photos courtesy of the Fundación Migres: https://www.fundacionmigres.org/en/

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I cobbled this video together for those who don't get on with TwiX

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Nest One

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10.51.20 Movement from between the knolls in the distance - someone's flying towards the nest

10.51.25 Garry LV0 arrives with a clump of moss

Does a quick bit of nest-cupping then hops up onto the left hand perch, starts preening

11.01 Garry starts coy-mantling

11.01.16 Affric 152 arrives and starts fish-calling. They spend two hours together

13.19.47 Garry flies off.

13.26.26 He arrives back with a stick

13.34.15 Both suddenly look around and depart in a hurry

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Nest One

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16.20.59 Garry LV0 arrives with a clump of moss. He pootles around the nest for a few moments then starts coy-mantling

16.21.43 Affric 152 arrives. She checks him for fish but there isn't any, and she starts asking and keeps calling

16.54.59 Garry leaves, flying directly out of sight to the left - westwards

17.30 Affric is still sitting waiting and hoping he's going to return with fish but he doesn't

17.33.38 Affric gives up and flies off also flying westwards

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Nest One:

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12.12.38 Garry LV0 arrives, immediately followed by Affric 152, both fly in from the east

12.17.58 Garry leaves the left-hand perch for a mating attempt, not successful, but she doesn't rebuff him, just gives a little wing-lift

12.18.25 Alarm chipping - both look intently to the left and at the camera then Affric leaves in a hurry, quickly followed by Garry - both head eastwards flying up towards the logo.

Affric swings round and flies westwards

12.18.52 Affric lands on Stick Tree

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(zoomed)

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Nest One

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12.24.16 Garry LV0 returns with a huge clump of moss

12.47.55 Affric leaves Stick Tree and returns to the nest, landing eleven seconds later - if you listen intently, you can hear her fish-calling

13.11.56 Garry leaves

13.12.47 Garry returns with a thin twiggy stick - Affric's fish calling

14.07.18 Garry departs, not far as Affric keeps calling

14.29.17 Garry returns - with moss! Affric isn't happy, calls ramp up, both move to their respective perches

15.10.15 Garry leaves, doesn't return again today

15.19.07 Affric departs for the day too

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She's been on the nest 2.5 hours calling most of that time, but no fish. Garry is going to have to work harder to make her pair with him.

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Nest One

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13.11.38 Garry LV0 arrives with FISH! Trout? Hard to see, but definitely half-eaten. No, it's a flatfish

Ironically, Affric doesn't put in an appearance

13.12.24 He departs with his fish, flying westwards out of sight

(zoomed)

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