22 July 2025
SK Hideaways shares a video of Lady returning home to the WBSE nest in the Olympic Park in Sydney after a two-night absence. How tragic this could have been. So relieved. https://youtu.be/yjHWorX70IE?
Talk about another concern for the year unfolding until this golden moment.
Raptor Persecution UK: Peregrines fledge as investigation into the stamping of first clutch continues at St Alban’s Cathedral, UK.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Monday 21st July 2025
Both Darach 7P0 and Breac 7P7 are flying strongly and making good landings, barring the odd crash landing as Breac did today, and spending a great deal of time away from the nest, returning in the hope of being fed. At the time of filing this report (midnight) the nest has been empty for some time as both chicks are opting to spend the night perching in trees like adult Ospreys rather than lying on the nest. They go very quickly from flapping their wings and peering over the edge of the nest to fledging and staying out overnight! Nest cam watchers are suffering from Empty Nest Syndrome (ENS) but we can expect to have the pleasure of the chicks’ occasional company for a little longer before they set off on their epic journey south to Africa. Louis brought three fish to the nest today, the first two were shared by both chicks but only Breac was around to share the third fish with Dorcha. Louis’ tally now stand at three hundred and thirty one, it’s possible he might feed them off nest but only fish brought to the nest are included in the tally. Dorcha will need to feed up before she sets off on migration – in previous years she has brought a total of two fish to the nest, once for herself when she and Louis reunited on 10th April 2023, and once last year on 27th June when Louis was unable to provide fish for the chicks who were subsequently removed and placed on the translocation programme. It will be interesting to see if she brings a fish before leaving Loch Arkaig this year, she was kept busy today seeing off persistent Hooded Crows and for now will continue to rely on Louis for fish. Garry brought two fish to Nest One for Aurora, and his tally rise to one hundred and thirty three. The rain set in this evening, it’s raining now and forecast to continue overnight and all day tomorrow, with an even temperature spread of 15
°C to 17°C.Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 23.06.11 (03.47.07); Nest Two 22.53.56 (03.48.27)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/gUfoE9cW-jY N2 Both chicks are on the nest when Louis brings the first fish04.27.17
https://youtu.be/IdMhLFxTgUc N2 Dorcha and the two chicks greet Louis bringing the second fish 05.17.24
https://youtu.be/cVnRDTNgI9g N1 Garry LV0 brings a breakfast fish for Aurora 06.57.09
https://youtu.be/_IOi93jpKZA N2 Dorcha plays chase with Hooded Crows on and off the nest 11.51.24
https://youtu.be/Ssfmft_FLfQ N1 Aurora gets a second fish from Garry 14.04.39
https://youtu.be/uscyJR5yvXs N2 Breac crash lands on the nest to get fish number three 17.01.48 Bonus podcast – Woodland Trust’s Woodland Walks:
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/tLf_gt9SeJg N1 You little plucker! Unhappy Rannoch nips her mum 2019
https://youtu.be/9AKeLfu1bkc N1 Vera & Captain track Doddie as he returns 2020
https://youtu.be/nUygc6nQVDo N1 Everyone pays attention when RAF Airbus ZM415 flies low past the nest 2020
https://youtu.be/wzmzLuDZqh8 N1 Doddie eats a fish full of fish! 2020
https://youtu.be/AYLqHNPNjBg N2 Dorcha & Louis react furiously to intruder Ospreys 2022
https://youtu.be/MVMad-tdWEY N2 Upstart Crow invades the nest 2022
https://youtu.be/EuIBG6Jr7-4 N2 Tug of trout! Dramatic fight by the chicks 2022
https://youtu.be/9NT23F7pAQo N2 Loch Arkaig Ospreys and Woodland Trust’s George on STV Evening News 2022
https://youtu.be/hfrsSbzGVx8 N2 Simply spectacular sunset seen on nest cam 2022 (speeded up)
https://youtu.be/-WYnf2UNrM8 N1 Affric and Garry look cosy together 2023
https://youtu.be/9ammyKprKoE N1 The welcome sight of Prince arriving to join Affric 2023
https://youtu.be/0ov8gkDNCao N1 Garry brings fish3 for Affric 2023
https://youtu.be/VNxRHm7h66U N2 Ludo departs, will he return tonight? 2023
https://youtu.be/xjqv-5EWRFA N1 Three Ospreys on the nest: Affric 152, Garry LV0 and Dorcha! 2024
https://youtu.be/J4Y2emy_rkM N2 RDF visits Louis on the nest 2024
https://youtu.be/umi0spLP–4 N1 Affric follows Garry to the nest 2024
Birds of Poole Harbour News:
‘PB’ reports that two of the three osplets at OPPD Fort Calhoun in Nebraska have fledged!
Usk Valley: 9K5 fledges!
One of the most remarkable events today comes from a deceased osprey male 4K of Belvoir Castle (near to where we lived in the UK). He raised only two chicks. That is a 100% success. Have a read! 4K is a grandfather. I am in tears. 4K was the hero of Sacha Dench’s Conservation without Borders documentary on the flyway between the UK and West Africa. He sadly died on a power pole.
Geemeff writes, “Simon Curtin, author of If You Build It, He Will Come, emailed me to say that the female of the first pair of Ospreys to breed in East Anglia after an absence of 250 years is none other than Blue 2H7, Blue 4K’s chick!! She’s paired with an unringed male, and Tim Mackrill has confirmed they have two chicks.
Furthermore Simon tells me her brother Blue 2H8 has been sighted back at Belvoir Castle last year and again this year, although not paired up.
What are the odds?! Blue 4K was sat-tagged and tracked by Sacha Dench on the Flight of the Osprey expedition and sighted in his winter quarters in Guinea. He was a 2013 Rutland bird who bred for the first time at nine years old in 2022, produced two chicks at Belvoir then sadly died in Africa returning from migration in 2023. And both of those chicks have been sighted back in the UK – simply astounding and astronomical odds.
Simon’s book is about the attempt to attract Ospreys back to Belvoir after an absence of two hundred years by building nest platforms under the guidance of Tim Mackrill. The project was successful when 4K arrived and paired up with an unringed female and they produced 2H7 and 2H8 who turned out to be his only offspring. George, Steve Quinn and I were thanked in the credits as Woodland Trust gave permission for us to provide fish stats, video and photos of the two Loch Arkaig nests as the Belvoir nests don’t have nest cams.
The book is an easy read and highly recommended.”
Thank you to SK Hideaways, Geemeff and Simon Curtain as well as Geemeff’s Woodland Trust report, Pam Breci, Usk Valley, St Albans, Raptor Persecution UK, and Birds of Poole Harbour for their reports, their images, and their streaming cams. Much appreciated.
