Pip – a really good effort going on – in the second egg go blue 33 and Maya at Rutland Water.
P3 gave us quite the fright yesterday. Must have really been in a food coma – or tired. Up and getting bites this morning at the Cornell nest of Big Red and Arthur.
White-tailed Eagles to be released in Exmoor National Park in the UK next year.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Wednesday 13th May 2026
Today was back to routine, quietand calm with no intruders to shatter the tranquility. Louis and Garry LV0 brought two fish each for their respective partners Dorcha and Aurora 536, the Nest Two tally now stands at fifty nine, and the Nest One at sixty two.The weather was mainly settled, just a little light rain occasionally during the day, but more is forecast for tonight with drizzle and light winds and an overnight low of 5°C, continuing through tomorrow with light rain showers, a gentle breeze and a high of 12°C. The weather shouldn’t affect the males’ fishing abilities, and if you missed Steve Quinn’s fish count update posted on Monday, just pop Nest 2 fish count update to week 3 (8th May): into the search bar (click on the tiny magnifying glass symbol on the right above the pinned comment) for some interesting facts and comparison with previous years. We learned a little more about intruder Blue 2B8, she is female, eldest of a clutch of three female 2023 Kielder chicks with an English mother and very likely a Scottish father as although his Darvic ring has been lost, his BTO ring is on his right leg. No further sightings of local lad JJ4, there was some light hearted speculation that it would be nice if he and 2B6 paired up together somewhere not close enough to be a threat to either of the Arkaig pairs.
Thanks everyone. Have a great day. I just wanted you to know that P3 is doing well. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to all of the owners of the streaming cams, for those that post announcements about their nests, for those that post on FB, and to Geemeff for their daily summary of all things Loch Arkaig.
The sky is a gorgeous blue with a few little tiny cottonball clouds floating about. It was grey and cold earlier and to end the day with beautiful sunshine is a real blessing.
We have the first hatch at Rutland Manton’s Bay:
I am also happy to say that thanks to Kathryn we continue to know the goings on of one of my favourite Welsh ospreys, Aran, and his new mate.
Cornell Bird Lab is doing a great job of producing short videos of Big Red and her chicks.
We are a few days away from fledge at the Venice Golf and Country Club osprey platform. Chicks hatched on 20, 21, and 23 March.
I don’t know what has gotten into Jack at Achieva but he is being much more helpful to Jill in bringing in fish as of late.
It has been almost like a tag team, with Jill bringing in a fish and Jack coming in a few minutes later with another. It sure helps. Jill can feed herself, and Little and Big can work on the self-feeding she is getting so good at.
It rained at Achieva and it looks like Jack came in with a late fish. Maybe Diane will not need to go fishing tonight.
I have waited to send this so that I could include Geemeff’s summary from Loch Arkaig and here it is:
Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Tuesday 12th May 2026Today was mostly peaceful on both nests, barring an intruder alert near Nest One, and an intruder Osprey actually landing on Nest Two. While Louis and Dorcha were most unhappy and furiously chased the intruder away, the watchers were pleased to solve a mystery as this intruder had visited twice before but his Darvic ring could not be read. Today however he positioned himself just long enough to see that he is Blue 2B6, hatched 2023 in Kielder, and not Blue 286 hatched 2019 in Cumbria. There’s still a slight mystery about this bird as it was initially thought to be female, but now tending towards the possibility of being male. Whichever is correct, we wish Blue 2B6 success at finding a nest and a mate but preferably away from the two Arkaig nests as hatching day comes closer. Louis brought one fish for Dorcha taking the Nest Two tally to fifty seven, and Garry LV0 brought two fish for Aurora 536 taking the Nest One tally to sixty.
Thank you for being with us today. It is time to take Toby for a last walk before bed. Tomorrow he has his first annual check up. Wish us luck! Take care all. We will see you soon.
Nitey-nite from Toby wearing his new halter. He loves orange!
I will try and get some good images of The Girls this weekend for you. I feel like I have neglected them.
Thank you to Geemeff, Heidi, and PB for their notes and news, to the owners of the streaming cams, the authors of the FB posts – we are so ever grateful for the time and dedication you take in providing us with news and views of our favourite raptor families.
We wake up, and over our morning cuppa, we count the animals at the feeders. There are always four grey squirrels, one red squirrel, two Blue Jays, and two Crows. The number of Starlings, Sparrows, Juncos, and others varies during the day. But, for two days, there have only been three grey squirrels. Thankfully, the elderly Dyson, the matriarch of all the grey squirrels, is one of those. But where is the other one?
On our walk with Toby, we passed by the house that had burned down at the corner some time ago. There on the boulevard was the grey squirrel. It had no visible signs of being hit by a car, and there were no wires for it to fall from its position. A friend of Don’s was here for lunch, and we determined with some minor science that it had probably been poisoned. Its body was brought back to the garden where it had played in the lilacs and filled its belly for several years with peanuts. I buried it between two trees. Will find a beautiful stone to sit on top – incense lifted its spirit into the wind.
My concern now turns to who is using rodenticide and why. Yes, there are mice. Most of us feed the birds, and where there is seed, there are mice. I have been told that using only Black Oil Seed and peanuts will not attract the mice as the grains do. The Crows and the Hawks catch mice; we don’t have to do anything. Owls, of course, are another great way to rid an area of rats and mice. But with rodenticide use, nothing is safe. What if the Crows had eaten the carcass? Or a pet dog? Toby? One of the feral cats? Brock? It makes my mind go crazy thinking about poisoning our world.
Luckily, our lovely company kept my mind off of rodenticide and I needed to check the ospreys while Don was busy with his friend.
I had a look, and, surprise, surprise, there is the first UK pip at Maya and Blue 33’s nest at Rutland’s Manton Bay!
It is such a deep nest. We need an overhead cam!!!!!!!!!
All is well with the trio at Big Red and Arthur’s Red-tail Hawk nest on the Cornell Campus. Yes, P3 is being fed!!!!!!!!!!!! No one is left out. We are too conditioned by the osprey and eagle nests!!!!!!!! Hawks and Falcons are notorious for making sure everyone is fed. There is no shortage of prey.
The first failed osprey nest in Maryland was in Severna Park. Was it before those failing in Virginia? It is not clear. I am receiving notes today that several other nests where Omega Protein fishes a mile off the coast of Nassawadox Creek are seeing the adults abandon their eggs. Nassawadox Creek is a tidal waterway in Northampton County, Virginia, on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. There will be more, and we must prepare ourselves. If you have not figured it out, the decline in osprey numbers is worse than the DDT crisis of the 1970s. Someone needs to do something about this!
Sad news coming out of Scotland over the use of an illegal trap.
There is really great news coming out of Glaslyn. Aran and Elen’s two year old chick has touched down for all to see! What a wonderful migration and so happy that one of their babies has been seen in Wales.
This is a reason to ring every osplet on every osprey nest – which is attempted in the UK but not in North America.
Everything is going well at Achieva Osprey Platform.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Monday 11th May 2026
Another routine day, it started and ended with a little rain, and in between were lots of fish deliveries – both males brought three fish each, although one of Louis’ was so tiny, it needed a close up to see it was actually a whole fish and not just a scrap, and Garry LV0 also brought a tiny fish – his was still flapping. The Nest Two tally rises to fifty six, and Garry’s rises to fifty eight. It’s great to see both males supplying a steady stream of fish as hatching day starts getting nearer when it will be paramount. As the day ends, Dorcha and Aurora 536 are tucked up sitting on eggs on their respective nests, protecting them from the sporadic light rain which is set to continue through the night and most of tomorrow, with an overnight low of 6°c and a high of 13°c tomorrow afternoon.
There is so much going on. Iris’s new mate kept her company at the nest. This lad really does like to incubate, but I wish he would fish a bit more!
I love Iris and New Guy 2 watching their trains!
Thank you so much for being with me this evening. Take care! See you soon.
The two besties – Toby and Hugo Yugo – wish you a great week.
Thank you to Geemeff for all things Loch Arkaig, to ‘PB’ and Heidi for counting and identifying fish, to everyone who posts on FB with images and news updates, to Raptor Persecution for always reporting what is truly going on without any prejudice, and to the owners of the streaming cams that allow us to watch these amazing families.
First up – Happy Birthday to David Attenborough who is 100 today. What an incredible individual.
Second, remember that Saturday is Migratory Bird Day. Please take part in one of the counts, including the Cornell Bird Labs count. Check out their website.
It was 15 C with a gentle, albeit sometimes coolish breeze in Winnipeg today. The sky was blue with a few of those big cottonball clouds. Ring-billed Gulls were heard overhead flying between the two rivers in our City. In the garden, a host of White-crowned Sparrows were foraging and bathing. We have three bird baths up now, with notes to clean them every other day if not daily. Half a dozen Starlings were here along with the single Robin that visited the other day, a few Dark-eyed Juncos, flocks of sparrows, the Blue Jays and Crows. I am not good at identifying individual species of sparrows, so we just say ‘House Sparrows’!
Toby had his walk with us, and Ann arrived determined to make Don very tired with a solid two-and-a-half-hour walk at the zoo today. It worked!
One of the most troubling local news items is that the City and the Parks Department are culling goose eggs. There are ‘too many’ geese! I have criticised New Zealand for doing this, and now it is here, right at my favourite park. Didn’t someone tell them that Avian Flu took the lives of no fewer than 100,000 Canada Geese last fall in Manitoba’s north? We actually don’t know the full number of geese and other waterfowl that died, as many lakes in the north are quite remote. I was seething. I am not quite sure what the priority is for our City. New houses are going up on agricultural land. They are close together, identical, built quickly with few, if any, trees. The City is closing local wading pools in areas where the children need a free summer pastime. Crime rates are up, property theft is rampant, and drugs and weapons are always in the news. Winnipeg used to be relatively ‘sleepy’. Population growth, poverty, a lack of parenting for many reasons, including economic ones, where both parents have to work 2 or 3 jobs just to barely pay the bills, are contributors. I want to emphasise that I am referring to the ‘City’ government. In general, I am pretty happy with our provincial government. But enough…I do not have a television, and any news that I watch comes from YouTube live events. Watching birds and just sitting with my eyes closed, even for ten minutes, on the deck, listening to birdsong, is so nice. The violence that does make the news is hard to take and yet, I am reminded every day of the goodness of people.
The Lily Society is naming a Day Lily after our neighbour who died in a house fire. He was, as I understand it, one of the founding members and experimented with hybridising lilies. He had a lovely garden full of them. Today, they were removed and will become part of a memorial garden. Very thoughtful. Kindness also comes in the form of my neighbours working on my deck to make it safer and, of course, Jane feeding Brock and loving him. I am so grateful for this single block of individuals who could brighten anyone’s day.
Before we shift to Bird World news, I wanted to send a photo of our little herb and salad garden. It is doing very well. In a couple of weeks, we will be planting outside, but we will keep this one going constantly. From left to right, there is basil, dill, and then two different types of lettuce. I had to exchange the short dowels for the longer 45 cm ones yesterday. The dill is intense and very delicious.
I have had so much information backed up that I want to share with you. So there are a lot of files today – I hope that there is something of value for you.
Please mark Saturday in your calendars. It is World Migratory Bird Day.
AI answers: World Migratory Bird Day 2026 focuses on the theme “Every Bird Counts – Your Observations Matter!”, highlighting community science and citizen observations for bird conservation. The main peak days are Saturday, May 9, 2026 (Northern Hemisphere) and Saturday, October 10, 2026 (Southern Hemisphere), featuring global events and bird counting efforts like on eBird.
Key Aspects of 2026 Campaign:
Theme: The theme highlights the importance of individual contributions through citizen science to track and protect migratory birds.
Key Dates: May 9 and October 10, 2026, align with peak bird migration periods.
Activities: Participation includes monitoring, bird counting, and educational events.
Featured Events: A special 2026 event will take place on May 9th at Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada, including the “Wings of Survival” talk.
Global Participation: Coordinated by groups like Environment for the Americas, the campaign encourages recording sightings on eBird. World Migratory Bird Day +6
World Migratory Bird Day is a global effort to raise awareness about the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.
If you live in or near NYC, here are some events on Saturday but do check out your local birding groups.
This Saturday is World Migratory Bird Day, a global migration celebration. Each spring and fall, birds travel anywhere from a few hundred miles to tens of thousands! You can see these amazing journeys on display right now as birds stop in our parks and green spaces to rest and refuel.
Join our FREE outings throughout the boroughs to spot stunning spring migrants:
Manhattan: Drop-in Ecology Session at Jefferson Market Garden
It isn’t just the birds that need our help. Geemeff sent me the following to share with all of you.
This poor 46 year old Orangutan is alone in a concrete enclosure and has been that way most of her life. Opal has been offered a more suitable home but her owners have refused. It’s a truly dreadful situation for a sentient being, and completely unnecessary.
Hawk Mountain’s signature live raptor program, Raptors Up Close! offers the chance to see live hawks and owls, and to learn what puts these winged predators at the top of nature’s food chain. This program guarantees that you will see a live raptor during your visit and is appropriate for visitors of all ages.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Friday 8th May 2026Another calm day on both nests today, with fish delivered, eaten, and in one case lost! Garry LV0 delivered two fish to Aurora 536 but unhappily she dropped the biggest one and sensibly ate most of the small second one on the nest before departing, leaving Garry to incubate their single egg. His tally now stands at fifty one fish. Louis delivered three fish to Dorcha, taking the nest total to forty seven and his own tally to forty five. Due to some stick
manoeuvring, the three eggs on Nest Two are now visible but given the birds’ quest to make the perfect nest, future adjustments might well block the view again. Today’s bonus item is in honour of
Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday: a documentary about Ospreys narrated by him and featuring Roy Dennis.Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/FE_fGP965Uo N2 Louis doesn’t notice a tiny visitor after Dorcha left with fish one 08.01.09https://youtu.be/Ogyo5DjA4sM N2 A second fish arrives for Dorcha 16.14.44
There is some concern at the Dale Hollow Nest that the adults have not returned to feed the three eaglets since the AEF removed the fishing line yesterday. I have not been able to watch that nest closely today to see whether any deliveries have been made. Maybe you know?
But for now a big thank you to the AEF who took over the Dale Hollow Nest after the two fiasco years of 2022 and 2023.
At the nest of Big Red and Arthur, there are two hatches that have survived a very soggy nest with damp. Big Red loves to give them ‘big’ bites. The first chick died trying to hatch, and I fear that this might well be the case with the last. We have to wait and see. There are, however, two fine little bobbleheads at present and a nest full of every kind of soggy prey.
If you missed it, we do have two eggs at Iris’s nest!
Last, but never least, SK Hideaways gives us a smile from the nest of Jackie, Shadow, Sandy, and Luna: https://youtu.be/U-hHp0IQR4o?
Good night, everyone! Take care of yourselves. Remember the bird count on Saturday, but most importantly, go outside, look, listen, and smell the spring air. See you soon.
My guardian angel waiting for me to finish this so we can have a game of fetch before bed.
Thank you to all the contributors tonight – Geemeff, SK Hideaways, those who post on FB, the authors of all the amazing articles, and the owners of the streaming cams that allow us into the lives of our beloved birds.
Just a quick spin around a few nests. It seems we cannot take our eyes off the screens for a second!
Iris has laid her second egg just minutes ago at the Hellgate Canyon nest in Missoula, Montana.
At 65 days of age, Winken at the Moorings Park nest has fledged and returned to the nest. The take off was graceful but the landing will require more practice!
It appears that the AEF’s Dale Hollow rescue was a success. Cameras were off, and by my count, all three eaglets are in the nest, and there is no fishing line. Thanks, AEF, and all involved.
We have a hatch underway at the nest of Big Red and Arthur. Thankfully that nest is starting to dry out after torrential rains the other day.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Thursday 7th May 2026
Another routine day for both nests – just the odd alarm call but no intruders seen, reasonable weather, and both Louis and Garry LV0 brought one fish each for their respective partners Dorcha and Aurora 536. The Nest One tally rises to forty nine, and the Nest Two tally to forty four. Dorcha had to wait until tea time before her fish arrived, and gave Louis a telling off. Later when he didn’t give up the eggs on her return to the nest, he got a thorough dusting from her tail feathers! Light rain started falling around 9pm and is set to continue through the night and well into tomorrow, with occasional sunny spells.
It was a beautiful day today, and we got out for a walk. It was so nice. Toby and I even managed to sit out in the garden and listen to the birds. We were surprised by the list that Merlin could hear that we could not see! Don’s medication has changed. He is less and less engaged in daily life and that is so sad. He did join us for the walk and I anticipate that Ann will take him to the nature centre tomorrow. Being outside is good for everyone – including those with dementia.
Thanks so much for being with us. Take care!
Thank you to ‘PB’ for alerting me to Iris’s egg as I was checking on Dale Hollow! Thank you to Geemeff for her Loch Arkaig summary, Heidi for her post about Winken, and to the owners of the streaming cams that allow all of this to happen. We are so very grateful.
Well, I couldn’t stay away from watching Big Red and Arthur.
P1 is a cutie. We will know by today if either of the two remaining eggs are viable. I don’t care. One healthy eyas to survive to fledge and then survive Cornell’s windows would please me greatly. Arthur is preparing for lots of meals as he gets the chippies and the snakes to the nest.
Big Red always encourages the hiks to eat just a little more.
It looks to me as if we have a beak peeking out of one of the other eggs and a small crack in the last.
Big Red has been keeping P1 nicely fed.
It is just a little fluff ball.
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Sunday 3rd May 2026
Another day of low activity and nothing out of the ordinary. Dorcha and Louis continue to take turns incubating the three eggs, Dorcha gets a break to eat, bathe, and stretch her wings when Louis brings fish or sticks and takes over egg-sitting, and Louis does whatever male Ospreys do when they’re not fishing, egg-sitting, or patrolling their territory. Which he must have been doing today as he brought no fish at all, so the nest tally remains at thirty seven. Over on Nest One, Garry brought one fish for Aurora, taking his tally to forty four. At the time of filing this report – midnight – she does not appear to have laid her second egg. Will Aurora lay her egg in the early hours before the camera goes off-line? Will Louis swoop in early with a dried up old fish he actually caught today but doesn’t deliver until tomorrow? Answers on a postcard please.*
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Saturday 2nd May 2026
In the early hours of this morning, Dorcha produced egg number three, most probably her final egg as she’s not one of those rare Ospreys who produce four eggs. Nest Two was calm today, no intruders and two fish deliveries, although Louis did take his time with the second, bringing it more than fourteen hours after the first. Louis’ tally rises to thirty five, and the nest total to thirty seven. Over on Nest One, Aurora 536 spent most of the day on the nest, although she did spend a block of more than three hours off the nest, leaving the egg unattended. She might have been perched nearby, it was in the early hours so we don’t know. Garry LV0 brought two fish, taking his tally to forty three, and he’ll need to keep up a steady supply as Aurora’s second egg is due tomorrow. At the time of filing this report (23.30), Louis is still on Nest Two incubating the eggs, looking unlikely to move any time soon although Dorcha is standing right behind him.
‘PB’ continues to admire the fortitude of Jill, the female at the Achieva Osprey Platform, in St Petersburg, Florida. I don’t blame them. Jill is stepping up on the number of catfish she is bringing to the nest. As the two chicks get older, they require more food. She has to eat. Jack is not contributing nearly enough. We think of healthy osprey chicks. I look at nests like the Dyfi nest of Idris, Blue 33 at Manton Bay, Dylan at Lyn Clywedog, Louis at Loch Arkaig, or Blue 022 at Poole Harbour. Let’s think 7-8 fish a day. Nice big fish – not little twiddlers. Of course, there are others, White YW – I could go on and on. So the gold standard would be those 7-8 big fish, like Mullets, to make healthy fat osplets to fledge. I fear that like many of the eagle nests we have seen where the eaglets looked healthy but when taken into care were noted to be infested and ‘thin’ (Eagle Country a couple of years ago). So bravo to Jill. I wish we could drop some nice fish for her.
Others are abandoning their eggs. Severna Park in Maryland is one of the first on streaming cam. I want you to prepare yourself. There has not been an influx of fish falling into the waters. Better the eggs do not hatch than wee babes or fully feathered near-to-fledge chicks starve on camera. I warn you to brace yourself for what could be the most tragic year yet. I want to be wrong. If it is, It is sad and entirely unnecessary.
The Chesapeake Bay ecosystem is in a very dire situation. In its case, there are no Menhaden for the ospreys, the Striped Bass, the Tarrapins or others that fed on them to eat. I cannot comment on the neighbouring states, but we do know from images taken that Omega has been industrial fishing along the shores (within legal limits, but sometimes seen to use helicopters to push the fish out) of other states. Virginia is the problem. Want to change this? People have to care. So you have to elect people who really care about all living things, the balance of life on the planet, and are action, not all talk.
Look at how much Little has grown since it has had fish!
Take care all. See you soon.
Thank you to Geemeff, to ‘PB’, to you the readers who care dearly about all the wildlife and to the owners of the streaming cams that let us witness the lives of these beautiful creatures.
It is 6 C and what a wonderful sunny day it has been.
There is great news coming out of Glaslyn. Our dear Aran, once the mate of Mrs G and then Elen, ousted from his nest at Glaslyn in 2025 by Teifi, is now with a new mate and there are eggs!
From the Glaslyn Osprey Group FB:
Big Red and Arthur will have a lovely little chick soon.
Look at the front egg!!!!!!!
There is now some concern for Winken at Moorings Park who was seen with a fishing line hanging from its beak.
Fish continue to be delivered by Jill at the Achieva nest with a fish arriving from Jack around 11:18 this morning.
Ping Shen reports on the Seattle couple, Harry and Sally: “Making up for lost time – Harry has been busy delivering both fish and nesting material, and also spent some time today excavating the “bowl” of the nest (you can see things flying out behind his talon, almost like a dog), sitting in it, etc. Hopefully Sally is pleased, despite his late arrival! Great to see them both back…no eggs yet, but perhaps soon…”
Viki writes with good news from Maryland: “I discovered a 22nd nest on the island, and it had 2 osprey – looked a very bare platform so perhaps they’re new. And another of my original 21 has 2 osprey now (maybe with eggs) so that’s 15 of 21 with a pair
And as for LB (the M4 young father who is fiddling around with Ethel on the side), Lily, F4, has figured it out. What LB wants to do is brood those eggs – if he brings a fish, she lets him incubate; if he shows up on N4 antsy, she lets him incubate. She no longer takes her fish to N3, which is on the way to Ethel’s N2, but takes it the other direction to N4’s traditional perch in the North Copse of pine trees. Lily also let LB mate with her-once after I’d seen him copulating with Ethel. (I think she must have a nest full of eggs given how long ago she started seriously incubating and the continued flurry of mating afterwards. Do you think the new father is satisfying himself with brooding? Possibly similar urges ?????”
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Thursday 30th April 2026
What a glorious day – Aurora 536 produced her first egg, which clearly took a lot of effort but gave us our first egg on Nest One since Aila had her lockdown trio there in 2020. Six years is a long time to wait and hope for chicks on the original Loch Arkaig camera nest but today that wish is coming true. Garry LV0 was surprised and did a comical double take when he first saw the egg – shortly before it was laid, he came steaming in for a mating attempt and was roundly told off by Aurora, who pecked him and winged him away, and although he offered fish later, she wasn’t interested – had a bit of a hard day! Garry brought her four fish in total, taking his tally to thirty nine, and over on Nest Two, all was calm with Louis bringing one fish for Dorcha, taking the nest tally to thirty three. Today’s videos:
That’s it for me today. Don will be returning with Ann for some dessert after a full afternoon at the nature centre. Thank you for being with us. Take care everyone. Keep an eye on Big Red and Arthur’s nest – we will have some of the cutest babies filling that nest at Cornell shortly.
Thank you to Ping Shen, Geemeff, PB, and Viki for keeping me up to date on their nests. I am terribly grateful to them and those who post on FB and who own the streaming cams that allow us into the lives of these magnificent birds.
There is always a reason to celebrate, even when there is sadness. My friend, Geemeff, says that getting weary over the recent deaths is ‘because we care”…and yes, that is right. We fall in love with these little ones, and we want to help them when they are ill – desires most of the time that simply have to be nothing more than that. Today’s sadness comes from Mooring Park. It appears that this nest that began with three will have only one to fledge this year.
Blinken, the second hatch at Moorings Park Osprey Platform in Florida, was showing signs of being ill several days ago. Eagle-eye ‘PB’ spotted it. Sadly, the little one passed this morning, but not before looking lovingly and saying goodbye to Mum.
The very last time chicks were dancing and fledging from Loch Arkaig nest 1 was in 2020, with Louis and Aila’s trio. Aila did not return in 2021, and Louis never went back to their nest. He made nest 2 his with Dorcha. Today, Geemeff writes that Aurora has laid her first egg! Congratulations. It is nice to see that both nests at the lach will have babies this year!
The other good news is that it appears that Big Red and Arthur not only have one pip but two!
OR 6 and 7 are doing great at Syracuse University’s Red-tail Hawk nest. This is also great news.
Charlie and Lola fans will be glad that the injured female and her mate have reunited on a different nest, choosing to live in what we hope is peace. Let the intruders have their old nest. Let’s wish them luck.
Speaking of intruders, Lyn Brenig had one in the dark!
And then we have this post from Dyfi. Did Idris think his mate Telyn was an intruder?
I am waiting for Geemeff to send her summary of today’s events at Loch Arkaig. I suspect that with the arrival of the first egg in six years at Loch Arkaig nest 1, there is much to do and lots to celebrate. I will post that summary, along with all their wonderful videos, separately when they arrive.
I know that I am missing many who should appear on the Memorial Page. If you can help me with names – storks, hawks, eagles, ospreys, etc, I would be grateful. They should be remembered. Thank you!
Thank you for being with us today. We will be back with you soon!
Thank you to ‘PB’ for alerting me first about Blinken’s condition, to Marc Bekoff for his studies in animal behaviour, to Dyfi for their newsletter, to all who post on FB and keep us up to date and to the owners of the streaming cams mentioned, thank you. We would not be able to share the lives of our favourite bird families without you.
We hope that you had a wonderful weekend – and please tell me that you had some time to go outside. It was a tad cooler here today but we sat in the warm sun on the deck and listened to birdsong coming from the feeders. Oh, it made my heart skip happy beats! It was another quiet day – a most welcome one. We did some spring cleaning and celebrated by making strawberry shortcakes. Tomorrow, Toby goes for a much-needed grooming (Monday). I’m hoping for a trip to Fort Whyte for a walk in the forest and a check on the geese that should be laying eggs.
Shadow continues to bring in big fish for Jackie and the kids. The snow is melting.
Isn’t he handsome? Teifi is one of Idris and Telyn’s fledglings – he is Maya’s grandson. How cool is that? I am so glad that the Glaslyn nest has settled down or him and Elen. As you know, I adore Aran and it seems that he has also found a platform and a mate. Smiling. Calm is good.
The Dyfi family tree now has its fledglings at Glaslyn:
Here’s Teifi. It was the first year, 2020, that Idris was bonded with Telyn after Monty:
News from Loch of the Lowes:
SK Hideaways videos for the week – always grateful!
Jackie & Shadow got everything in order as a storm approached ~ The chicks enjoyed meals 7 and 8 ~ They’re tucked and warm under Jackie (2026 Apr 25) Video: https://youtu.be/ZHZwUvD7SEw One Chick Escapes Egg Bowl ~ Jackie has a Word with Shadow About It (2026 Apr 19) Video: https://youtu.be/Af1ZfwYL1bk
Fraser Point Eagles ~ Santa Cruz Island, CA ~ Cruz, Andor, Sasha, Zuma, and Ryder Courtesy Institute for Wildlife Studies | explore.org | Fraser Point Eagles Cam Ops Nest Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY4V_AppZ6s
I’m not going to swear but…how many ospreys die because of hooks and fishing line? This one was rescued.
So happy. This time it was a happy ending.
It was a booming year (no pun intended). Kakapo breed every four years. Records broken this year on this critically endangered species, but the species remains in decline from four years ago.
Osprey baby in Italy!
Geemeff’s Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Sunday 26th April 2026
Today’s momentous news is the arrival of the first egg – around 06.50 Dorcha started making little squeaking sounds and at 06.56.29 she laid the first egg of Season Ten. The nest cup is too deep and there are branches obscuring the view, but it was clear from her behaviour that she is now brooding an egg. Louis came along about an hour later with her breakfast, and we were able to watch his reaction before he happily took over egg duty, allowing her to depart to eat her fish. No sign of eggs yet for Aurora 536 and Garry LV0 but things will take longer with them as they aren’t a long-established pair like Louis & Dorcha. Garry delivered two fish taking his tally to thirty, and Louis delivered three fish, taking the nest tally to twenty five. At the time of this report (23.30), Dorcha is still away after departing with her third fish, and Louis is looking very settled on the nest.
It was a good day at Achieva thanks to Jill who is really stepping up to take care of her babies. Jack was late today – last time I checked Jill had delivered a fish and then went out later, at her usual time, to bring in another catfish.
In the image below, you can see the significant size difference between the two chicks. Big is almost fully feathered. Little is just getting its tail. We still see the white stripe on Little.
Alaska and Australia teaming up to help protect the Shearwater!
‘The birds are a global citizen’: Indigenous groups in Australia and Alaska team up to track a feathered adventurer’s epic journey.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care of yourself and have a great end of the weekend and the beginning of the week. See you soon!
Toby loving his Bully Stick.
Thank you so much to SK Hideaways and Geemeff for their great contributions – their work takes so much time. I am very grateful to those who post current information on FB and other platforms, to The Guardian for its reporting on wildlife concerns, and to Dyfi Osprey Project for keeping such wonderful historical information. To the owners of the streaming cams, thank you seems too small. We would know about these amazing birds and their environmental challenges if it were not for you.
