It warmed up! Mike finished the railings and will begin the small deck extension shortly. Toby and I planted beans, tomatoes, red peppers, chives, various lettuces, and rosemary. We even managed to almost finish painting a wicker plant stand for one of the lovely chartreuse ferns. It was 17 C. Ann and Don went to the zoo, where to their delight, the peacocks were really putting on quite the show. It was what I call a ‘cracker’ of a day.
‘PB’ just sent a note about Achieva. Jill went out and caught a small fish for Big to eat alone. Then she went out again and came in with a big catfish for both her and Little. She is a brilliant dedicated Mum!
I love the fact that these two osprey are so bonded that they remain together despite having no eggs but protecting their territory and nest for next year! It’s called ‘hope’ and we all could use a good dose of it right now!
Sadly, Flora’s Harry has not been seen at the Alyth Substation osprey platform since Saturday. Flora had to go and find food, and when she left their eggs, the Corvids came and ate them. It is a blessing. There are no chicks to starve, and Flora can have a summer building up her strength. Harry was very special and is a huge loss.
Blue KL5 has not returned to the Loch Garten nest for many days. He is also presumed to be lost like Harry. It has been a rough year in the UK osprey world, much different than in previous years when couples were secure and chicks hatched and fledged in a normal calm manner.
Heidi reports on the saddness coming out of Mispillion Harbour osprey platform.
There is cuteness at the nest of Dylan and Seren – and what a bright spot these little osplets are that are hatching!
So cute – turn around you silly!!!!!!!! Manton Bay with Blue 33 and Maya.
Iris had a little visitor from one of the nests inside her nest!
Have you been wonderfing about the female at the Glen-Hayes nest?
We have a fledge/fludge at Johnson City ETSU.
Have you noticed that Monty and Hartley raise the most energetic chicks?!!!!!!!! Always getting into mischief. SK Hideaways gives us some of their latest antics in this video: https://youtu.be/GhKpFR5-4Ao?
Lady and Dad have been regularly coming to the nest tree in the Sydney Olympic Park.
Hatch watch for Richmond and Wendy.
Gracie Shepherd shows us the latest on the fires on Santa Rosa Island where there are eagle nests with babies!
What a cutie that hatched for Dylan and Seren yesterday with another nice pip in the second egg!
Prey becomes comfy pillows at Big Red and Arthur’s nest in New York.
Aerating the eggs at Pitkin County in Colorado.
Ann loves peacocks and this article just popped up in The Guardian!
It’s raining. The sky is grey and it is cooling off. Hoping for warm weather tomorrow! Take care everyone. We will see you again soon.
Thank you to everyone for their contributions – videos, informative posts and messages with images, authors of FB posts and the owners of the streaming cams that allow us these screen captures and a view into the life of these families.
Geemeff was the first to spot the handsome visitor to Loch Arkaig’s nest 2! Here is the video: https://youtu.be/gUBZwBc-KU4?
We wait.
It is believed that this is the same osprey that intruded on Dorcha when she was on nest 2 on the 9th of April. At the time, Geemeff could only see a ‘J’.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Sunday 12th April 2026
Amidst the disappointment of the continuing absence of Louis, Loch Arkaig’s resident male since 2017, a shining event occurred with the arrival of the very handsome male JJ4. He’s a local lad, fledged in 2020 from the non-cam nest on private land at the western end of the loch, and he looked right at home perched on Nest Two. After a bit of fiddling with the troublesome stick (which wasn’t a bother at all until Dorcha decided to move it a few days ago), he left his mark on the nest with a well-aimed squirt before flying off towards the loch. Unfortunately, Dorcha missed him as she didn’t put in an appearance at all today, we can only speculate on her motives and hope to see her tomorrow. As a six year old and Dorcha a minimum of 9 years old, JJ4 would be a good match for her should the position become vacant. But that is getting ahead of ourselves. Over on Nest One, Garry LV0 and Aurora had a typical day with fish arriving and departing the nest, sticks being brought and furnishings being rearranged, and the odd mating attempt, untroubled by any intruders.
If our birds did have enough challenges, there are the cats – Cats are the number one killer of bird species. Now they are after the oyster catchers. ‘PB’ sent this to me – we both have cats and we want to pass on the message to please keep your cats indoors.
I want to say, up front, a huge thank you to Geemeff, Mary Cheadle, and Jeff Kerr for keeping us informe on what is happening at the UK osprey nests an managing so much data so that it is not lost!
Maya is currently incubating three eggs with mate, Blue 33 at Rutland’s Manton Bay platform.
No eggs yet for CJ7 and Blue 022 at Poole Harbour. Will they raise four again?
In the US, Richmond and Wendy have their first egg at the Golden Gate Audubon nest on the WWII whirley crane on Sunday the 12th.
Heidi reports that we have the first egg at Dewey Beach – the site of much saddness last year.
Pitkin County Trails improved its camera this year and we have ospreys incubating egg/s.
The eagles seem to be doing well. There are fledglings and there are babies. The Dale Hollow nest has three getting their feathers.
There are three for Andor and Cruz at Fraser Point.
FOBBV put out a video of the rain at Big Bear and those precious little eaglets with their full crops of Jackie and Shadow. https://youtu.be/IQjt6zysT30?
Closing with Iris’s familiar pose on her perch overlooking one of the finest osprey nests that I know of – she works hard to tidy it up for departure and returns to something lovely that she continues to fix. (She did not sleep on her perch overnight).
For your reading – the interesting story of a man who put the sound of birds on vinyl – from The Guardian:
It is a heavily overcast day in Winnipeg. 0 degrees at the moment. It should not get warmer than 4 C today with the strange promise of 18-20 C on Wednesday! Mr Crow has just been to the feeder, and Mr Blue Jay is making his way through the lilacs to grab a peanut or two. The European Starlings are arriving as the chickadees leave. I can see the white of the tails of the Dark-eyed Juncos flitting about quietly from the ground to the branches. The promise of rain today is not bothering the birds. They seem especially interested in the seed that Toby and I have been stirring up, or should I say the shells of the seed from the winter. Much will be spread to create compost and new soil towards the back of the garden. Toby and I have now been working on this for three days. At some point, the plan is to get some topsoil and a large container of wildflower seeds and plant them. Whether it will be too shady once the lilac leaf is unknown, but we are going to try it.
What are we reading during Story Time? Rebecca Solnit’s Hope in the Dark. I sometimes need to be reminded that if we think locally, we can get ‘things’ done and not give up hope when the world seems to be falling apart. I have often said to you that if each one of us took care of the animals in our own gardens, or the ones that come to our gardens like Brock, the world would be immensely improved. Solnit talks about being local – you might be part of the movement that only eats seasonally within a 100-mile radius of your home. Imagine how much fuel that would save if we all ate the harvests of the time instead of wanting to have strawberries in Winnipeg in February? We do have really delicious ones in June and July! We try to practice this, and it was refreshing to read that in doing so, it is a bit of a resistance to huge corporations. I did grow up in the 60s and 70s and was part of the back-to-the-land movement. I only wish I had the energy to do that again! The book is good. If you are feeling powerless, pick up a copy from your library or order online. Have a good read – I think it will do wonders for bringing hope back into your heart.
Oh, three crows! The baby from last year is home to help with this year’s brood.
I was wrong. There were at least 8 crows in the garden, with one being attacked. Was it out of its territory and hungry? I wonder.
Thank you for being with us today. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to Geemeff for the news from the Woodland Trust and all the wonderful links, to the UK Osprey Info FB group for always keeping us up to date and to those others who post on FB. Thanks, Heidi, for watching the nests that are not easy. I am grateful to The Guardian for their continuing coverage of the interesting stories about wildlife and the environment, and to all the owners of the streaming cams – without you, we would not be so involved in the lives of these magnificent creatures.
First. A reminder if you haven’t already marked it on your calendar. Iris’s favourite day to return to Missoula is 7 April. We are less than 48 hours away.
They are returning from migration but the osprey season officially kicked off today (IMHO) with the arrival of the first egg.
It was Maya (unringed) and Blue 33’s first egg of 2026 and it happened around 1805.
Blue 33 flies in to have a good look.
There are two cameras. The rails are so high on the nest this year we might only see little heads for some time.
On the Canadian prairies, it was raining and then it started snowing a bit and everything is brown and grey. No beautiful sunshine. Toby was so filthy from our walk that he had another bath – he is so good in the tub. Tomorrow he will have a mobile nail trimmer arrive to shorten those claws. In the meantime, it is damp to the bone weather here in Winnipeg. I hope it is much nicer where you are.
Check out the darling bobble heads at Big Bear and Achieva. Wink has brought in a huge fish to share with Peanut, who has repeatedly defended itself and the nest against that persistent owl. Storks are returning to Europe. One was on the nest at Mlady Buky the last time I checked. Remember, Milda is on eggs, and by the end of the month, I hope to see the cutest little white-tailed eaglets on that nest in Latvia. Fort St Vrain has a second hatch happening with pip watch on the third and only egg remaining (first two broke) going on for the ND-LEEF eagles in South Bend, Indiana.
FSV56 looking at Mum. What a beautiful sight.
Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the owners of the streaming cams – without them we would not be able to look into the lives of these birds and witness these little bobblehead miracles!
Oh, my goodness. I can’t keep up. Everyone knew this week was going to be a madhouse but we have osprey arrivals, eggs being laid, pip and hatch watches, hatches, fledges – and you name it. It is absolutely wonderful.
Jack and Jill have their first hatch at the Achieva Osprey platform in St Petersburg, Florida. Please send them extra love – they need it! There is a lot of competition for Jack’s fish from other species and that platform has not given us much confidence. I hope this year goes wonderfully well for this couple – send the love!
Thanks, MP, for alerting me and sending the images. Time: 15:46:41
If you have not watched Tim MacKrill’s presentation on osprey migration, I urge you to do so. You will learn so much! Then you can teach others. https://youtu.be/wlJoNyKapfc?
Dad might have brought in a huge male Tilapia to the Moorings Park nest, but these three are now well into the Reptilian Phase, and they are not having that feeling of ‘love’ with one another – at least not when it comes to food! You might see some unhappiness once in a while. Hopefully, this will all settle down once they get their juvenile feathers.
They can be nice.
Nice evening at Pitkin!
Heidi reports that both ospreys are at Seaside – Bruce and Naha. They have a chat and there is a great observation board to check out current and historical information.
Thanks for being with me. Please take care. See you on Monday if not before. Have a great weekend.
Thank you to ‘MP’ for the notice and images for Achieva, for Geemeff for reminding me about Tim Mackrill’s talk and now it is archived, to all who posted notices on FB, and the owners of the streaming cams that allow us to partake of the lives of these wonderful birds.
