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
  • Nest Two

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    10.38.11 Garry LV0 lands with moss followed by Affric 152! Alarm chipping

    10.38.29 Both Affric and Garry leave flying off to the right as Dorcha appears

    10.38.30 Dorcha lands and hops onto the side perch

    10.39 onwards Dorcha is watching something overhead, presumably LV0 or Affric.

    10.40.48 She alarm chips and continues to mantle

    10.41.18 Alarm chips heard off cam. An Osprey flies round and hovers above Dorcha - it's Garry LV0 - see enlarged freezeframe at the end of the clip - and he circles round, alarm chipping.

    11.34.00 Dorcha leaves

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  • Daily summary Friday 26th July 2024

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    The Lochenders saga continued today with a game of musical nests - after an absence of two days, Dorcha turned up paying a visit to Nest One while Garry LV0 was there, and then Affric 152 and Garry LV0 visited Nest Two, flying off very quickly when Dorcha appeared. Where were Louis and Prince while this was going on? Was Prince back at Bunarkaig looking after his and Affric's chick? Was Louis having a leisurely fishing session? Is he still around? As usual, the only answer is 'wait and see'. RAF jets did a flypast but both nests were empty at the time. More good news from Spain with a tweeted photo of our chick 1JW out and about exploring the neighbourhood, and the message "We are told all the birds are continuing to feed well after taking to the skies for the first time yesterday." 1JW is certainly better off in sunny Spain - it rained throughout the day here, there's a chance of rain tonight and tomorrow with a high of only 17°C.

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    Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.01.49 (04.04.45); Nest Two 22.58.14 (04.15.15)

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    Today’s videos:

    https://youtu.be/IQMVxtoxhek N1 Garry LV0 visits bringing moss 08.25.36

    https://youtu.be/TkmVmX5YaVA  N1 Dorcha spends time with Garry LV0 already there 09.18.24

    https://youtu.be/MRew3k_UKwA  N2 Dorcha isn't amused when Affric 152 & Garry LV0 invade her nest 10.38.11

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    Bonus tweet - photo of Loch Arkaig Osprey chick 1JW in Spain exploring his new neighbourhood:

    https://x.com/geemeff/status/1816971724186910778

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    Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

    https://youtu.be/GrVXgF0XtTI  N1 Captain nips Louis' leg 2020

    https://youtu.be/LXVBy7anRo4 N1 Mum brings dinner: Aila delivers a whopper 2020

    https://youtu.be/Lj4S0NPDbLM N1 Doddie and the flatfish 2020

    https://youtu.be/p2y97A3kIv4  N1 Affric (Blue 152) calls for fish to no avail 2021

    https://youtu.be/BBdVW_8z9rI N2 Meet Aspen (LW3) & Alder (LW4), Louis’ chicks with new mate Dorcha 2021 (thanks Lewis) 

    https://youtu.be/7Yz_fuHpp8Q OMG! Tawny Owl pulls Willow off the nest! 2022 (slo-mo)

    https://youtu.be/qYDQTkEH89o N2 Relief as Willow finally returns, is unhurt 2022

    https://youtu.be/4plSH4d1ves  N1 &2 Flypast by USAF jets 2022

    https://youtu.be/XP2ydlIOQkY  N1 Garry appears out of the mist bringing a big stick 2023

    https://youtu.be/isjMxlmejNs  N1 One member of the threesome visits, no one else comes 2023

    https://youtu.be/8-31dibUJCo  N2 Ludo flies with fish for the first time - accidentally! 2023

    https://youtu.be/XROITiomjHE N2 Ludo achieves another milestone - flies with fish intentionally 2023

  • Nest Two

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    07.34.53 A little wren appears from under the nest

    07.36.09 The wren starts singing

    08.09.53 A Tree Pipit arrives, followed by a second. Watch the tail bob.

    08.15.40 - 081906 Three then four Tree Pipits arrive, they look like newly fledged youngsters exploring the world for the first time.

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  • Nest One

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    10.09.53 Garry LV0 arrives with a stick and does a bit of nest tidying, but keeps looking up

    10.11.23 Someone unseen is alarm-chipping off cam

    10.13.14 Garry leaves, flying to the right and out of sight

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  • Nest One

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    10.42.47 Garry LV0 arrives

    10.44.15 Garry flies off as an Osprey approaches

    10.44.19 Dorcha lands followed by Garry. A third Osprey is heard alarm chipping

    10.44.54 Both suddenly fly off as another Osprey flies over, brief flash of a blue ring, is it Affric 152?

    Dorcha flies left and circles round while Garry flies to the right

    10.45.12 Dorcha lands in Stick Tree

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  • Nest One

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    11:19:25 Dorcha leaves Stick Tree and flies back to the nest (zoomed)

    11.19.38 Dorcha lands and makes a very brief touchdown on the nest, alarm-chips a couple of times

    11.19.43 Dorcha flies off again, flies to the right and out of sight

  • Nest One

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    15.59.11 Garry LV0 returns for a very brief visit, he’s watching something above the nest

    15.59.21 Garry departs just ten seconds later, flying to the right

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  • Daily summary Saturday 27th July 2024

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    All the action took place on Nest One today, apart from a sweetly singing Wren and some juvenile Tree Pipits exploring Nest Two. Garry LV0 paid three visits, the first time bringing a stick and doing a bit of nest work, the second time Dorcha arrived soon after he did and then both took off in a hurry when a third Osprey, possibly Affric 152, flew overhead with a brief flash of blue Darvic ring. A little later Dorcha returned for a very brief visit, and Garry returned mid afternoon for his third visit which lasted all of ten seconds. No sign of Louis today. LizB provided another update on the Bunarkaig nest, link in the bonus section, the chick was on the nest so either hasn't fledged yet or had returned for food. The weather was a little unsettled, and at one time it was raining on Nest Two but not on Nest One, showing the difference made by the few kilometres separating the two nests. Tonight's forecast is light clouds and light winds, with the prospect of a dry sunny day tomorrow.

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    Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.20.14 (03.33.35); Nest Two 23.23.32 (04.01.46)

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    Today’s videos:

    https://youtu.be/5cs0x94tC-A N2 A sweet little singer and a variety of little birds visit 07.34.53

    https://youtu.be/OuuyJzYB3ZM N1 Garry LV0 brings a stick and does some nest prep 10.09.53

    https://youtu.be/K3oYtZEf5MA N1 Dorcha visits Garry LV0 but another Osprey makes them flee 10.42.47

    https://youtu.be/6FoEZpmrZks  N1 Dorcha pays another visit 11.19.25 (zoom)

    https://youtu.be/iXEdt1LR4_s N1 Garry LV0 returns for a very brief visit 15.59.11

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    Bonus update on the Bunarkaig nest (thanks LizB):

    https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=15491480

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    Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

    https://youtu.be/_Z48xWVluSw  N1 Oi mum! Careful with that! 2019

    https://youtu.be/1Y9dGaIFCAc N1 FLEDGE! Rannoch finds her wings 2019

    https://youtu.be/TPzBKE5vAEU N1 Aila & Louis steal a moment alone together 2020

    https://youtu.be/aBuSSB6OHM0 N1 Louis and the lively fish - everyone wants it 2020

    https://youtu.be/dmO1Gqac36Q  N1 Affric nips Prince as he tries to steal her fish 2021

    https://youtu.be/TbSOZNCrLNE  N2 Dorcha gets nipped when she tries to steal Willow's fish 2022

    https://youtu.be/PlVdlOWq8DE  N2 Dorcha gives Sarafina a bit of stick and gets a nip 2022

    https://youtu.be/3-PXNmOwWMk N2 Ludo arrives squeaking, lands on the high perch 2023

    https://youtu.be/MbYW39m11JA N1 A flock of little visitors - Mistle Thrushes? 2023

    https://youtu.be/NE8wpBW9wf8 N2 Louis gives a fish to Dorcha and does a bit of nest cupping 2023

    https://youtu.be/z1_voshU-z8  N2 Flight of the Bumbling Hoodies (Classic Ospreys Rimsky-Korsakov) 2023 (quicktime) https://youtu.be/HxQNOrkv2u8 N1 Garry brings moss and takes it away again 2023

    https://youtu.be/J0o52mX6AAQ N2 Dorcha is intruded upon first by Ospreys then by Hoodies 2023 (zoom)

  • Nest One

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    05.42.30 Sky-dancing is heard

    05.43.20 Affric 152 lands on the nest, turning her head constantly watching the sky

    05.45.24 Garry LVO arrives with a fish which Affric grabs immediately, starts to eat while he coy-mantles.

    05.46.09 Affric leaves with her breakfast - taking it back to her own nest for her chick?

    05.47.25 Garry does a little nest work before departing

    Cropped screenshots of the fish added at the end for ID purposes - pike?

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  • Nest One

    .Garry's fish delivered at 05.45.24 has been identified as a perch. This is a first for the area and also a bit of a cause for concern as this species shouldn't be in this area.

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    WTS George says:  

     That looks to me like a perch, which is a coarse fish species I was not aware was in the district.

    Stripes but also as it is being flown in you can see its spiny dorsal fin.

    I tweeted it to Lochaber Fisheries Trust to see if they know these were around. While very common across the UK I don’t think they would be regarded as native in the highlands. Those concerned with trout and salmon populations will not be pleased to see them. They are enthusiastic predators of smaller fish and so will eat lots of parr.

    Spent my youth catching these in the Forth and Clyde canal and elsewhere.

    It could be that some pike angler has brought some to use as live bait and tipped the unused ones at the end of the day. That happens a lot with minnows which also don’t belong in highland lochs and can disrupt the ecology.