11 August 2025
Hello Everyone,
We spent Saturday in the English Gardens admiring the gorgeous plantings, chatting to other dog lovers, and eating ice cream. Dogs get free ‘pup cups’ complete with a dog biscuit. Toby is already familiar with the routine!
You can see the ‘pup cup’ in the image below. The photos make Toby look ‘tiny’ – the dream of all humans when they get their picture taken! But he is now 16 lbs.
While we were there, we had a chance to talk to a photographer waiting for the elusive hummingbird. Yes, singular. Usually, the gardens would be full of hummingbirds, but he told me that he had talked to photographers in North Dakota, and they have so many hummingbirds they can’t believe it. The theory is that the wildfire smoke kept the hummers moving til they got to clean air.
Bears and other wildlife are still suffering.
Each of you will remember the wildlife and the fires in Australia – people helping with water for the koalas, many of them on fire. It is heartbreaking – well, beyond sad. Only time will tell how many eagles and ospreys will return next year, and whether there will be any trees for them to make nests. I wondered about the ash from the fires falling into the pristine lakes, and this is what I learned: “When ash from wildfires falls into lakes, it can introduce nutrients and toxins, potentially causing temporary algal blooms and impacting water quality. While the effects are often short-term, particularly in well-mixed lakes, they can disrupt the ecosystem and affect aquatic life.”
Migration has started early, with geese congregating on many golf courses and sports fields.
At the park today, there were many more ducks and, in particular, Wood Ducks than I remember from previous years.
The weather is cooler and since the rains the past couple of days, the smoke has not been so bad. Earlier we had extreme warnings about being outside especially if anyone had respiratory issues.
At home, all is well. There are a couple of ‘witching’ times during the day when Toby needs to be calmed – after breakfast and in the late evening before bed. Otherwise, life with cats and a dog is going much better than I expected! Hugo Yugo continues to do better. She has been seen multiple times eating hard food and today ate two small tins of wet food for breakfast. She really wants to play with Toby and I must warn him that ‘the cats plot to get him in trouble’. Toby will go for his first little grooming session on Thursday. His nails really need trimming!
Missey does not quite fit on the small space at the top of this particular cat tree. She looks miserable.
Calico was inspecting the blueberry cookies for dogs thinking they should make some nice things for cats, too.
Toby spots Baby Hope inside the house when he is out.
They keep us busy.
Sunday waw three hours of sheer bliss at King’s Park. We walked and picnicked with Toby. The charcoal clouds left and the sun came out and it was simply glorious.
Part of our rigid routine is that Saturdays and Sundays are ‘family’ days. On the other days, we have Anne, Jaine, or appointments with doctors, haircuts, etc. So the weekend is reserved for ‘fun’, enjoying being together and walking outside. Our big disappointment is that there are not a lot of geese about – we will continue searching for them!
Time to get checking on those ospreys, and I want to start with one of our favourite fledglings from 2021 in South Australia, who is now old enough to be frantically looking for a mate – Ervie!!!!!!! Searching far and wide, Port Lincoln Osprey FB says, “Barge 2021 – Ervie is on the go again – still in search of the elusive partner. He has been for a visit to Taylor Island, and we know there are Osprey down there.”
The UK Hobbys are darlings.
Here’s the video capture by SK Hideaways: https://youtu.be/GoI0WP7RO1Q?
The pair were ringed, and here is the video by Wildlife Windows: https://youtu.be/h1XWCEbYKZs?
Leicester and Rutland’s Manton Bay:
Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Foulshaw Moss:
Dyfi Osprey Project: Idris is very busy getting those fish to the nest for the fledglings.
Birds of Poole Harbour: Both CJ7 and Blue 022 are delivering fish to their four fledglings. One, 5R5, hasn’t been quite as lucky on getting fish at the nest. Fingers crossed their luck picks up!
Glaslyn: Teifi continues to deliver fish to Elen and to seal their bond for the 2026 season.
Balgavies Loch:
‘PS’ give us the news from the Seattle Osprey platform:
“Visited the last few days – Saturday I saw 3 fish deliveries from dad in 40 minutes or so! Two Starry Flounder and one Coho Salmon. With the fledglings around but not always on the nest dad’s arrival often led to a bit of a scrum – though on this particular day the loser didn’t have to feel that bad as fish after fish kept showing up. One of the Flounder I saw dad circle, dive, and catch, at a distance, and then bring it straight back to the nest. It was so close he didn’t even turn the fish and just flew it back facing the wrong way. Today I arrived at the tail end of a feed, with one of the fledglings finishing up what looked to be a Salmon of some sort.
I haven’t seen mom since Aug-1; do you think she could have started her migration already, 7-10 days after the first fledge? Or maybe I’m just unlucky and keep missing her.
The ever growing album in the same spot – https://www.flickr.com/gp/193514804@N08/2n65zuEk4k.”
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Sunday 10th August 2025
Today was about fish, plenty of them – Louis brought five fish, and not only did Darach 7P0 get four of them, but he also flew with fish for the first time. It was unintentional, as he slipped over the edge of the nest while pushing his brother Breac 7P7 away from his fish, but nevertheless, he took off flying clutching his fish, and returned a little later with it still firmly held in his talons. That’s a big milestone achieved as the ability to fly with fish is an essential skill for Ospreys, sometimes called fish hawks. After being the dominant chick for so long, Breac was forced to defer to Darach who grabbed fish first, then lunged at him and pushed him off the nest on several occasions, making it clear he would not be giving up his fish. Breac also lost fish to invading Hoodies, but luckily it was only a few scraps. Louis’ fish tally rises to four hundred and five (407 nest total) while the total for Garry LV0 who hasn’t been seen since the 7th remains unchanged on one hundred and forty. Dorcha also hasn’t been seen since the 7th and the last sighting of Affric 152 was on the 8th, we wait to see if any of them will still make an appearance on nest cam. The weather was reasonably settled today but the forecast for the next 24 hours is light rain and light winds with an overnight low of 14
°C and a high tomorrow of 18°C.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One
22.08.04 (04.32.48); Nest Two 21.57.01 (04.42.08)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/JTtFfH5B2Tc N2 Darach flies with fish for the first time, albeit accidentally 06.47.34https://youtu.be/w_Pz9_Y-138 N2 Louis waits patiently with a second fish, Breac finally arrives for it 09.27.57 https://youtu.be/-q-8BEQ-qAs N2 Darach pushes Breac off the nest to keep fish number three 16.36.05
https://youtu.be/aaBcMqNz-B0 N1 A little songbird visits – no Ospreys seen since the 8th
17.13.43https://youtu.be/S2F9L9aJnTU N2 In the stramash over fish four Louis gets his leg bitten 18.33.33 https://youtu.be/XJfd2Bxpf0M N2 Darach also gets fish number five then turns on Breac 20.03.38
https://youtu.be/8OlfdpONB9w N2 Breac suffers an invasion of Hoodies who steal scraps from him 20.37.17Bonus opportunity to support intrepid Morag who’s going to swim Loch Arkaig to raise funds for Woodland Trust:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/mary-cheadle-3
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/h7sWHXV4gck N1 Pandemonium among Pandions 2019
https://youtu.be/nEEzGfX3qOE N1 We missed you! Welcome back Aila 2019
https://youtu.be/yvB2ZHq5W6I N1 Just shut up and eat, Rannoch! 2019
https://youtu.be/vmct7etDQpo N1 One fish, two fish, new fish 2020
https://youtu.be/ZJLmsHHd1Lg N1 Captain ends up with two fish 2020
https://youtu.be/a2dk_AA0gAA N2 Several different little birds visit the nest 2022
https://youtu.be/MBQ8n7dL9zA N2 The chicks fight as fish number one arrives 2022
https://youtu.be/tgrYhwgMc1w N2 Ringed intruder perches on the nest 2022 (slo-mo zoom)
https://youtu.be/FFJsvTMjkzE N2 Ludo arrives seconds after dad brings fish 2023
https://youtu.be/jUf5fhmCtZE N2 Fish number three arrives, departs, and returns again 2023
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Saturday 9th August 2025
Louis delivered his 400th fish for the season (402 nest total with Dorcha’s two) when he brought fish number three today, and it went to Breac 7P7. Breac did very well today, after finishing off the substantial remains of last night’s mackerel, he also got two fresh fish from Louis. Darach 7P0 was ferocious in his determination to get a fish and actually pushed Breac off the nest causing him to fly away. The strategy worked again when he got the next fish despite Breac being on the nest, once Darach had the fish secured and Louis had gone, he flew at Breac and forced him off the nest again, making it clear he would not be bullied to give up his fish. This is necessary as he has yet to acquire the skill of flying with fish and must therefore eat on the nest. There was no activity on Nest One, not even a songbird visited – Affric was last seen yesterday, and both Garry and Dorcha were last seen on the 7th. Have they gone south? It’s probably much too early to tell. After rain and wind and some sunny intervals today, the forecast for the next 24 hours is cloudy with light wind, an overnight low of 11°C and a high of 17°C tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.17.38 (04.24.47); Nest Two 22.16.54 (04.55.56)
Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/fTaTXlZRdfM N2 Breac arrives and finishes off last night’s mackerel 05.24.47https://youtu.be/AzHy7AQUYVc N2 Darach arrives late and it’s Breac who gets fish one 09.48.05
https://youtu.be/ZwJBjmeA050 N2 Breac attempts to stay on the nest but Darach pushes him off 15.00.16https://youtu.be/k5moRjVq8Og N2 Darach makes sure he gets fish two from Louis 16.47.46
https://youtu.be/ovoRIslJuX0 N2 One fish two hungry brothers: Breac wins Louis’ 400th fish 21.15.32
Bonus read – energy boost for Woodland Trust as E.ON Next plan to step up their donations:
https://news.eonenergy.com/news/e-on-next-set-to-surpass-gbp-500-000-woodland-trust-commitment
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/oNzCzAn0VeM N1 Stop please daddy! Louis pulls Rannoch off the nest 2019
https://youtu.be/11qAuMkDdL4 N1 Louis brings breakfast, all three are there but Doddie gets it 2020
https://youtu.be/8IC3e70LhTw N1 Temperature inversion seen from the nest 2020
https://youtu.be/sdVgKT4YE3I N1 Synchronised helicoptering by Doddie & Captain 2020
https://youtu.be/Jk-V4-DQZHI N1 Aila brings fish and gets pecked by Vera! 2020 (slo-mo)
https://youtu.be/9Moy1yWHtW4 N1 Juvenile Mistle Thrush pay an evening visit to Nest One 2021
https://youtu.be/291niuqJOvQ N2 Fish number five causes a screaming frenzy from all three females (2022)
https://youtu.be/ORcpN6aPcSY N2 Hoodie lurks as Willow shows off her beautiful eyes 2022 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/vj0dVfDdwQI N2 Form an orderly queue! 2022
https://youtu.be/HT4f5n1Gss4 N1 Bullfinch lands after Affric departs 2023
https://youtu.be/xwkgVWCJ1aY N1 Garry LV0 brings a duvet of moss to Nest One 2023
https://youtu.be/aYN_ysUW3U8 N2 Ludo watches a parent chasing an intruder 2023 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/raBkskKShcc N2 Louis is back! Looking good, and brings a fish 2023
https://youtu.be/7k-yZUR493k N2 Second fish today – number 350 for the season! 2023
https://youtu.be/2PUZSP_N918 N1 A trio of songbirds visit in the absence of any Ospreys 2024
Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Friday 8th August 2025
Today’s fish were pretty evenly shared out between the two chicks – Breac 7P7 got the substantial remains of last night’s second fish, a flatfish, for breakfast this morning, beating the Hoodies to a free meal, then got one of Louis’ three fresh deliveries today while Darach 7P0 got the other two. The nest total now stands at three hundred and ninety nine, including the two delivered by Dorcha. She wasn’t seen on camera today, neither were Garry LV0 or Affric 152, in fact the only activity on Nest One was the brief visit of a juvenile Great Tit. Garry’s tally remains at one hundred and forty. Steve Quinn published his fish stats for Week 18 today, an interesting read as always, link’s in the bonus section. Steve told us about his recent visit to Avalon Marshes and meeting with photographer Andrew Kirby who was the first to photograph 2020 chick Doddie JJ6 who’d stopped off there practising his fishing skills on his first migration journey. Doddie caused much excitement by becomlng the first Loch Arkaig Osprey to be sighted away from the nest area, link to Andrew’s fabulous photos of Doddie in the bonus section. Today’s weather was windy and sometimes wet, and tonight’s forecast is for heavy rain and what’s referred to as a moderate breeze but when seen on nest cam looks much more powerful, with a low of 12°C, changing to thundery showers with a high of 15°C tomorrow.
Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.22.04 (04.46.07); Nest Two 22.13.40 (04.52.07)
Today’s videos:
https://youtu.be/qq0Q16iCA40 N2 Breac claims the leftover fish before the Hoodies invade
https://youtu.be/CEh1emWe62w N1 A Great Tit (Parus Major) visits 09.12.37
https://youtu.be/lDkie7NcVUk N2 Darach’s waiting and gets the first fish 14.49.08
https://youtu.be/Zx0j2kT7I9E N2 Breac gets a flatfish when Louis brings fish two 16.47.44
https://youtu.be/gRcp6ywmUz0 N2 Darach gets a mackerel when Louis brings fish three 21.31.26
Bonus analysis – Steve Quinn’s breakdown of week 18’s fish stats:
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/?ht-comment-id=27220830
Bonus photos of Doddie JJ6 in Somerset by Andrew Kirby:
https://www.akwildlifeimages.com/p488027889
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:
https://youtu.be/AIAdCPIubvI Don’t bite the foot that feeds you! Louis’ difficult delivery (2019)
https://youtu.be/zLddX6xt-i0 Exit nest right pursued by Mad Mallie (2019)
https://youtu.be/_byBlgH5F0c Osprey antics as Mallie & Rannoch fight Louis and each other (2019)
https://youtu.be/DHWUsnxCNhE Vera is obviously better and pecks Aila (2020)
https://youtu.be/Rpc2uq34oKU Doddie and Vera fight for fish five (2020)
https://youtu.be/OugBSDzamKo Louis delivers a colourful Arctic Charr to Aila (2020)
https://youtu.be/vaI9BRb46fE News! Both Louis’ chicks have fledged and been named (2021)
https://youtu.be/ZQ9uid57ZLc A Sparrowhawk, a Hooded Crow and Sarafina all on the nest (2022)
https://youtu.be/oKC8m2YeWE0 Spooky Nest One in quick time (2022)
https://youtu.be/xLnSvyYalcA A good look at Dorcha coming and going 2023 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/p7p0fEb6KnQ Fish number one, headless trout 2023
https://youtu.be/Ylyt2kQJkdU A shadow flies over Nest One but it’s not Affric or Garry! 2023
https://youtu.be/npgzBhJ8jJc N1 Garry notes unseen danger but still attempts mating 2023
https://youtu.be/-jdvLTKv3rE Fish number two, headless trout 2023
https://youtu.be/qd5T_c7Pt_4 Ludo does an involuntary helicopter in the wind 2023 (zoom)
https://youtu.be/P5S76XoQiuE N1 Coal Tits and Robins visiting in the absence of any Ospreys 07.29.42
More cases of Bird Flu have been found in the UK, reported by Raptor Persecution UK.
It makes me wonder if we will discover from the necrscopy of Big Red and Arthur’s first hatch, O1, if she died of Avian Flu.
At Knepp Farm (you have no idea how much respect I have for their rewilding project), the sound of the Nightingale has not only returned but is becoming more abundant.
In the US, the two oldest of the four osplets of Winnie and Swoop have fledged at Dunrovin Ranch in Montana.
Green Ledge Light Preservation Society: The three osplets of Ollie and Olivia have fledged!
Coeur de’Alene, Idaho: The three surviving osplets have fledged and ‘PB’ reports that each has taken a different osprey platform at the park where they are fish calling. I caught up with two of the trio.
Hellgate Canyon: New Male has been consistently bringing our dear Iris fresh fish to help her prepare for her migration.
Charlo Montana: Charlie has been busy bringing in some fish.
At the Fru Rauer nest in Norway, beautiful flounder are being delivered to the nest. Here is the video: https://youtu.be/F6wBsAZ6YaE?
Joan Castnyer catches a delivery at Goitzsche Wildnis: https://youtu.be/IQH_lg6K4Ak?
Zeus delivering a fish – the family trio are now rarely seen at the nest, with speculation that they are spending more time at the nearby lake.
‘A’ is keeping an eye on the Australian nests for us. So nice to hear from them! “As we reach day 37 for the first egg, the pair at WBSE have been dutifully incubating their clutch, through a lot of rain and cold nights. Lady has as always taken every night shift and on some days has sat on the eggs for eight hours or more as well. Dad relieves her often, if she’ll leave, but sometimes, she sits tight and refuses to budge.Apart from the frequent rain and the consistently cold nights, the pattern has been for not much food to be brought to the nest. Lady has done much of the hunting for herself, though Dad does bring in the odd bream tail or half-eaten fish and often arrives with a full crop himself. I do worry about whether he will step up deliveries once the eggs hatch – things will be difficult if he doesn’t. This pair appears strongly bonded, though, with duets every morning and Dad staying close to the nest each night, and they’re very experienced parents, so I’m probably just worrying about nothing. It’s just all the rain…
There have been a number of sightings of one parent or the other being bothered/swooped/chased by ravens or lapwings or currawongs so that aspect of life in Olympic Forest, sadly, has not changed. The constant rain is a concern – the eggs have for the most part been kept warm and dry but there have been a few occasions when Dad has left the nest before Lady’s return from a break, leaving the eggs uncovered in the rain for ten minutes or so. Hopefully, there won’t have been any damage to the lives inside but only time will tell.
Diamond and Xavier are doing well. Not egg time quite yet but both are looking healthy and are bonding as always. Xavier is STILL bringing Diamond starlings (and, worse yet, recycled starlings she has already rejected). It seems he has to relearn this lesson every single season. On the other hand, there seems to be a relatively plentiful supply of starlings and this can be useful when it’s time to feed some hungry eyases.
At Port Lincoln, it’s R-rated. This pair seems to be mating constantly, with occasional dinner breaks and fly arounds. Eggs are definitely on the minds of these ospreys, and when they’re not mating (or eating), they’re bringing in nesting material. I do hope we have two eggs and not three. I’m never super happy when a third egg hatches on an osprey nest, although I know you are (for research purposes of course). I suppose at this nest, which is blessed to be overseen by a Fish Fairy, the research is partially compromised, in the sense that the lessons learned on the nest are different ones, at least to some extent. I hadn’t thought much about that, but obviously you would have, given the nature of your research.
Nothing at Collins Street yet, and we don’t really expect there to be for at least another fortnight. I do wish we caught a little more of the early part of the season at Collins Street instead of having to wait until the second egg is laid (they usually don’t even switch the cameras on after the first egg, let alone before it, though they must have a fair idea of when the egg-laying window is likely to open. Frustrating.”
How in the world did we get here?
‘Erasure of years of work’: outcry as White House moves to open Arctic reserve to oil and gas drillinghttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/09/national-petroleum-reserve-alaska-oil-gas-drilling?CMP=share_btn_url
Thank you so much for being with us today. We hope you have a great week and we look forward to having you with us again on Friday.
I want to thank our notable contributors, ‘A, Geemeff, PB, PS’, the owners of the streaming cams listed in bold, the individuals who take the time to create videos, including SK Hideaways, Joan Castnyer, Cornell Bird Lab, and the administrators of FB groups 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.
