Welcome to Loch Arkaig Ospreys season 8
Will Louis and Dorcha return to Nest 2?
Will someone take up residence in Nest 1?
Will any of Louis' chicks with Aila and Dorcha be sighted?
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
.
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:
Louis gets blown backwards as he comes in to land with fish number four in a gust of wind:
13.16.45 Fish number four, another lively whole trout. Dorcha takes it immediately and the chicks sit up.
He actually got blown backwards as he started to land on the nest.
13.17.05 Louis departs quickly. The wind is howling, or at least sounds like it over the mic, not the 'light winds' of the weather forecast.
What a whopper!
15.39.12 Fish number five arrives - It's HUGE! Louis flies in from the left with a massive whole trout
15.40.37 Louis departs and the fish can be seen in all its glory
15.42.21 Chick3 leans in for a quick peck at the fish. Don’t think it actually got any, but an excellent sign of progress.
I can’t get over how big the chicks look now, very strong. Of course they’re lucky they’ve got such great parents.
Wow! Another 6-fish day!
20.41.21 Fish number six! Louis stays on the nest and stands guard as there are Hooded Crows around, heard nearby but not seen
20.41.38 Dorcha uses her crow voice and she and Louis are both looking over the edge every now and then.
Daily summary Thursday 6th June 2024
Another six-fish day today! Louis is excelling himself, and just as well as the chicks are growing by the hour and constantly hungry despite sporting golf-ball crops. His tally rises to one hundred and sixty eight, and Dorcha carries on doing an excellent job of sharing out the fish. She might not need to for much longer as even chick3 tried having a nibble today, didn't succeed in getting any, but is definitely showing progress - and chick3 also knows to stay out of the way when the older two start their dominance wars. The only action on Nest One today was a visit from a Jay. The weather was very unsettled, the wind seemed stronger than the light wind which was forecast, it rained on and off throughout the day, and tonight's forecast is for heavy rain and a gentle breeze.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.34.10 (02.35.54); Nest Two 22.53.15 (03.51.39)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/gRHFJ3guckM N2 Fish number one, whole trout, flapping 04.26.48
https://youtu.be/Hc8vi0Cu3Ow N2 Fish number two arrives an hour after the first 05.31.36
https://youtu.be/vyeodgjScdQ N2 Fish number three, another flapping trout 11.28.16
https://youtu.be/ix7t4W1kjlg N1 A Jay visits and perches for a few moments 11.44.55
https://youtu.be/5R1dTZvaJqM N2 Fish number four, lively trout, arrives in a gust of wins 13.16.45
https://youtu.be/T6gbL4s71z0 N2 Fish number five, an absolute whopper whole trout 15.39.12
https://youtu.be/Zw8u--WlwOo N2 Fish number six arrives and Louis stands guard against crows 20.41.21
Bonus retail therapy - Woodland Trust are having a sale, bargains galore, have a look:
https://shop.woodlandtrust.org.uk/summer-sale
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/PSpl1ZDtGM8 N1 Bob1 bashes Bob2 to prevent her getting fed 2019 (slo-mo)
https://youtu.be/pEGDvB-G8QE N1 Acrobatic Aila does handstands 2020
https://youtu.be/2bkBBksOu4g N1 Be careful mum! Aila drags Bob3 out of the nest cup 2020 (Slo-Mo)
https://youtu.be/RPu-hNcphjc N1 Be careful dad! Louis stands on the bobs 2020 (Slo-Mo)
https://youtu.be/oQ7tWwuWHRw N1 The bobs play poo sticks 2020
https://youtu.be/LQf4pBL8axQ N2 Breakfast for the chicks including day-old Bob3 2022
https://youtu.be/2HAt_Xj2qIA N2 One day old Bob3 demands and gets a really good feed 2022
https://youtu.be/L0A9BO_sEwU N2 Tawny Owl strike 2023 (real time)
https://youtu.be/vwV0CSTXDcI N2 Tawny Owl strike 2023 (slo-mo)
https://youtu.be/au75jd0XBi4 N1 Ménest à trois? Affric & LV0 together without Prince 2023
https://youtu.be/SYD_vlEqAoo N1 LV0 brings a tv aerial 2023
https://youtu.be/Bkflj5NDmc4 N2 Indignant chick has a go at mum when food's not offered 2023
https://youtu.be/3-P2RHjTOa4 N1 Prince brings a small fish snack to Nest One 2023
Glider said:I can’t get over how big the chicks look now, very strong. Of course they’re lucky they’ve got such great parents.
They grow as you watch, Glider! C1 & 2 are 15 days old today and C3 is 13 days old. They are amazing - can no longer fit under Dorcha, she's having to extend her wings slightly to shelter them from the rain, which must be very tiring for her.
Louis is great at providing fish, and Dorcha is great at sharing it out. Makes me sad for those nests which struggle because of inexperienced or inattentive adults.
This nest is a pleasure to watch even if Louis keeps me on my toes trying to keep up with recording him.
Fish number one arrives on a soggy day 07.18.28
07.18.28 Fish number one, headless trout,unusually late for Louis, but that's probably due to the foul weather
09.13.15 Dorcha returns with a chunky stick and proceeds to cause havoc.
She moves around with it for quite a while so I speeded up the sequence x3.
Eventually she settles down but one of the chicks gives her quite a look as if to say - are you done with that now, are we safe yet?
Dorcha causes havoc with a stick Round Two!
10.11.00 The chicks are home alone minding their own business peacefully for once
10.11.16 Dorcha arrives with a huge stick and proceeds to bash the chicks.
10.13.25 She finally places it to her satisfaction and flies off again
14.10.49 Louis delivers fish number two, a big whole trout
14.11.34 Louis departs, didn't stay long, 46 seconds, just a drop and go really.