26 June 2026
Hello Everyone,
The Loch Arkaig streaming cam is up and running and everyone is fine.
At least a year ago, David Gessner had been made aware of the situation in The Chesapeake Bay and the ospreys dying off – ospreys, the canary in the coal mine for the environment.
That article has come out and Heidi had sent me the link before I even woke up this morning. She said, “Gessner did a great job, comprehensive and concise.”
https://www.audubon.org/magazine/ospreys-chesapeake-bay-are-starving-death-disastrous-rates-what-will-it-take-save-them?fbclid=IwY2xjawSquPtleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE4elpxb09zTHRTMnp5WndQc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHsQ_L0KC83_QFg4JvXcBzK9KvBjH1D1w_7x-ZaWHkrsOSoDHhSwxVsd7kmcQ_aem_YO5iJONj9zJUwoHxAWXbvA
This is my only posting for today. It is that important. Please send this to everyone you know that is concerned and also send it to every politician you know including the Governor of Virginia! I don’t care if they get 100,000 copies. It will do them good to know people care!
Thank you to David Gessner, who has always loved Ospreys and whose books – Return of the Osprey and Soaring with Fidel – are amongst my favourites. Gessner must be shattered after writing his first book, The Return of the Osprey, twenty-five years ago.
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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.
View all posts by maryannsteggles
Thanks for this Mary Ann!
We hope it works!
Linda
Thank you for sharing this important update. I hope greater awareness leads to meaningful action to protect the ospreys and their habitat. Nature deserves our care.
Thank you so much for writing in. Gessner loves the ospreys and I hope that his voice will help spread the call to stop humans for abusing the natural world. On another note, I am very interested in the title ‘Voice of Rohingya’. I spent some time in Myanmar and am aware of the situation but, of course, only what I hear. My dear friend in Yangon used to keep me informed but sadly she died.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful words and for caring about both nature and the voices that are too often unheard. I’m also very sorry to hear about the loss of your dear friend in Yangon. May she rest in peace.
As a Rohingya refugee, Voice of Rohingya is my way of sharing the real stories, struggles, resilience, and hopes of my people through articles, poems, and personal experiences. Thank you for your interest—it truly means a great deal to me. 🙏💙
I like when you wrote: “It does not mean pretending the pain never existed. It means carrying the weight of our memories without allowing them to extinguish our humanity.” So many people have lost general decency and humanity, and they have not gone through anything like what your people have. I am aware of the fear of citizens living in Yangon. Several would come and talk to me during the several times I visited. It is unbelievable what your people are having to endure. Please do not lose your hope and your humanity – it is wonderful that you have found an outlet. It is also good for people to know, first hand, what is happening to the Rohingya. Thank you for keepign those voices alive.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and encouraging words. It truly means a great deal to me that those lines resonated with you.
Pain can change us, but I believe it should never take away our humanity. That is something I hold onto every day. Despite everything my people have endured, I still believe compassion, kindness, and hope are stronger than hatred.
Thank you for sharing what you witnessed in Yangon and for listening to the voices of the Rohingya with such an open heart. Your willingness to understand gives me hope that our stories can reach people who care.
I will continue writing because I believe every story matters, every voice deserves to be heard, and silence only helps injustice. Thank you for standing with us and for encouraging me to keep these voices alive. May we all continue to protect our humanity, no matter how difficult the journey becomes. 🙏💙
Thank you. For your poetry, your writing, and your caring. It is difficult for individuals living in the ‘West’ to know about what is happening. The news is always tainted one way or another. Do we hear about Gaza anymore? It seems the things that truly matter – the lives of the souls living on this planet – go unnoticed compared to cryptocurrency, cracks in pools, etc. I hope the rains stop the flooding.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and compassionate words. They truly mean a great deal to me.
I understand what you mean. Many of the world’s most painful stories receive only brief attention before they are replaced by something else. But the suffering does not stop when the headlines disappear. The people of Gaza, the Rohingya, and many other communities continue to endure hardship every single day.
That is one reason I keep writing. I want to share what is happening through the eyes of someone living it, so these stories are not forgotten and the voices of those who suffer continue to be heard.
Thank you for caring, for reading, and for standing with us. I also pray that the rains stop soon and that every family affected finds safety, strength, and hope.
Yes, and I do not trust most newspapers because they are owned by only a few individuals. The truth has been turned upside down. I remember hearing the term ‘alternative facts’ a long time ago – and it still rattles me. Every living soul – and I am including our birds here – deserves a safe home, clean water, food, and medical care. They also should be able to live in an environment where there is hope. There are good people working hard to help – you know many of them; I know some of them. But there are always those bent on destruction just for the sake of it. Power in the wrong hands. I write because so few speak for the birds so we both must keep doing what we do – . I hope to wake up one morning to a world where empathy, caring, protection, and love prevail.
Thank you for your thoughtful and compassionate words. I truly agree that every human being deserves safety, dignity, clean water, food, healthcare, and hope. Sadly, many Rohingya refugees are still denied these basic rights.
I also believe that truth should never be hidden, no matter who controls the narrative. There are many kind people working to help, and I am deeply grateful for every one of them.
Like you, I continue to write because too many voices remain unheard. I hope that one day we will wake up to a world where empathy, justice, compassion, and peace prevail for everyone.
That is my goal also, Anowar.
I am mostly shocked – the world, the balance of who has and who doesn’t is spiralling out of control. I am trying to no longer fund – through my purchases, etc – that have the means to solve the world’s problems. They could build entire camps and not even notice a dent in the principal of their funds. And yet it is those that often struggle themselves that are helping with little amounts as they can because they truly care.
Thank you, my dear friend. Your compassion and understanding mean so much to me.
I deeply appreciate that you’re thinking carefully about how your choices can make a difference. You’re right many ordinary people with very little continue to show extraordinary kindness, while those with immense resources could do so much more.
For refugees like us, every act of compassion, every voice that speaks up, and every person who chooses to care gives us hope. Thank you for standing with us and for believing that humanity can do better. May God bless you always. 🙏
I have very much enjoyed and learned from your blog. I have done this on my phone and often can’t like or comment but please keep your smile and your hope.