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.”
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.
Oh, my goodness. It is pouring down rain again and Toby has his thunder shirt on! Thanks to ‘P’ I have discovered they also make these calming jackets for cats. Missey is the other one that was soooooo anxious during the recent storms so that I have now ordered one for her. The running joke amongst us is that the animals have more outfits than we do! It’s true. They are the glue that holds our mental health in place along with the garden and its wildlife.
Our neighbourhood is very concerned. Neither Brock nor Charlie, the cat with the frozen folded ear, have been seen and they disappeared at the same time. I do not believe in coincidences. Neighbours have adjusted their cameras and put out bowls o food in an attempt to see if we can spot them on camera. Don, Toby, and I have called and banged on every shed and garage and one house that is vacant with work being done for fear they are locked in. Brock would not easily go into a trap. I tried him many times but, he might be lured into a house or a space to go to sleep and then someone close the door and not come back. Jane and I are beside ourselves with worry.
P1 fledged at the nest of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus on Thursday. Congratulations. P2 is ready, but P3 isn’t. How can you tell? To properly fly, we should be able to clearly see five or six dark bands on their tail.
Can you tell who is the youngest by the number of bands? Laura Culley taught me this.
Clark came to say hello, then delivered a stick for the cot rails, and then within a few minutes returned with a breakfast fish for Iris and baby.
Now that industrial fishing has begun in the NE, it appears there are fewer and fewer fish for males to find and deliver to their nests. There have been deaths in the last few days, including Forsythe. I was inherently sad before this osprey season began, and I feel as if someone just punched me in the gut really hard at the start of each day. Heidi and I predicted this more than three years ago. The decline is happening swiftly. The adults who hatched babies cannot find enough fish to feed themselves and their chicks. They also know that even if a few live, they won’t find fish when they fledge. I had hoped that the ospreys would choose not to breed at all, as Duke and Daisy did a couple of years ago at Barnegat Light. What you are watching is the slow extinction of a species in a region of the US that should not be happening. While some might wish to point to all manner of causes – Bald Eagles eating millions of tonnes of fish so the osprey don’t have any – the real culprit is the industrial trawling using spotter planes of the fish that is the basis of the ecosystem in the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding areas. Menhaden. You are witnessing this. It is not going to get any better. What we must do is celebrate the chicks that survive, find a fairy or two to help Little Dewey, and make it rain fish for those that are still alive. In other words, a miracle.
We have another female who is going out fishing to try and keep her babies alive – Hennie at Henlopen State Park. Thanks, Heidi.
The weather at Dewey Beach has been very bad and Little Dewey has had no fish in at least 24 hours.
Has Mum gone fishing, too? I hope so!
At 1600 Mum returned with literally a minnow for Little Dewey. He has had only this snack in more than 24 hours. I really wish someone would drop fish on this nest. If this chick starves to death in front of us like the one last year, it is going to be hard to deal with. The cause of the lack of fish is manmade – industrial fishing – cannot someone do something?
Mum might determine that there is no fish for her baby as he gets older and abandons the nest. This is an acute possibility. We have to be prepared.
Every nest I have checked needs fish in the US – it would be good to see 5-7 fish on these nests where the chicks are in the Reptile phase or later. Dewey is getting feathers. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum babies seem tiny.
The nest is so full of human debris and it appears only one egg that Bety is incubating – it just doesn’t feel right this year at Mlade Buky. Maybe it is just me.
Finnish nest 4. Two chicks in reptile phase doing well.
Beautiful juvenile feathers on the trio at Finnish nest 1.
Two tiny tiny little osplets at Ilomansti Finnish 2 nest.
Three at Oyster Bay getting their juvenile feathers.
Three covered with feathers at Clark PUD in Washington.
Chick 2 is calling for prey, and Mum fed at the Lesser Spotted Eagle nest in Estonia. We can only take this nest one day at a time as Lesser Spotted Eagles practice obligate siblicide (the oldest chick kills the younger).
This black stork nest is doing so well in Estonia that a foster storklet has been added.
Bobby Bach (third Bob) is doing find according to the folks at Glaslyn. There was some concern after the recent removal of fishing line but they have been monitoring the situation with their own special cameras closely and conclude he is alright. The weather has been terrible, but Teifi has been delivering fish, regardless. Here is Bobby Bach right up front and using its crop as a pillow.
Syfadden has been bringing in the fish to the Usk Valley while Clogwyn has made certain – despite their size that they are kept warm and dry in the bad weather of Wales.
At Rutland Manton Bay’s nest of Maya and Blue 33, the osplets, fully feathered, enter their fledge window in less than a fortnight from 28th Jun – 11 Jul. I wish every osplet in the US had the chance for fish that this nest has!
That is a nest full of osplets – four of them – at Poole Harbour – doing just fine. CJ7 and Blue 022. Amazing. They will probably break Maya and Blue 33s record of fledging four (I must check – it could be this clutch!).
I feel like I am the bearer of bad news. Despite the understanding, several years ago, that Heidi and I had that this would happen if the industrial fishing of Menhaden was not curtailed, it is still more than difficult. It doesn’t have to happen. Every person reading my blog, their friends, anyone who loves ospreys should be calling Audubon, anyone in the State of Virginia including the Governor, and every TV, radio, and newspaper channel.
Thank you for being with us. I keep saying that I am going to take a break and it might just be this weekend that I do. It is a little overwhelming seeing so many babies and parents starving. Take care. There are fledges to come on the Channel Islands and P2 at Cornell.
Thank you to everyone who posted information on FB and images, the owners of the streaming cams, and to each of you for your comments and information sent to me by other means.
It was a fantastic day to be outside. The garden is really ‘loud’ with birdsong – you can hear them more than half a block away! And the rain and heat have done the plants wonders.
Some images that we are enjoying.
A memory and a treasure. A Paolo Soleri bell. He died during the month when I met my friend Lynne in Phoenix for a mini-break, too many years ago now.
The peonies will be blooming, but are off limits to Toby just like the hydrangeas as they are toxic to dogs.
We are sitting outside, and Mr Crow has come for a visit. I thought he was going to have a bath, but he jumped down onto the ground. I wonder what caught his eye.
The sparrows had a lot of fun in the bird bath today, but it meant that we had to clean it about four times! Oh, they make a mess.
You never have your camera when you truly need it. Mr Crow is balancing on one of the flower poles, waiting for the squirrel to finish at the table feeder. Oh, he is back at the bird bath and now off he goes. Lots of activity between 1900-2100.
Oh, how sad. It appears the eldest chick (they both hatched on 11 June) crawled out from under New Female at Charlo, Montana during the night when it was in the 50s and succumbed to hypothermia. The NF tried several times to get the chick back under her for warmth to no avail. What a tragic nest accident!
Mum trying to get her baby back.
The Eagle Dock Osprey Nest is located in Cold Spring Harbour, New York. It sits out in the distance across the mudflats, visible from the shoreline near the Eagle Dock Community Beach (on Shore Road) and the adjacent Shore Road Sanctuary. Their osprey cam has gone live and the two adults are present.
I think each of you had your eyes on that beautiful eaglet Snow at Traverse City, Michigan, when its nest slid, and it fell. All the while, we noted that the adults were the most incredible parents. Snow had no parasites or infections and was well fed and feathered on the initial examination. Snow was strong, and her two fractures are healing nicely, and she is receiving the best of care at Northern Sky Raptor Sanctuary. Today, they announced that Snow is a female! I will note that the parents continue to go to the nest. Yes, raptors have feelings and they are missing their Snow. What a lucky eaglet to have such good care. Many do not.
I am confounded. We are used to seeing fishing line and baling twine on US osprey and eagle nests. It was not until this year that it seemed to be a common occurrence at UK osprey nests. Yesterday, the great folks at Glaslyn successfully removed the fishing line and hook that were wrapped around the youngest chick from the nest of Elen and Teifi. Thank you to everyone who notified them and those who helped quickly!
We love Luna and Sandy – Jackie and Shadow’s soon-to-fledge eaglets – at Big Bear. They are getting closer and closer. SK Hideaways caught Luna getting higher! https://youtu.be/If_H8omr7nk?
This is what our ospreys are up against. The industrial fishing (not the commercial fishing of the locals) needs to stop. Omega needs to be mothballed.
One of Canada’s leading authors, Margaret Atwood, is saving Pelee Island (along with her family) for migratory birds)
Oh, there are chicks dying in Finland. The latest is at LS #5.
I had many questions about Steelscape’s camera. It is not streaming. Our ‘sleuth’, PB, had a contact and has discovered that the individual who wanted the streaming cam and who was in IT has been made redundant. These things happen. I continue to be thankful for the Achieva Osprey cam – especially this year, as it has been a stunner, but the individual who led the effort might no longer be with that branch. There was once an active FB group just for the nest.
There is one osplet at The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbour, New Jersey (south). Baby appears to waiting for fish. This is the first time I have checked on this nest. Does anyone have details?
Beautiful family portrait of White Stork family in Lubla Parish, Poland. Storklets are Eliasz & Gabriel.
Big Red doesn’t like her babies to fledge when it is raining. Of course, she is so smart – their feathers would be heavy and it is also windy. To keep them home, she often feeds them constantly!
So where are the other two? Are they at the end or down on the ledge? It appears that the first fledge might have been at 1825. I await official confirmation.
All is well at Hellgate Canyon with Iris, Clark, and Baby.
The oldest chick that died of hypothermia at Charlo, Montana overnight has not been removed from the nest. This is so sad. Let us hope that nothing happens to Only Bob.
Three little ones at Osoyoos. Pray for this nest and the others that are struggling – perhaps, in reality, that is almost all of them in one way or another.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Thursday 18th June 2026
It was wet and windy today, and there was a moment which could have been nasty but fortunately wasn’t – a gust of wind caught Dorcha and flipped her over, taking a chick as well. But Dorcha righted herself and the chick quickly crawled back under her with no harm done. On the 6th anniversary of Legendary Louis and the Day of Nine Fish, it was a slow fish day, Louis only brought two fish and the second was such a tiddler it was gone in four minutes. Chick1 achieved a milestone by swallowing the small tail, while earlier Dorcha had struggled to swallow the much larger tail of the first fish. The Nest Two tally now rises to one hundred and fifty three, and Garry LV0’s single fish takes the Nest One tally to one hundred and twenty two. Aurora 536 spent most of the day incubating the unviable egg, how long she’ll keep doing that is a matter of speculation. Heavy rain and light winds with a low of 15°C is the overnight forecast, changing to light rain showers, a gentle breeze and a high of 17°C tomorrow.
Thank you so much for being with us. It is time to do a wee bit of weeding in the garden before getting the lads inside. We hope that you had a wonderful Thursday. Take care of yourself. Please get outside if you can. Nature is regenerating!
Thank you to ‘MP’ and ‘PB’ re the Steelscape streaming cam, to SK Hideaways and Geemeff for their videos and for that incredible daily summary of happenings at Loch Arkaig. I am grateful to everyone who owns a streaming cam that stays on and lets us watch these incredible birds. Streaming cams cost money and human power – so thank you! And to everyone who posted information, put images and events on FB – we are so grateful.
