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

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

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

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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.  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 nor on their journeys and find other sites on their way up. Next year may be his turn for success. I know you keep yourself busy on other sites but you deserve a well earned rest! 

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

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

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

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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.

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.

Nest One and surroundings looking magical in the snow