Late Tuesday in Bird World

12 May 2026

Greetings Everyone,

The sky is a gorgeous blue with a few little tiny cottonball clouds floating about. It was grey and cold earlier and to end the day with beautiful sunshine is a real blessing.

We have the first hatch at Rutland Manton’s Bay:

An osprey nest with an egg visible, amidst straw and grass. The nest appears to be active, suggesting potential hatching.

I am also happy to say that thanks to Kathryn we continue to know the goings on of one of my favourite Welsh ospreys, Aran, and his new mate.

A Facebook post discussing the bonding behaviors and nesting activities of two birds, Aran and 7C1, with insights into their relationship and nesting progress.
A blurry image of a bird sitting in tall grass, possibly an osprey, with out-of-focus background elements.

Cornell Bird Lab is doing a great job of producing short videos of Big Red and her chicks.

A red-tailed hawk is feeding its chicks in a nest made of twigs, perched on a ledge with a view of a street and blooming flowers in the background.
Close-up of fluffy red-tailed hawk chicks in a nest during feeding, surrounded by nest material and remnants of prey.

Those sweet babies are poking their heads out from under Mum: https://youtu.be/BUq6_AoCHcM?

A red-tailed hawk sitting in a nest with its chicks, surrounded by twigs and remnants of prey.
A hawk caring for its chicks in a nest filled with feathers, twigs, and remnants of prey.

We are a few days away from fledge at the Venice Golf and Country Club osprey platform. Chicks hatched on 20, 21, and 23 March.

An osprey delivering a fish to its nest, where three young ospreys are waiting. The background features a serene river and grassy area with a golf course.

I don’t know what has gotten into Jack at Achieva but he is being much more helpful to Jill in bringing in fish as of late.

It has been almost like a tag team, with Jill bringing in a fish and Jack coming in a few minutes later with another. It sure helps. Jill can feed herself, and Little and Big can work on the self-feeding she is getting so good at.

A hawk standing in a nest with two chicks, surrounded by greenery and a neighborhood street in the background.
A close-up view of an osprey nest containing two chicks and an adult osprey, situated on a platform surrounded by trees with a street and houses visible in the background.
Two young ospreys resting in their nest, surrounded by twigs and branches, with a view of a residential area and street in the background.
Two hawks sitting in a nest made of twigs, surrounded by green trees and a view of a suburban street in the background.
A hawk standing in its nest, surrounded by sticks and twigs, with a view of trees and houses in the background.

It rained at Achieva and it looks like Jack came in with a late fish. Maybe Diane will not need to go fishing tonight.

An osprey nest with three chicks sitting on it, surrounded by greenery and a view of a street in the background.

I have waited to send this so that I could include Geemeff’s summary from Loch Arkaig and here it is:

Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Tuesday 12th May 2026Today was mostly peaceful on both nests, barring an intruder alert near Nest One, and an intruder Osprey actually landing on Nest Two. While Louis and Dorcha were most unhappy and furiously chased the intruder away, the watchers were pleased to solve a mystery as this intruder had visited twice before but his Darvic ring could not be read. Today however he positioned himself just long enough to see that he is Blue 2B6, hatched 2023 in Kielder, and not Blue 286 hatched 2019 in Cumbria. There’s still a slight mystery about this bird as it was initially thought to be female, but now tending towards the possibility of being male. Whichever is correct, we wish Blue 2B6 success at finding a nest and a mate but preferably away from the two Arkaig nests as hatching day comes closer. Louis brought one fish for Dorcha taking the Nest Two tally to fifty seven, and Garry LV0 brought two fish for Aurora 536 taking the Nest One tally to sixty.

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/LMm-Ym7k-9o N2 Louis brings a late breakfast for Dorcha 09.13.56    

https://youtu.be/8rgRxYfzIPw  N1 Elevenses for Aurora as the first fish arrives 11.30.54

https://youtu.be/1gEJDnZZ0J0 N2 Kielder Blue 2B6 intrudes on Louis & Dorcha 12.03.21 (long version)

https://youtu.be/QCKUhrpKiDE N2  Kielder Blue 2B6 intrudes on Louis & Dorcha 12.04.44 (short version with zoom)

https://youtu.be/PgLpYD-3Voo N1 Fish supper for Aurora when Garry delivers a second fish 21.34.15

Bonus read: It’s Plant Health Week and Woodland Trust are celebrating their UK and Ireland Sourced and Grown scheme:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/plant-health-week-2026-ugcPost-7459905242101477377-V-Hk

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/BFfBZitcjv0    N1 Haven’t you forgotten something? 2020

https://youtu.be/_rGpAZaTjmQ N1 Oops! Where’s it gone? Aila loses her fish! 2020

https://youtu.be/7fjub6AqXts  N1 Stickgate! Louis lands a stick on top of Aila then perches on it! 2020

https://youtu.be/x9ltb4rsX-w   N1 The Stranger nestorises while Blue 152 calls for fish 2021

https://youtu.be/Kdo-dxeZv3Y  N1 That technique needs work! Amusing mating incident 2021

https://youtu.be/Avbi8BbEvC4  N2 Intruder Osprey flyover 2023

https://youtu.be/bLMSoIgb1Yc   N2 Another year, another stickgate!! 2023

https://youtu.be/IR7bJxY7AsE  N2 Louis brings a fine flapping trout 2024

https://youtu.be/0bNLIxCelsw N1 Female Chaffinch visits 2024 (zoom)https://youtu.be/AImTtGwHR64 N1 Aurora gets Garry’s fish the second time he brings it 2025https://youtu.be/PwjwvCqeWYg N2 Louis & Dorcha join forces to see off an intruder overhead 2025

Why not come and 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

Heidi is reporting that it is pip watch starting tomorrow at Dewey Beach.

An osprey perched on its nest by the water, with another osprey in flight nearby, showcasing a natural habitat scene.

Saving Monarchs reminds us:

A graphic highlighting the annual death of 67 million birds due to pesticide poisoning. The top section states the statistic, while the bottom features images of a Northern Flicker, Eastern Towhee, and Brown Thrasher, alongside messages about the dangers of spraying pesticides in neighborhoods and promoting pollinator-friendly practices.

White-tail Eagle couple Loki and Caitir in Scotland lose chick – adults mourn. Thanks, Terry Carr: https://youtu.be/7hXAxFI30U0?

‘J’ sent the nature chat.org’s banner:

1 of the 5 eggs hatched in the wee hours of last night at Peregrine Falcon Cam in New Jersey, with a possible pip on another egg.

3rd egg of buzzards hatched today at Lesser Spotted Eagle Cam in Latvia 1.

Pip watch for 1st egg begins today at Osprey Cam in Pennsylvania.

Thank you for being with us today. It is time to take Toby for a last walk before bed. Tomorrow he has his first annual check up. Wish us luck! Take care all. We will see you soon.

Nitey-nite from Toby wearing his new halter. He loves orange!

I will try and get some good images of The Girls this weekend for you. I feel like I have neglected them.

A sleeping dog wearing an orange harness, resting on a patterned blanket.

Thank you to Geemeff, Heidi, and PB for their notes and news, to the owners of the streaming cams, the authors of the FB posts – we are so ever grateful for the time and dedication you take in providing us with news and views of our favourite raptor families.

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/WinnipegTue, 12 May 2026 19:33:43 -0500 2021 at 19:33

    Thank you for the updates Mary Ann!
    It’s always good to see good ones!
    Love the orange on Toby! Good
    Luck with his first checkup. ❤️
    See you here soon and look forward to
    The pics too!
    Linda

    Reply

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