Pip at Dyfi…Late, late Friday in Bird World

22 May 2026

Hello Everyone,

Update: Egg pipping at Dyfi.

A close-up view of an osprey in its nest, incubating eggs among sticks and grasses.

I was not feeling well today, and everything that could go sideways just seemed to do so! It was ‘cake day’ – a celebration that I have mentioned before, of having survived another week. But there was still a lingering ‘greyness’ that should not have been there. We ate outside, the weather was glorious, Toby is doing so well with his walking training, Ann was with us – is there anything else I could want? And yet, what is happening to our wildlife around the world outrages me. It simmers and then comes to a head. Today was that day. I grew up believing that people had the power to change things if they worked together. We made a lot of progress – and I know many of you grew up in that era too. And now to see it all torn apart. If you turn your head, get distracted for a second, someone is doing something to destroy vast swaths of our planet. I sat and contemplated that if those who cared about the land formed a group – a vast group – and each contributed a small amount, to buy the land. Stop the destruction. Is it possible? It would take a keen organiser.

At the same time, vote – and make sure you know what you are voting for. We have some of the most dismal candidates for mayor I have ever seen. I want to know where the young people who are driven by ideas are????

OK. Off the bandstand.

Many people have posted a video of the encounter of Iris with the little European Starling, and if this cannot raise our spirits to new heights, nothing will. It should make the national news – maybe it has!

Thirty-year-old Iris goes ballistic!!!!!!!! She calls NG2 and he comes to save the day!

Dr Green is going to post a selection of names for viewers to pick the name for NG2 soon.

Trudi Kron: https://youtu.be/svch5WHq-bM?

An osprey sitting in a nest with twigs and pine needles, alongside a chick visible in the nest.

Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Friday 22nd May 2026

Another perfectly routine day, calm and reassuringly normal. Garry LV0 delivered two fish for Aurora 536, and his personal tally, which is also the Nest One tally, rises to seventy six. Over on Nest Two, Louis delivered three fish for Dorcha, taking his personal tally to seventy seven and the nest tally to seventy nine. Garry seems to enjoy incubating duty as much as Louis does which is a very important characteristic as hatching day comes closer. The weather forecast for Inver Mallie, which covers the nest areas, is for light rain and gentle breezes throughout the night and continuing tomorrow, with an overnight low of 10°C and a high tomorrow of 16°C.

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/g8Pr8Vq3ECc N2 Louis is in charge when Dorcha leaves with breakfast 06.37.26

https://youtu.be/QdmR05mieMs N1 Garry’s first fish is a very small trout 14.58.22

https://youtu.be/jSnhOEHml6s N2 Teatime for Dorcha when Louis brings a nice fresh trout 15.49.25

https://youtu.be/5jBE8io4qIE N1 Aurora’s second fish is much bigger than the first 19.51.17

https://youtu.be/VLeYKaNMB2c N2 Louis arrives with Dorcha’s dinner 20.36.18Bonus history – how much do you know about the remarkable Kenneth Watkins who founded Woodland Trust in 1972?

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/working-with-us/our-people/our-founder/
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/media/43909/ken-watkins-timeline-only.pdf

Blast from the past, this day in previous years: 

https://youtu.be/NpuyQyh8iZE  N1 Garry circles round before landing and giving the fish to Aurora 2025

Thank you!

Golden Eaglet being fed!

A golden eagle is seen interacting with its fluffy white chick in a nest, surrounded by trees and greenery.

Kaljukotkas 2 :: https://www.youtube.com/live/EBRGoS6U…

Are you a keen observer? Read below how you can take part in this research project:

“The Golden Eagle nest camera is situated near military training ground. Therefore military training noise is possible to hear quite often. The purpose of this camera is to detect the reaction of breeding eagles to the noise disturbance heard. We invite volunteers to participate in virtual Golden Eagle observations and record them in the appropriate forum (link above). The forum has instructions on how to become a member of the forum and how to post your observations there. This is also possible with pictures or videos proving the event. At the end of the season, we summarize all observations and analyze to what extent the particular Golden Eagle pair is affected by noise disturbances in the breeding area. If necessary, it is also possible to review the recorded video material. Expenses of this webcam are covered by Centre for Defence Investments of Estonian Republic. There in the same nest was one chick fledged in 2024, 2023 and 2022. 2025 the nest was in other place, but not successful. Female is currently without of rings. Male has one ring and transmitter on back. Often these are covered with feathers. Kotkaklubi Link –    / @kotkaklubi   The Eagle Club (est. 1999) is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to protect, study and introduce the eagles and the black stork in Estonia. Since 2007, the Eagle Club has been running live web-cameras on the nests of protected bird species – black stork, white-tailed eagle, greater and lesser spotted eagles, osprey and golden eagle. Find out more here: https://www.kotkas.ee

CJ7 looks tenderly at her recently hatched chick. Three more to go!

A bird sitting on a nest with three eggs and a newly hatched chick, captured in black and white.
Two baby birds sitting among eggs in a nest made of twigs and straw.

Big Red often seems to just stand and smile overlooking her little nest of hawklets.

A red-tailed hawk standing over its fluffy chicks in a nest, surrounded by twigs and greenery in the background.
A nest of red-tailed hawk chicks resting together, surrounded by twigs and branches. The scene is outdoors on a rooftop, showcasing the nest's natural setting.

Dylan comes in with a late fish for Seren Blue 5F to feed the two hatches.

An osprey interacting with its chick in a nest, surrounded by greenery.
An osprey with a blue leg band stands on its nest, surrounded by sticks and moss, with two eggs visible in the nest.
An osprey is seen caring for its chick in a nest, with the chick appearing next to an unhatched egg.

Little started slow, hatching five days after Big. The wings are getting quite long. Big is not as big as Jill, and most who have watched believe Big is a male; I think Little survived because she is a female. Of course, no one will know unless a DNA test is done (and it won’t be, but it sure would be nice to have them ringed.)

A bird sitting in a nest made of sticks, with a view of a residential area and trees in the background.
A close-up view of an osprey nest filled with twigs and a young osprey chick, with an adult osprey perched nearby on a pole, surrounded by trees and a road in the background.

Harry continues to deliver fish to Winken at the Moorings Park nest throughout the day. There was at least one other delivery after 7pm.

A pair of ospreys feeding in their nest, with one osprey holding a fish, surrounded by greenery and a lake in the background.
A close-up view of two osprey birds standing on their nest, overlooking a lake and golf course in the background with vibrant red flowers nearby.

Another way that wildlife are losing their habitat. I want to be very clear – it would not matter to me which political party or person was in power – in my City, my Province, or another country – the ability to damage our planet and the living souls that share it with us – needs to be protected. So please see these posts as pro-wildlife/nature/biodiversity/environment. We need balance not destruction.

A landscape featuring a wetland with dead trees, surrounded by grassy areas, highlighting the environmental impact of livestock grazing.

What a difference. Knepp Wilding’s newsletter celebrations their breakthroughs in rewilding.

Knepp news Springwatch at Knepp White Stork FestivalDownload

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please do take care of yourself. I hope to see you again tomorrow night.

Thank you to Geemeff for her Loch Arkaig summary, to all those who posted information on FB and elsewhere, to the owners of the streaming cams and everyone who loves wildlife.

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. Betty Hayes Albright says:
    11 ndAmerica/Winnipeg-05:0031America/Winnipeg05bAmerica/WinnipegFri, 22 May 2026 22:32:29 -0500 2021 at 22:32

    Thank you for your recent posts, Mary Ann. I agree with you 100 percent on environmental issues and share in your grief for what is happening to our planet, our wildlife — our heart!
    Hope your sore throat goes away quickly. I’ll try to email you soon. ❤️

    Reply

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