Monday in Bird World

4 August 2025

Hello Everyone,

Late Updates:

Heidi’s report first as it contains some late breaking news:

OBX (Outer Banks):  ‘Latte’ (the younger sibling) fludge-fledged at slightly less than 52 days of age.  At 10:22 on 8/2 Latte was getting into position to eat a fish, when s/he became unbalanced on the edge of the nest and fell.  Latte was later seen on the ground, and was making low, short flights. Latte spent some time sitting on a sea wall, but around 4 p.m. s/he went out of camera view, and could not be located.  On 8/3, there were a couple different occasions that led chatters to believe that Betsy was taking fish to Latte across the canal. Distant juvie calls could also be heard.  Fingers crossed that Latte will soon be able to fly back home.

Kent Island, Chesapeake:  On 8/1, Chick 2 ‘Yellow Band’ fledged at 52 days of age, while the cam was showing Highlights.

Meldrs, the eaglet of Latvian Golden Eagles, Spilve and Grislis, fledged at 89 days. Congratulations to everyone.

Sadly, the two recently fledged ospreys in Poland were predated by a hawk. More news on that later. Thanks, ‘AK’.

The Menhaden overfishing in Louisiana is finally getting some press. Commercial fishing along the Atlantic and Gulf will see the end of our beautiful ospreys – along with others that depend on Menhaden and similar fish for their food. Is there not anyone big enough to stop this?

https://www.louisianasportsman.com/…/fishermen…/…

It is the beginning of the first week in August. Where in the world did the summer go?

And what a week it has been. Hugo Yugo is unwell. It is not clear what is the issue. I am ‘feeding’ her every two hours – it is a long weekend in Canada (or a Bank Holiday in the UK) and this is the best we can do. Needless to say, my sweet little sick girl that came into our lives early last December after we lost Lewis is just causing me to weep and weep some more. She has lost a large amount of weight in a short amount of time. In a blink, actually. She began throwing up bile late yesterday and stopped eating today, wanting to be alone. There are no toxic plants in the house. She has not gotten into cleaning products, which are supposed to be pet safe. The only thing I have noticed is that she likes to eat Toby’s kibble when it has grated cheese with it. Is this the culprit? So, please send my little ginger sweetie good wishes as we push the ground-up kibble, kitten milk, and water into every 2 hours.

We spent four hours at the vet very late last night and came home. The triage system was busy! I forced Hugo Yugo to eat some sardines, and a little later, she was drinking water. She ate two little tins of food this morning. Hoorah.

There is lots of news. One recent event was an earthquake near the osprey nest of Louis and Dorcha in the Scottish Highlands.

Geemeff brings us up to date with the earthquake and Loch Arkaig:

Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig  Sunday 3rd August 2025
More fish and less confusion today – Louis delivered three fish to Nest Two, taking the nest tally to three hundred and eighty four, including Dorcha’s two deliveries. Dorcha got the first fish, Darach the second and Breac the third one. On Nest One, Affric 152 showed up for the third day in a row to receive a fish from Garry LV0, and his tally now stands at one hundred and thirty nine. Other birds visited the nests, a songbird and a Woodpecker on Nest One, and three Hooded Crows and a Sparrowhawk on Nest Two. These visitors will have the nests to themselves in a few weeks when the last of the Ospreys has left on migration. It rained heavily overnight but was dry during the day. However, Storm Floris is due to hit tomorrow bringing heavy rain and high winds and there’s a weather warning for the area and most of northern Scotland. Link to weather forecast for Inver Mallie, which covers the nest area, in the bonus section.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One  22.25.35 (04.41.48); Nest Two 22.21.24 (04.53.00)
Today’s videos: 

https://youtu.be/_n702NSBoGY N2 A Sparrowhawk visits when three Hooded Crows are on the nest 08.01.01 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/DH8U7GH3hkE N1 Two little visitors including a Woodpecker 10.27.30 

https://youtu.be/U5SgGqUtZdo N2 Louis brings the first fish and Dorcha grabs it quickly 10.35.34

https://youtu.be/DIZTMiIUWYs N2 Breac gets old fish one from Dorcha, Darach gets fish two from Louis 10.52.06

https://youtu.be/1CtAWNgr3QI N1 Garry LV0 brings a fish and Affric 152 comes to get it! 12.46.29

https://youtu.be/JRgkQi5Vz10 N2 Breac’s waiting on the nest and gets the third fish 19.21.39Bonus link – weather forecast for the Inver Mallie area to track Storm Floris:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2646094

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/F6JyzcMzk6s  N1 Eating and Squeaking: Rannoch steals Mallie’s fish 2019

https://youtu.be/X80auBko71c  N1 Now now children! Fish number three causes a fight 2020

https://youtu.be/fTDNze8_qT4  N1 Aila brings another fish, nest’s empty until Doddie arrives with the previous fish 2020 

https://youtu.be/gHkNqtDhJTc  N2 A rainbow arcs over Sarafina 2022 (quick time)

https://youtu.be/Sq78TveUke4  N2 A chick, a crow, a fishtail, two adults and lots of flying 2022

https://youtu.be/H5NLGpEwV1w  N2 Sarafina crash lands onto Willow and dislodges some feathers 2022

https://youtu.be/rfpv10J5dpk  N2 Ludo does a flypast before landing to get rid of Hoodies 2023

https://youtu.be/wPm1lio9lJc  N2 Hello George! Give us a wave!  2023 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/KrpwAO9bB_4  N1 Affric pleads in vain with Garry for fish  2023

https://youtu.be/nDfuqve9IbU  N2 Dorcha’s mid-air near-miss  2023   (slo-mo zoom)

https://youtu.be/CybrxBatD1Y  N2 Louis brings Dorcha a teeny tiny fish! 2023  (zoom)

https://youtu.be/6hztczD-J2o  N2  A Hoodie lands on Dorcha’s perch, a second on the cam pole 2024

https://youtu.be/bx54tIwLja4  N2 A Hoodie returns to the empty nest 2024

https://youtu.be/tjBR3H8XuYg  N2 A Coal Tit and a juvenile Great Tit flit around 2024

Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Saturday 2nd August 2025
A somewhat confusing day for the nest cam watchers with fish being lost, chicks tumbling off the nest, Hooded Crow invasions and mystery appearances. But sharp eyes managed to unpick it all – the mystery appearance was Dorcha making a ten second visit to Nest Two so she has not left on migration yet. The chicks were disturbed by the Hoodies when they invaded looking for any small scraps, but the crows weren’t around when Louis delivered his three fish, taking his tally to three hundred and seventy nine (nest total three hundred and eighty one). One of those fish was lost when Breac stole it from Darach and fled the nest, causing both chicks to look around as if it might reappear. Fortunately Darach had had a very good meal from it first, and doubtless some other forest dweller will be grateful for a free meal. For the second day in a row, Affric 152 made an appearance on Nest One and received a fish from Garry LV0 – his total rises to one hundred and thirty eight. With Aurora 536 not seen since the 28th, will Affric keep getting fish from Garry? Where is her mate Prince? No answers yet, as always, it’s wait and see. The weather was reasonably settled during the day but at the time of filing this report (02.00) heavy rain is falling as predicted, but tomorrow’s weather looks more promising with a forecast of sunny intervals, gentle breezes and a high of 18°C.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.30.32 (04.24.34); Nest Two 22.21.59 (04.27.03)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/vUn_kmWShyc N2 Pesky Hooded Crows invade the nest disturbing the chicks 07.54.12

https://youtu.be/B-IiNOfNGW4 N2 Darach arrives first and gets fish number one from Louis 08.14.54https://youtu.be/ixahvUdZX5g N2 Dorcha pays a ten second visit 09.20.21 (slo-mo zoom) https://youtu.be/jxxfjqRHjmM N2 Darach gets fish number two, causing Breac to fall off the nest! 14.24.25 https://youtu.be/trzbdJ9loEw N2 Breac finally gets the remains of fish two from Darach but promptly loses it! 15.34.06  https://youtu.be/uSIWF-eO9vg N1 Affric 152 visits and gets a fish from Garry LV0! 17.25.35  

https://youtu.be/sngUnnMZpsk N1 Garry returns with some twigs and does a bit more nest tidying 18.12.33

https://youtu.be/1Oel0nvz6cg N2 Breac flies off with fish three, lands under the nest! 20.16.43

Bonus video – with migration looming, this video shows the journey from Scotland to Africa as the Osprey flies:

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/9AnSPvsk6DY  N1 Superdad Louis brings two fish in ten minutes 2019

https://youtu.be/mNtRaeAuw2Y  N1 The welcome sight of Aila after being absent for a while 2020

https://youtu.be/yqFjDElk4V4  N1 Breakfast arrives, all three chicks want it but Captain gets it 2020

https://youtu.be/pruObUISjPQ  N1 Captain flies with fish for the first time on his 2 month birthday 2020 (slo-mo)

https://youtu.be/LEq2B4U9j-k  N1 The Fishtail Waltz: Loch Arkaig Osplets in quickstep 2020 (Classic Ospreys – Strauss) 

https://youtu.be/No84G3nG5qo N2 Dorcha and the crow 2022 (extended version)

https://youtu.be/g8mHME3FIQQ  N2 Willow nips Louis and nearly gets pulled off the nest as he departs 2022

https://youtu.be/K10hkey31mQ  N2 Hoodie looks quite at home pottering around the empty nest 2023

https://youtu.be/1YyDkc78_SU  N2 Dorcha brings a stick and gets Ludo’s leftovers 2023

https://youtu.be/8egAmzGlJ1o N2 Noisy Ludo has to deal with a flatfish by himself 2023

https://youtu.be/VD99AKBQpNU N1 Garry LV0 pays a late evening visit 2023

https://youtu.be/kTYhjh-Rrxg N2 Bats fly around the nest 2024 (super slo-mo)

Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Friday 1st August 2025

An earthquake hit in the Loch Arkaig area today, not very big – 3.1 magnitude with the epicentre 7.5 miles from Loch Arkaig, in the Loch Garry area where Osprey Garry LV0 is from. It didn’t do any damage but both Louis and the chicks reacted, Louis by alarm calling for several minutes and the chicks stopping and looking around warily. It was registered by the British Geological Survey, more details here: https://earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/recent_uk_events.html . Louis brought three fish to the nest, neatly shared out one each for Dorcha, Darach and Breac in that order, and the nest total now stands at three hundred and seventy eight including Dorcha’s two deliveries. Garry finally brought a fish to Nest One, raising his tally to one hundred and thirty seven – and guess who was there to take it? None other than Affric 152 from Bunarkaig, scrounging free fish as she prepares for migration! The weather was settled but is expected to turn misty overnight with a low of 9°C, changing to sunny intervals with a gentle breeze and a high of 18°C tomorrow. 

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.48.49 (04.28.25) Nest Two 22.38.06 (04.32.50)
Today’s videos: 

https://youtu.be/L40Yx5-a0p0 N2 First fish arrives & departs in lightning fast time 10.31.06 (slo-mo repeat)

https://youtu.be/FXAAZUmfrYM N1 Garry brings a fish and it’s Affric 152 who gets it! 15.10.17

https://youtu.be/N4W_xQeGA_E N2 Darach gets the second fish and warns Breac away 17.13.17https://youtu.be/8MV7EwOzWvI N2 Earthquake! Louis and chicks react to a 3.1 magnitude local tremor 17.45.41 

https://youtu.be/XieskjWrJo8 N2 Breac arrives just after Louis and gets the third fish 19.10.29Bonus watch and listen to the 

Dawn Chorus – how Woodland Trust’s woodland management is supporting biodiversity:

https://youtu.be/SDkwnz8DRHUBlast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/181xNOoWypU  N1 Sneaky Mallie grabs the fish despite Rannoch’s protests (2019)
https://youtu.be/6YY5LU155KQ  N1 Rannoch can’t decide whether to preen or screech – so does both! (2019)
https://youtu.be/DBAhTzqVg3I  N1 Milestone moment: Doddie flies with fish 2020
https://youtu.be/9JjSrQqH-BI N1 What a fankle! Captain gets entangled 2020
https://youtu.be/Z2HS9pTC7eI  N2 Sunrise over the nest as Louis brings breakfish 2022
https://youtu.be/Mg3YJr_l8mE  N2 Upstart Crow: Edited video of its many visits 2022https://youtu.be/qYPmuE54ZQs N1 Garry arrives with a stick 2023
https://youtu.be/vPzAIFCdT-Y  N1 Affric returns missing Garry LV0 by minutes 2023  
https://youtu.be/i40FIIZHHWQ N2 Ludo tries to bite Dorcha for not bringing fish 2023
https://youtu.be/YlGtuWGiurU N2 Fish number two, a live mackerel, confuses Ludo 2023https://youtu.be/9LKihnfJAjo N1 A pair of Warblers visit 2024https://youtu.be/QTRqeePpg8I N1 Garry LV0 arrives, stays a while, and preens 2024

OBX (Outer Banks): No doubt Heidi will report on the osprey that was pushed off the OBX osprey nest a few days before the fledgling.

Allins Cove West: Fledgling continues to come to the nest and is fed by Dad. https://youtu.be/T97W3NM8kW8?

Allin’s Cove East: Three juveniles are waiting and fighting for fish.

Charlo, Montana: Two surviving osplets are doing well, and Charlie is busy delivering fish! The third hatch died on 15th of July from siblicide/starvation.

Hellgate Canyon: Iris made a quick visit to the nest on Friday afternoon.

Fish delivery on the nest for Iris on Thursday evening. https://youtu.be/yJC3-X7J_Jc?

Iris visits the nest on Sunday.

Dunrovin Ranch: The nest is full with four osplets wearing juvenile plumage flapping their wings. This nest needs more fish. Every nest with four needs more and more fish.

Eschenbach, Germany: Fish deliveries for our fledgling.

Olympic Park Sea Eagles: Incubation continues for Lady and Dad.

Muonio Osprey Platform, Finland: Ten fish were delivered to this nest in Finland on Friday. What a difference from starving ospreys in the US.

Ilomantsin sääkset #1: Three babies always wanting more and more fish!

Cumbria Wildlife Trust/Foulshaw Moss: All of the chicks are fledged. White YW is busy getting fish to the feisty three as they begin bulking up for their first migration.

Usk Valley, Wales: No sign of our Only Bob fledgling who made history for this area of Wales, but Mum, Chogwyn, shows up fish calling several times a day with her wishes fulfilled.

Llyn Clywedog, Wales: Two fledgling Bobs screaming for fish with full crops. Dylan is keeping the flyways busy with deliveries. Is Seren still home?

Baby Eagle captures the first branching of Spilve and Grislis’s Golden Eaglet! 87 days. https://youtu.be/IetmOKW6ZfI?

Recent summary from the Border Ospreys:

Thank you, ‘A’ – your words mean a lot to me: “Anyway, that’s my world at the moment…I love you, though, also with a passion. You opened up a whole new world for me. I now have a close relationship with Mr and Mrs Magpie, who sang beautifully for me this morning when I took out their breakfast. They eat out of my hand sometimes when they’re a bit impatient. (I walk past them as they perch on my air walker machine on the back landing and take their breakfast to the normal spot on the edge of the concrete. They don’t move at all, even though I walk within inches of them. I just talk quietly and gently to them and they know my voice and are scared of me at all. Sometimes, I offer them a piece of walnut or some other treat as I walk past them and they will take it right out of my hand. They are so sweet – they know how much I love their singing and they always sing to say thank you to me. Then I change the water bowls because Mr and Mrs Crow have usually had their breakfast bath and boy are they messy. They love their bath SO much. They immerse themselves totally and flap around to get really wet under their wings. When they’ve finished (and emptied four or five inches out of the deep water bowl) they perch on the clothes line and preen their feathers and feak their beaks. The small native mynahs are the only other birds that love the bath. They choose the shallower birdbath that’s on a stand and off the ground because they feel safer up there I think. But like the crows, they flap around to get themselves really wet. They perch around the rim, six or eight at a time, and take turns to flap from one side of the bath to the other. Too cute. 

These birds are now part of my day in a way they never were before. And that’s entirely because of you. Your blog. Your menagerie. You inspired me to look closer to home. It’s one thing to watch Angel on a camera in Tennessee, and that is a wonderful privilege, but it should inspire rather than replace a more direct interaction with the birds immediately around us. You reminded me of that. And I’m sure you’ve done the same for many of the people who read your blog. You should be so proud of that. Making the world a better place and the people in it more understanding of their position as caretakers of the birds and animals and plants around us.”

‘A’ also adds: “In bird world, Lady and Dad are very devoted in tending their eggs. Lady does incredibly long incubation stints, some days taking no more than an hour in total off the nest. And she always takes the night shifts too. When he is able to talk her into leaving, Dad does his incubating duties without demur. Like most of the males, he loves his egg time. The nest is looking very strong and sturdy this year, which is excellent because those winds are really tossing the nest tree about tonight and we have had strong winds and some heavy rain over the past ten days or so along Australia’s east coast. 

We have about 12 days or so until pip watch begins (the first egg was laid on 4 July and we have an incubation period of 40 to 42 days, with some delayed incubation early on). I do keep wondering about the advanced age of this pair and when it will begin impacting their fertility – so far, we are still getting two eggs every season but let’s hope both these eggs are fertile. Go Dad! He is a lovely mate. He tries hard to look after Lady and his eggs.”

I am so glad that ‘A’ mentioned the Olympic Park White bellied Sea Eagles. As you know, I have been decluttering and in that process, I found a book that was put together honouring WBSE 26 and one of the devoted chatters, Phyllis Robbins. Phyllis had a very aggressive cancer, and despite dire predictions, the WBSE kept Phyllis going for much longer than any doctor would have imagined. She loved ’26’ dearly as we all did.

‘PS’ catches us up on what is happening in the Seattle Washington Osprey Platform that they have been monitoring from the time love hit the air in April!

“The update from yesterday and today – both chicks have definitely fledged!! Attaching the photo with “proof” – one in the air and the other on the perch! Just a joy to watch them take their practice loops around the nest area. Such beautiful birds, hopefully they will lead long and healthy lives, and perhaps I will see them again in the area when they return (usually after a few years?)…

In for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose – I will continue to visit until they decamp for warmer climes, I guess. What a captivating summer it’s been – and already August!!”

Recent news from Knepp Farm’s Rewilding Project:

CROW – would like to invite you to a party in January as a fundraiser. Do you live near Fort Myers or Sanibel Island?

Thank you so much for being with us. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of ‘Blue 33’ as part of this amazing fundraiser for the Rutland Water Ospreys. Thank you Sarah for sharing your talents and your generosity.

I want to thank our notable contributors, ‘AK, Geemeff, Heidi, PS’, the owners of the streaming cams listed in bold, the individuals who take the time to create videos, including SK Hideaways, and the authors of posts such as Jeff Kear at UK Osprey Information, and all others, often too many to name. I am very grateful to you and to the newspapers that still cover environmental issues as they relate to our precious feathered friends. My blog would not be what it is without your input into the world of birding.