Another pip or two for Big Red…Monday afternoon in Bird World

4 May 2026

Hi there,

Well, I couldn’t stay away from watching Big Red and Arthur.

P1 is a cutie. We will know by today if either of the two remaining eggs are viable. I don’t care. One healthy eyas to survive to fledge and then survive Cornell’s windows would please me greatly. Arthur is preparing for lots of meals as he gets the chippies and the snakes to the nest.

A red-tailed hawk in a nest caring for its hatchlings and eggs, surrounded by twigs and nest material.
A red-tailed hawk is tending to its nest, which contains one fluffy chick and several eggs and chicks. The nest is made of twigs and is situated in a natural setting.
A red-tailed hawk sitting on its nest, which contains several eggs, surrounded by twigs and grass.
A red-tailed hawk sitting in a nest, tending to three eggs.

Big Red always encourages the hiks to eat just a little more.

Cornell Bird Lab has a video of the live snake Arthur brings to the nest. https://youtu.be/LJjxLo-sG0I?

It looks to me as if we have a beak peeking out of one of the other eggs and a small crack in the last.

A young red-tailed hawk chick sits in a nest surrounded by twigs and two eggs, with an adult hawk nearby.

Big Red has been keeping P1 nicely fed.

A nest with two eggs and a fluffy chick peeking out, surrounded by twigs and natural materials.
A nest of red-tailed hawks featuring two eggs and two fluffy chicks amid twigs and natural nesting material.

It is just a little fluff ball.

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Sunday 3rd May 2026

Another day of low activity and nothing out of the ordinary. Dorcha and Louis continue to take turns incubating the three eggs, Dorcha gets a break to eat, bathe, and stretch her wings when Louis brings fish or sticks and takes over egg-sitting, and Louis does whatever male Ospreys do when they’re not fishing, egg-sitting, or patrolling their territory. Which he must have been doing today as he brought no fish at all, so the nest tally remains at thirty seven. Over on Nest One, Garry brought one fish for Aurora, taking his tally to forty four. At the time of filing this report – midnight – she does not appear to have laid her second egg. Will Aurora lay her egg in the early hours before the camera goes off-line? Will Louis swoop in early with a dried up old fish he actually caught today but doesn’t deliver until tomorrow? Answers on a postcard please.*

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/Rbzi5TkRc-4  N1 Garry’s lunchtime fish does a flyover before Aurora takes it 12.53.24

https://youtu.be/i-8M9QhFk4s  N2 Unhappy Dorcha sends Louis fishing 13.11.26

Bonus watch – stunning drone footage of the two nests, filmed in 2024, before the birds returned of course:

https://youtu.be/HKIxtz_ICXU N1

https://youtu.be/wiSNcrl7_mM N2

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/_ldayacEJVk  N1 Domestic abuse? Aila makes Louis move 2020

https://youtu.be/O66MzVbKdEk  N1 Louis chases a Hoodie wanting his fish 2020

https://youtu.be/EXKZvJIsSnU  N1 Poor old Louis! First a kick then a bit of fish stuck in his beak 2020

https://youtu.be/U-5w06vRVgc  N2 Dorcha wears a fake moustache 2022

https://youtu.be/475Qa4mMr_M  N2 Louis gets a bashing with a big stick 2022

https://youtu.be/aGybeh25I3I  N2 Size matters! Coal Tit is startled by Dorcha 2022

https://youtu.be/hr9oHiTH2EA  N2 Mute button needed as Dorcha sees Louis bringing dinner 2023

https://youtu.be/9NftDmPybXk  N1 Garry brings fish number one for hollow-cropped Aida 2024 

https://youtu.be/mmOwq1QEOTQ  N2 Louis misjudges landing with a big stick 2024

https://youtu.be/zp36YlZE3yA  N2 Two Lesser Redpolls arrive and one perches near Dorcha 2024

https://youtu.be/eAqcolh9_VQ  N1 Woodland visitors: Tree Pipit, Coal Tit, Wren 2024 2024

https://youtu.be/hmAqX1qE0FM N1 Yet again Garry LV0 makes Blue 536 wait for the fish 2025

https://youtu.be/QtzXJFp8qDc N2 Louis does a flyby before landing with a very late first fish 2025

https://youtu.be/vQ2GdD48Pqw N2 Tawny Owl strikes Dorcha! 2025 (slo-mo repeat with zoom)

* No, not really!

You’re invited to join the lively community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s friendly, free and everyone’s welcome:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Just a quick check in at Big Red and Loch Arkaig. Have a great day everyone.

Thank you to Geemeff for their Woodland Trust summary and to the Cornell Bird Lab for their streaming cam.

Published by maryannsteggles

I went to the UK as a Commonwealth Scholar in 1990 and received my PhD from the University of Leicester in 1993. After three decades of university teaching, I retired to devote my time to the study of raptor behaviour. I am particularly interested in Ospreys and am working on a long term project on third hatch survival and siblicide in these raptors. My blog is a result of a fascination with my local wildlife and the desire to encourage others to love and care for birds! I live on the Canadian Prairies and prior to the pandemic travelled a lot. I am questioning the use of aviation fuel at the moment as we all strive to help our planet. My early research was in politics and art including British public statues exported to Southeast Asia and Vietnam Resistors that contributed much to Canadian ceramics. Books and articles were published on those subjects over a period of 3 decades. Now I am working on books for children so they can learn about the challenges our raptors face.

1 Comment

  1. Linda Kontol says:
    11 thAmerica/Winnipeg-05:0031America/Winnipeg05bAmerica/WinnipegMon, 04 May 2026 12:58:12 -0500 2021 at 12:58

    Thank you Mary Ann for the update on Big Red and Arthur! It looks like pips to me in these pictures too!
    We will be looking forward to your updates. Thanks for all the other info and links. I like the Woodland one so much too!
    Thanks and have a good Monday afternoon and evening!
    Linda

    Reply

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