We were having lunch with our daughter when Geeemeff’s call from London came in – Seren Blue 5F landed on the nest and appears to be unharmed.
We will never know what prevented her from returning to her three chicks for nearly 24 hours. She is a dedicated mother and would never have left them that long without being in peril herself.
Seren is the only osprey of the UK streaming cams that I have seen in the feathers, and she was very special to me. I am so glad she is safe. She and Dylan will continue to bond, and she will grow strong, and next year they will try again. Right now, they are both grieving for the loss of their babies.
I want to thank John Williams for his love for this family and his quick action. He could not get up to the nest in the dark. It was impossible, but he was there as early as he could be, trying to save those babies. Nests in North America have a lot to learn from this kind of love and dedication.
Dylan and Seren Blue 5F are the adult ospreys at the Llyn Clywedog nest in the Hafren Forest in Wales. They have successfully raised chicks together for years. They have had troubles with a goshawk in the past that took one of their chicks.
This season the pair had all three of their eggs hatch.
The weather earlier today had been rainy.
Fish on the nest above. At times during the afternoon, I thought Seren appeared to be distracted.
Seren flies off the nest leaving her babies at 20:58:44.
She has not returned.
Dylan came to the nest about an hour after Seren flew off. He has not brooded the chicks. They were chirping and huddling together.
I have a really bad feeling about this. Seren is too good a mother to leave her chicks for this long unless she is injured or dead. My heart is aching for those little babies who want the warmth of their Mum.
It has been a really rough week in Bird World. We lost Rosie and Richmond’s only osplet, Scout died, Snow was taken into care, and we count every fish that goes to Little Dewey at Dewey Beach. Storks in part of Europe are hungry. They need rain along with frogs and little fish. This year promised to be challenging and it is turning out to be more than anticipated.
Please send your wishes to the Llyn Clywedog nest of Dylan and Seren that Mum will return, and the babies will not succumb to hypothermia.
Remember to be grateful for all the little souls in other nests that are fine – anything can happen. Keep them safe!
I am taking the day off tomorrow. June 4 is our late son’s birthday and we always celebrate by eating New York cheesecake, his favourite. It will also give me a chance to take a deep breath after all these tragedies. Take care everyone. We will see you again on Friday.
Thank you to CarnyX Wild for their streaming cam to the Llyn Clywedog nest where I took my screen captures.
Thank you so much for your lovely comments and notes. I am so glad you enjoyed the post about those amazing female raptors! They are truly incredible.
Jill was up early Saturday morning catching a breakfast fish for her and the kids. It is hard for her – Big and Little are growing leaps and bounds and eating more and more and she still must maintain her own strength in order to go and fish for all of them. The nest cannot count on Jack who has an odd pattern of fish deliveries.
‘PB’ caught this great screen capture of Jill coming in with that early fish. She really is quite amazing.
I don’t recall worrying so much about a hatch at Big Red’s nest. It must surely be because we lost the first one and the nest has been so soggy this year with all the rain. The little one did make it! Thank goodness. There is so much prey. No one ever goes hungry on Big Red’s nest and never will unless there is a physical reason they cannot eat!
Saturday was always Ferris Akel Day. We watched and often chatted every Saturday during or was it after? the pandemic. I miss being able to sit and go on a bird tour with Ferris who is incredibly knowledgable. Today, I stepped in for a few moments. He was at the Blue Heron rookery and they had babies!
Ferris is a great distance away, which makes these images just that more special. Check him out on YouTube.
A work of art ‘Ghost Sky Dance’ that documents the illegal killing of the Hen Harriers in the Yorkshire Moors.
Some good news and some bad from Knepp Wilding about Turtle Doves.
Turtle doves are back!
This year our most longed-for winter migrants have been bang on time. Our first turtle dove was recorded at Knepp on 24 April. Already we’re hearing several male ‘turtle’s doing their territorial ‘turr-offs’ from dead trees in the Southern Block.
Once common in the 1960s, the UK now has fewer than 3,000 turtle doves, thanks mostly to the loss of protective habitat and the wildflowers which provide them with tiny, protein-rich seeds to eat. Numbers at Knepp remain around 20 singing males every year – that’s a quarter of the population in Sussex. Last year, however, just as their numbers were beginning to recover, the European Commission overturned a ban on hunting turtle doves in parts of Western Europe. Every turtle dove arriving in the UK is a tiny miracle.
The parents have returned to the nest and brought fish to the Dale Hollow Eaglets. One had fishing line and the AEF team was able to remove it.
The Sandy Steers Celebration of Life will be on 13 June 2026. It will be live streamed. Check their FB page for details.
Forestry England has another nest that has a streaming cam.
Olivia was not getting fish deliveries at the Severna Park Osprey platform in Maryland. She, like so many others last year, has abandoned her eggs, which have been eaten by crows. This is the first nest on a streaming cam in 2026 that the adults have had to abandon due to a lack of food. Please if you live in Virginia, please help those rally to stop the commercial fishing of Menhaden which is vital to the ecosystem for that entire area – including Maryland!
I want to give a shout-out to all those folks who are designing ingenious ways to feed the ospreys that live near or on their property. I won’t ever tell who you are, but I hope that what you try works and that those adults and babies thrive. You are my heroes.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Saturday 9th May 2026
Today was pretty much a repeat of yesterday, a calm routine of fish deliveries and incubation changeovers. Exactly what’s needed as life develops inside those beautiful speckled eggshells, moving slowly towards hatching day sometime in the first half of June. Louis delivered three fish for Dorcha taking the Nest Two tally to fifty, and Garry LV0 delivered two fish to Aurora 536 taking the Nest One tally to fifty three. Ospreys are migratory birds and this weekend celebrates International Migratory Bird Day, therefore tonight’s bonus item is a programme on bird migration.
The osplets at Lake Murray are doing great according to Heidi – and the little one has just the cutest bottom. Nice, round, and fat. This is all thanks to the new male at the nest!
The American Bird Conservancy (ABC)’s bird of the week, The Yellow-breasted Chat. Have a good read – see how much you can learn about this special feathered friend.
One of the things that I love about my tiny urban plot is that it is home to so many species of wildlife. Every year, we try to plant more shrubs and flowers to attract more bees and butterflies while making certain there are always decaying logs scattered about the property, providing a home for insects and a feast for so many of the birds. I can’t fight the big commercial enterprises that are destroying our planet, but I can make a difference right where I live – and so can you! It only takes one plant, specifically designed for your region and the bees or butterflies that live there, to make a difference. Why don’t you find a spot to plant something this year so that you can sit and watch the visitors come? And remember – please leave out water. It is the gift of life.
In London, the Queen Elizabeth II garden is attracting all manner of creatures! Enjoy the images.
A new haven for wildlife: London’s Queen Elizabeth II garden opens to the public – in pictures
It has been a week of ups and downs at our house. The weather is not helping. I find that warm days when we can be outside, even if it’s just sitting on a chair on the deck, are so beneficial to one’s mental health. As I have mentioned many times in recent years, Don is now in his fifth year of being diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. For those that are unfamiliar, it is different than Alzheimer’s. This AI overview is rather good:
Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) and Alzheimer’s differ primarily in their initial symptoms and progression: LBD features early hallucinations, significant cognitive fluctuations, and Parkinson-like movement issues, whereas Alzheimer’s typically begins with memory loss. LBD often progresses faster and includes REM sleep disorders, whereas Alzheimer’s is generally slower and affects memory first.
Key Differences at a Glance
Initial Symptoms: LBD often starts with attention, executive function, and visual-spatial issues, while Alzheimer’s starts with short-term memory loss.
Fluctuations: LBD patients experience drastic, daily, or hourly changes in alertness and attention; Alzheimer’s symptoms are usually more consistent.
Movement: Parkinsonism (rigid muscles, slow movement, tremors) appears early in LBD, often within one year of cognitive decline. Movement issues appear in late-stage Alzheimer’s.
Hallucinations: Early, detailed visual hallucinations are common in LBD, while they typically occur in later stages of Alzheimer’s.
Sleep: REM sleep behavior disorder (acting out dreams) is a common early indicator of LBD, not Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s Association +4
Brain Pathology and Progression
LBD: Caused by abnormal deposits of alpha-synuclein proteins (Lewy bodies) that deplete brain chemical messengers.
Alzheimer’s: Caused by Amyloid plaques and tau tangles.
Progression: LBD tends to progress faster than Alzheimer’s, with a survival rate often averaging 5 to 7 years.
Why Diagnosis Matters An accurate diagnosis is critical because LBD patients may have severe adverse reactions to certain antipsychotic medications commonly used to treat behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer’s.
Many of you have written to me about a family member or partner that is suffering from memory loss. Please, please get them to a doctor for a diagnosis. The earlier, the better. It is incredible what treatments and medications they have now that they didn’t have five years ago!
Don’s disease is beginning to progress rapidly now. We enjoy every good moment as his apathy and hallucinations grow. I always remind everyone to also enjoy life as much as you can. Don’t sit and cry over what happened a year or ten years ago or more or worry about next year. Enjoy your life right now. You never know what is coming around the corner.
I will end there. Thank you for being with us today. Please take care. I am going to take tomorrow off. See you Monday evening.
Thank you to all of the contributors today – those great people with their daily summaries, videos, articles, and investigative reporting. Thank you to ‘PB’ and Heidi for keeping track of the US ospreys and to the owners of the streaming cams and UK Osprey Information FB.
