Tag Archives: overfishing

Jill steps up the fishing, Loch Arkaig Summary…late late Saturday in Bird World

2 May 2026

Hello Everyone,

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.

Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/XVLCnN4L_3A N2 Egg number three, with squeaking 03.12.24https://youtu.be/hTbtvizGGYE N2 Dorcha departs with her breakfast leaving Louis on egg duty 06.45.44https://youtu.be/bu4-o68r8fo N1 Aurora departs with her fish, Garry remains on egg duty 10.17.57https://youtu.be/bdwfME2osds N1 Aurora refuses Garry’s second fish 15.40.38

https://youtu.be/4MxkQbfIcns N2 Louis gives fish number two a tour before landing it 21.17.31

Bonus guide – Woodland Trust’s advice on visiting bluebell woods:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqjpl597rjko

Blast from the past, this day in previous years:

https://youtu.be/0Rw_H0C8-SE  N1 Owl strike on unsuspecting Aila 2020 (Slo-Mo)

https://youtu.be/JJRPS8QYvpY  N1 Lockdown Ospreys star on BBC Breakfast 2020

https://youtu.be/rwa2_9rR24Q  N1 WT’s Dr Jessica Maxwell discusses the nest on BBC Breakfast 2020

https://youtu.be/1syQj_jjjxw  N2 Golden variation: Dorcha is bathed in the setting sun 2022 (Classic Ospreys Bach)

https://youtu.be/efwVjBqAYpA  N2 Gerroff and go fishing! 2023

https://youtu.be/bdcOT9JEGB8 N1: Garry LV0 brings moss, flies to Pole Tree then away 2024 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/GioCl06202I N2: Fish number one and only for Dorcha 2024

https://youtu.be/EKAjiNbY3A0 N2 Shadows seen near the nest at the time of the Eagle encounter 2024 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/WLLCALZOinI N1 Blue 536 gets the first fish from Garry LV0 the second times 2025

https://youtu.be/Cp3WkBSAZ_I N2 Intruder Osprey buzzes Louis & Dorcha 2025 (zoom)

https://youtu.be/vF0HagQMSb8  N1 fish number two but it’s B536 who brings it! 2025

Come and join the friendly community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s fun, free and everyone’s welcome:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

‘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!

A nest with two young hawks and one adult hawk surrounded by twigs and leaves, set against a backdrop of trees and a residential street.

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.

Loss of fish will impact our sea birds and ospreys…

25 February 2026

Good Morning,

There has been a lot of discussion about the industrial fishing of the Chesapeake Bay and the lack of Menhaden for the Ospreys.

The Bay is one of the main areas for ospreys in the United States. There were hundreds of thousands of them. That is a lot of fish required for adults and chicks and the fish are just not there. Can the osprey adapt to eating a different kind of fish? They have certainly adapted over 61 million years, but the problem is – what other fish? Talk to Brian Collins or some of the other fishers from the region and we immediately understand that Striped Bass numbers are down as well along with all other species. Has the industrial overfishing impacted the other regions? Some debate that.

Ben Wurst’s recent newsletter from Conserve Wildlife of NJ indicates the lack of prey is the root cause of nest failure in the area of the Bay. Thanks, Heidi, for this great article.

A Tale of Two Seasons: Ospreys and Menhaden on the Mullica River

Heidi, Viki, and I monitored the changing behaviour of osprey in the area. We noted that Duke and Daisy chose not to breed. Viki noted that in 2024, all chicks starved in the fifteen nests they had monitored for twenty years in Maryland. Last year, those same adult osprey laid their eggs and abandoned them before hatching due – I strongly believe – to a lack of food. No sense hatching them if they are going to starve to death. Please don’t tell me our raptors are not intelligent. They are. I continue and will always add what Laura Culley taught me – they are smarter than humans!

The problem is we are killing them and their habitat.

One thing that we cannot ignore is the rising temperature of the oceans, lakes, and streams. This is killing off fish and that will have an immediate impact on seabirds and other raptors that rely on fish as their sole source of food.

Here is an article today in The Guardian:

hronic ocean heating fuels ‘staggering’ loss of marine life, study findshttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/25/chronic-ocean-heating-fuels-staggering-loss-marine-life-study?CMP=share_btn_url

So as we move into osprey season, I want us to educate ourselves on some of the major challenges the populations face in different regions of the world.

Thank you for being with me this morning. Take care. Regular blog back the end of the week!

Thank you to Heidi for sending me the article by Ben Wurst. Thank you Ben for writing it and to The Guardian, we are always grateful for your coverage of the environment.