Welcome to Loch Arkaig Ospreys season 9
Will both Louis and Dorcha return to Nest 2 ️ ️
Will Osplets fledge safely on Nest 2
Will someone take up residence on Nest 1 MAYBE...
Will any of Louis' chicks with Aila and Dorcha be sighted
Link to previous thread:
Loch Arkaig June 2024 - February 2025
2025 season:
Dorcha arrived 14.04.19 Wednesday 2 April
Louis arrived 19.47.44 Wednesday 2 April
Affric & Prince landed on Nest One 11.47.48 & 11.48.02 Tuesday 8 April
Garry LV0 arrived 09.27 58 Wednesday 9 April
First egg! 17.52.55 Wednesday 16 April
Blue 536 arrived 10.53.46 Friday 18 April
Second egg! 12.56.16 Saturday 19 April
Third egg! 10.30.10 Tuesday 22 April
Hello Aurora! WTS name Blue 536 Monday 5 May
Season's highlights 2024: A rollercoaster season in 2024: triumph, tragedy, and plenty more!
Season Eight for the Loch Arkaig Ospreys was a strange roller coaster of a season with unrelenting bad weather plus Louis going AWOL for days, probably due to illness, leading to a lack of fish deliveries and ultimately the deaths of Chicks 2&3. But Chick1 survived to fledge, thanks to Woodland Trust arranging for a placement on a translocation programme under the auspices of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Fundación Migres in Valencia, Spain, and Louis & Dorcha are still strongly pair-bonded, and we are thrilled to see them both back safely this year for Season Nine.
Key facts:
Louis arrived 15.18.38 Thursday 28 March
Dorcha arrived 14.21.27 Saturday 30 March
Garry LV0 arrived 09.35.01 Tuesday 9 April
First Egg laid 11.13.47 Sunday 14 April
Second egg laid 05.55.52 Wednesday 17 April
Dorcha is injured in an Eagle attack 11.08 Friday 19 April
Third egg laid 02.26.08 Saturday 20 April
First chick hatched 06.16.48 Wednesday 22 May
Second chick hatched 22.26.15 Wednesday 22 May
Third chick hatched 16.36.10 Friday 24 May
Sad death of little Chick3 approx 19.02 Sunday 16 June
Louis last seen Wednesday 26 June
Louis returns with fish, uninjured, but clearly not not well Saturday 29 June
Chicks1&2 are removed to a translocation programme, both assessed male Monday 1 July
Chicks ringed with Spanish yellow Darvic rings: C1 - 1JW & C2 - 1JR Thursday 11 July
Sadly 1JR started having seizures and succumbed to a heart condition Tuesday 23 July
FLEDGE! Surviving chick 1JW found his wings and flew 3pm Thursday 25 July
Dorcha last seen on Nest One 11.19.43 Saturday 27 July
Louis last seen on Nest Two 13.31.18 Tuesday 30 July
Garry LV0 last seen on Nest One 13.35.57 Thursday 22 August
Garry LV0 sighted in Senegal 22 - 23 December
The Tawnies were calling all through the night as it was only raining sporadically - I'm afraid we must expect an attack sometime soon, Glider. Their owlets will be branching soon, exploring their nest tree, and that's when the female will attack. A great pity we can't make her understand Ospreys only eat fish!
Nest Two 08.58.47 Fish number one, headless trout
.
08.58.47 Dorcha seizes it and has a few nibbles
09.00.08 She departs with the fish leaving Louis to egg-sit
Nest One Good to see you back - hello Garry!
09.14 A bird is seen flying towards the nest
09.14.28 It’s Garry LV0, not seen since the day before yesterday. He lands bringing some bedding and does some nest-scraping before jumping up to the left-hand perch. After a long while, he jumps down onto the nest again and moves over to the right, looking around, surveying his territory
N1 09.58.24 Garry LV0 leaves, flying back the way he came
Nest Two 16.10.05 Fish number two, headless trout
16.08 Dorcha is on the nest, looking around
16.08.39 She startles and flies off, leaving the nest unguarded 16.09.11 She returns
16.10.05 Louis arrives with fish number two, a headless trout which is seized by Dorcha
16.10.53 Dorcha departs with her fish, Louis settles on the egg
16.15.45 Louis is startled by someone, he flies off as Dorca flies past with the fish - she circles around a couple of times seen in the background
16.16.10 Louis returns
16.16.36 Dorcha returns and both remain on the nest looking round warily
Daily summary Thursday 17th April 2025
After the excitement of the first egg arriving yesterday, today fell into a steady routine. Louis delivered two fish taking his tally to thirty seven, he and Dorcha spent time on the nest, sometimes together, sometimes taking turns off the nest. A Hooded Crow nearby, not seen on nest cam, made the pair startle and fly off the nest but not for long, and the egg, barely seen in its cocoon of moss, was mostly kept covered from the light rain. The second egg is due in three days, should be sometime on Saturday, but delayed incubation is being practised until it’s laid, and this egg won't suffer from being left unbrooded for short periods. Over on Nest One, Garry LV0 returned with some bedding and spent some time doing nest prep and surveying his territory. The overnight forecast is for mist turning into light rain tomorrow but there should be some dry and sunny spells.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 21.37.43 (05.23.58); Nest Two 21.40.39 (05.29.07)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/94MaMt_CENM N2 Dorcha carefully tends the egg 01.23.30
https://youtu.be/CnwSIqV7HJ0 N2 Dorcha nibbles the first fish before leaving Louis to egg-sit 08.58.47
https://youtu.be/d4JCzUL6RlA N1 Garry LV0 brings bedding and stays to survey his territory 09.14.28
https://youtu.be/ObDC3cxYrsI N2 Second fish arrives but the pair are troubled by unseen intruders 16.10.05
Bonus watch - the Beò Airceig initiative founded by Achnacarry Estate, Arkaig Community Forest, Forestry & Land Scotland and Woodland Trust Scotland to revitalise an area larger than Edinburgh:
https://bsky.app/profile/wtscotsocial.bsky.social/post/3lhsrjkwdpt2z
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/d3Y9CGoYsvY N1 Bold Hoodie takes advantage of Aila's absence 2020
https://youtu.be/UPtm4jmy9Zo N1 Louis finally manages to subdue a tricky stick 2021
https://youtu.be/mZYG9XNCof8 N2 How to tell Louis & Dorcha apart 2022
https://youtu.be/NIeUiK4R_r8 N2 Noisy helicopter gets Louis & Dorcha's attention 2023
https://youtu.be/GITGVoOkg2o N1 & 2 Hercules caught on both nest cams 2023 (split-screen zoom)
https://youtu.be/n974C1G3zig N2 Moody cloudy sunset 2023 (time lapse)
https://youtu.be/SGa5_hOLmmg N2 The second egg arrives! 2024 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/oJc06aWLkAg N1 Garry LV0 brings fish but no one comes for it 2024
https://youtu.be/DUPOg7KJH_U N1 Affric calls for fish but Garry brings a branch 18.07.48
New female on Nest One!! Blue 536
N1 10.52.57 Affric/152 lands looking wary
10.53.41 Another osprey approaches the nest and lands beside Affric who takes off. It's a Scottish female Blue 536 . She alarm chips to defend the nest from 152. An aerial chase follows with lots of alarm chipping heard and occasional glimpses of osprey
10.56.14 Affric lands followed by tBlue 536. Affric leaves
10.57.18 Then Affric lands briefly while the other female circles round.
09.32.34 Fish number one, lively whole trout
09.32.34 Louis arrives with fish number one, a lively whole smallish trout which Dorcha seizes immediately
09.33.09 Dorcha departs with her breakfast and Louis settles down to egg-sitting
New Scottish female Blue 536 encounters Affric 152 on & near Nest One
10.52.57 Affric 152 arrives
10.53.46 A blue ringed female arrives, Affric leaves immediately
10.54.13 New female flies off, hovers overhead, makes warning calls, feathers seen extreme right - Affric, presumably
10.54.16 Female lands
10.54.29 She departs in a hurry - lots of flying around from both females seen in the distance and near the nest
10.56.14 Affric returns - departs quickly
10.56.23 Female lands, her ring is Blue 536
10.56.36 Blue 536 departs
10.57.18 Affric 152 returns, gives warning calls, the other female is flying nearby
10.57.22 Affric departs quickly
It was a very confusing sequence, I think I've unpicked it correctly, please let me know if you see it differently
Nest One 11.46 Is it a love match when Garry LV0 meets female Blue 536?
11.46.58 An Osprey lands - it's the new female Blue 536
11.56.53 Garry LV0 follows right behind her, landing on her back for a mating attempt. Looks like they might have met up off-camera. There's some to-ing and fro-ing and a few more attempts, none successful, but she's not rejecting him aggressively
12.00.13 After another attempt, Garry LV0 departs in a camera glitch, leaving her on the nest
12.01.08 Blue 536 departs, flying out of sight to the right and soon after an Osprey is seen in the near distance flying right to left across the camera view.