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

Geemeff
01/06/2024 01:04

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
  • 09/09/2024 21:38

    Final daily summary Monday 9th September 2024

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    Quoting WTS George: As the dried up flounder tail of time finally descends into the expectant crop of autumn, I notice it's nearly the end of our season... I'm sorry I haven't an Osprey, but here's one I prepared earlier: A rollercoaster season in 2024: triumph, tragedy, and plenty more! Season's highlights captured from Nest Cam Two, I'll be doing a separate highlights video for Nest One in due course which will be on my YouTube channel and I'll also post it on Adam's site,  https://walkingwithdaddy.com/osprey/  To keep in touch over winter, Adam welcomes everyone to his site, it also uses Hyvor, and for those on Facebook there is the Friends of Loch Arkaig. It has been an eventful season, all part of nature in the raw, and it will be interesting to see what next year brings. Hoping for two resident families next year.

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    Many thanks to everyone for their company during the season, special thanks to George for this forum, and Woodland Trust for allowing me to clip bits off their livestreams for my own amusement, Steve Q for the fish stats, Liz B for the wonderful off-nest reports, Beverley for the overnight reports, and Postcode Lottery for funding the nest cams. Extra special thanks to Brenda J for keeping me up to date when I'm away by sending me frequent fishmails, much appreciated.

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    I look forward to Spring 2025 and Season Nine for the Loch Arkaig Ospreys.

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    Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 20.39.55 (05.57.58); Nest Two 20.35.01 (06.05.38)

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    Today’s videos: 

    https://youtu.be/DO7XJOA6OEs A rollercoaster season in 2024: triumph, tragedy, and plenty more! Season's highlights 2024

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    Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

    https://youtu.be/XUYF6OEpQ88  N2 Sarafina does a fly-by before landing 2022

    https://youtu.be/sUpzBM54QHY  N2 Thief! A Raven arrives and steals a stick 2022

    https://youtu.be/PLOmU0AJ8nM  N2 Several little birds come and go on the empty nest 2022

    https://youtu.be/BQC_B1pN3tk  N2 Lights at night near the nest - deer management team 2022

    https://youtu.be/5LK7YZ2CtZ8  N2 Confirmed - final sighting of Sarafina LW6 2022

    https://youtu.be/6h4T2QWS_68  N2 Three Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) visit 2023

  • 09/09/2024 21:41

    A rollercoaster season in 2024: triumph, tragedy, and plenty more! Season's highlights 2024

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  • 10/09/2024 12:57 in reply to Geemeff

    Thank you for the nest 2 summary video Geemeff. It was sad to watch with so much hope at the beginning with 3 healthy chicks being born, knowing the tragedy of what was to happen next, I had to fast forward some parts. Cry One chick making it is still a success though and also good to see Louis making some sort of recovery. Poor Dorcha just wouldn’t have known what happened this year after all the successes of the years up to now. I wish her and Louis well in their migration. They might be there by now and hope they both come back fighting fight next year. I don’t know if 1JW will migrate far from Spain but I’m sure we’ll hear if he does. 

    Thank you for all of your superb updates and attention to both nests Geemeff. We thought Garry would find a mate this year but it wasn’t to be. I guess a lot of females will never reach this far norPray on their journeys and find other sites on their way up. Next year may be his turn for success. Pray I know you keep yourself busy on other sites but you deserve a well earned rest! Hugging

  • 10/09/2024 14:56 in reply to Glider

    I certainly endorse  your post Glider. (I couldn't watch the sad bits either)

  • 12/09/2024 11:10 in reply to Cirrus

    Good morning from sunny St Ives in Cornwall - taking a break for a few days. Thanks for your feedback on the video, I didn't want to either highlight or minimise the sad bits, but found while choosing from the hundreds of video clips that those really were the main events. It was a weird season, but - we did fledge one chick, and Louis appears to be better and he and Dorcha are still strongly pair-bonded.

    I'm told as of a few days ago 1JW and most of the cohort were still in Spain, only two had left, so counting that as a huge success against the odds. Woodland Trust had to put up with a lot of flack on taking the decision firstly to feed the chicks and secondly to arrange the translocation. New and very vocal people came out of the woodwork to voice their opinions loudly. That is their right, of course, it's a public forum. However, most long term posters agreed with and applauded Woodland Trust's decision. As did I.

    Thanks Cirrus, Glider, Sandra and the handful of others who've stayed with me through this strange season - wishing you all the best, and holding thumbs for better things next year in Season Nine.

    G

  • 19/09/2024 15:36

    News from Spain: the surviving Arkaig chick 1JW has left on migration.

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    WTSAdmin Wednesday 18th September
     

    We have had an update from Spain.

    Itziar said: "We believe that the last remaining Ospreys have migrated. I say "believe" as sometimes they leave the marsh for a few days before returning for a while prior to beginning their migration. 1JW left the marsh last Tuesday and so far hasn't returned, although we are monitoring the site on a daily basis. I believe that if he hasn't returned by say tomorrow, we can presume that he's on his migration.

    He was the penultimate bird to leave, the last one leaving a day later."

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    No sighting of 1JW (Chick 1) today, 19th September, so we can mark his last sighting on Tuesday 10th September as the day he left the Pego-Oliva marsh and headed south on migration.

    We wish 1JW fair winds and plenty of fish, and hope to see him back at the Pego-Oliva marsh in a couple of years.

  • 19/10/2024 08:57

    2024 season highlights just published by Woodland Trust - what a bittersweet season, but thank goodness one chick managed to fledge thanks to the timely intervention of WT and the assistance of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Fundación Migres.

    Fingers crossed for the safe return of Louis & Dorcha next year and a successful Season Nine for the Arkaig Ospreys.

  • 11/12/2024 09:59

    Good morning - with the foul weather, the solar panels are only able to power the nest cams occasionally, but here are two visitors spotted when the cams were up a couple of days ago on 8th December.

    A Sparrowhawk (Accipter Nisus) visited Nest Two and a Raven (Corvus Corax) visited Nest One.