Tag Archives: US Ospreys

JJ4 lands on Lock Arkaig 2…late Monday in Bird World

13 April 2026

Hello Everyone,

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.

A close-up of an osprey standing on its nest, surrounded by twigs and branches, with a mountainous landscape in the background.

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.


Today’s video:https://youtu.be/gUBZwBc-KU4 N2 Handsome male Osprey JJ4 visits 18.50.08

Bonus action – Woodland Trust asks for your support in the upcoming UK local elections:https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/protecting-trees-and-woods/campaign-with-us/elections/
Bonus watch – is the ringed male with the unreadable Darvic starting with J, who visited last year, today’s visitor JJ4?

https://youtu.be/c7sOtUoE2Kc N2 9 Apr 2025 (zoom with slo-mo repeat)
Blast from the past, this day in previous years:https://youtu.be/gHON30DPkRg N1 Nesting dance: Louis with pompoms 2021 (quick-time Classic Ospreys – Grieg)https://youtu.be/VQDncOOrCAA N2 Lovebirds: early morning mating 2022https://youtu.be/NrNcLnttpdc N1 Splitscreen – is this the same bird? 2022https://youtu.be/x_JJOmUeaF0  N2 Stunning sunset over Nest Two 2022 (time-lapse)https://youtu.be/yyMQbIUN3bI  N2 Skydancing in the dark 2023https://youtu.be/UVrPq6MNPc0  N2 Mating on the high perch 2023https://youtu.be/t2R05W5xHZ8  N1 Affric 152 takes a fish from Garry LV0 2024https://youtu.be/ZjIl05N5jjA  N1 Louis & Garry LV0 chase each other on and off the nest 2024https://youtu.be/cODGsUlHOns  N2  Dorcha dines on the nest 2024https://youtu.be/k1Udox-wXjA N1 Garry LV0 arrives, does some prep, leaves 2025https://youtu.be/Jb_uOUGFJZw N2 Deliverlouis! A very fine trout is delivered 2025

Geemeff’s latest offering is a five-minute mayhem with ospreys and a fish: https://youtu.be/0PnevrwuNjI?

A bird nest situated on a tree limb with three young birds visible inside, while an adult bird perches on a nearby branch against a backdrop of rolling hills and a forested landscape.

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.

york/news/american-oystercatcher-camera-project-captures-predators-disturbance?ms=digital-eng-social-facebook-x-20260400-nas_eng&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=20260400-nas_eng&fbclid=IwdGRjcARIziJjbGNrBEjNY2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHt1HRpDb8RS758dCsEAQOxZ4t1ytmcOrz-h99d73w_6gQJEXvu4aFxgKoVCr_aem_bP_k4uSm3ubvGjekRiMXOA

The results of the Great British Bird Count:

https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch/results

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!

A pair of ospreys, a female and a male, are seen on their nest, surrounded by trees, showcasing their return to Dorset for the fifth consecutive year.

Maya is currently incubating three eggs with mate, Blue 33 at Rutland’s Manton Bay platform.

A close-up of an osprey resting in its nest, showcasing unique markings on its head and feathers.

No eggs yet for CJ7 and Blue 022 at Poole Harbour. Will they raise four again?

An osprey standing in its nest made of sticks and twigs, with a patch of moss and foliage in the background.

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.

An osprey sitting on a nest with three eggs in Dewey Beach, showing a view of the nearby buildings and water.

Pitkin County Trails improved its camera this year and we have ospreys incubating egg/s.

A bird's nest made of sticks situated on a tall wooden pole against a clear blue sky, with utility wires in the background and a person operating a lift nearby.
An osprey standing on a nest made of twigs and branches, with a blurred natural background.

The eagles seem to be doing well. There are fledglings and there are babies. The Dale Hollow nest has three getting their feathers.

Three young eaglets sitting in a nest with their father, enjoying a sunny afternoon. The eaglets have fluffy gray feathers and open beaks, while the father's dark feathers are visible in the background.

There are three for Andor and Cruz at Fraser Point.

An adult bald eagle feeding two fluffy chicks in a nest filled with feathers and debris, surrounded by greenery.

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).

An osprey perched on a wooden post next to its nest made of sticks. The background features a parking lot with several vehicles and trees lining the area.

For your reading – the interesting story of a man who put the sound of birds on vinyl – from The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/apr/13/ludwig-koch-bird-man-refugee-film-alarm-notes?CMP=share_btn_url

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.

Several black birds foraging for peanuts on a feeder in a snowy garden, with more peanuts scattered on the ground.

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.

Friday Morning in Bird World

6 May 2022

The five peregrine falcon eyases at the Manchester, New Hampshire scrape have been fed four times before 0930. Meal times were 0531, 0627, 0712, 0917. Mum doesn’t get finished quick. She will wait til there are no beaks open wanting food. Just look at the youngest right up there!

There are five eyases in the scrape at the Walburga Tower in Oudenaarde, Belgium, too.

Here is the link to the camera in Belgium:

There is still one eyas at the scrape box on The Campanile on the grounds of UCalifornia-Berkeley. The wee one hatched on 5 May. There are two more eggs. One appeared to have some cracking of the egg but that could have been light or debris.

Bingo!

A really nice fish arrived for the two soggy eaglets at the Dale Hollow Nest at 0813.

It is not clear to me which of the eaglets claimed the fish. Note: the cam is flickering (or was) in and out of IR mode).

There was some headway made on the self-feeding and later both decided to sit it out on the rim of the nest.

Lessons are still being taught at the WRDC Bald Eagle nest in the Miami Zoo. Rita arrived with a nice fish at 0926.

She waited eating morsels. It was not until 1024 that a fledgling arrived on the nest.

Mum left them empty taloned. Wonder what lesson she was giving out today????

Both R1 and R2 seem to be hanging around the nest. Hi there.

The three eyases at the Weissenburg scrape in Bayern are really growing. Look at the change in their plumage. The soft dow gives way to a rather matty looking cotton that reveals feathers!!!!!! Pink beaks begin to change colour.

Louis is an amazing partner. I adored him with Alia and so sorry she did not return last year. He has settled in with Dorcha and despite the pelting rain in Scotland landed a nice fish for her. Well done, Louis.

Dorcha is so dark. She reminds me of Mrs G at the Glaslyn nest.

We might be checking in on the Osprey nests scattered about the UK but all eyes are on one nest – that nest belongs to Blue 33 (11) and Maya at Manton Bay. They should be having a pip and a hatch today or tomorrow.

Maya is not giving anything away! Gosh she is beautiful.

If you are looking for a solid Osprey nest to watch, one that fledges all their hatches then this is the nest to watch. Here is the link to the streaming cam.

It is raining a lot of places in the US and much of that rain is really welcome especially up in the Pacific Northwest. You will notice that I do not list any of the Osprey nests in that region. The ones I know have suffered from the extreme heat.

It is also raining on Long Island at the PSEG Oyster Bay Osprey platform. Did you know that there are over 2000 Osprey nests on Long Island? Most are located on the eastern end. PSEG has two platforms. The one at Oyster Bay in Nassau County and the other at Patchogue. The Ospreys return each year with the arrival of the Menhaden. It is a species of fish in the herring family. They travel south in the fall and winter and north in the spring in slow moving tight schools. Sadly they have been over fished.

“Brevoortia patronus Goode, 1878 – Gulf Menhaden” by Crabby Taxonomist is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

There are two falcons and two eggs at the Indiana and Michigan Power Company scrape. You can help them name the chicks. Information below.

Here is the link to this camera.

The Boys & Girls Club of Fort Wayne, Indiana provided a list of ten names for a Survey Monkey. You can vote here once before May 16.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LN776TF

We are waiting for hatch at the new scrape box mounted on the top of the Spartan Stadium at the University of Michigan. It is raining there today, too.

Dad has come to relieve Mum but she isn’t budging. Will we have a hatch today? Maybe. Here is the link to this new streaming cam and scrape.

These falcons made the news!

Some images from this morning at the nest of Big Red and Arthur on the grounds of Cornell University in Ithaca.

Nancy has fed E1 and a cherry picker has gone up to the nest. It is banding day!

E1 properly defended the nest he shares with Mum. Sadly, Dad Harry has not returned to the nest. He disappeared on the evening of 26 April. Once Nancy realized what was happening, she started bringing food to the nest. As we know, it was too late for E2.

Despite early worries by some watchers when there were four eggs, Big Red has shown that this is not a problem. Indeed while it might be one extra to her norm, you can see by some of the peregrine falcon nests that it is possible for five to do well. Life is so different on the hawk and falcon nests than it is for the eagles and the ospreys.

It is going to be a gorgeous 21 degree C day in Manitoba. It is a good day to get outside – before the next rains come – and go and see some of the new arrivals in the City while I wait for the second hatch at Cal Falcons and for their Q & A at 5pm Pacific Time.

The Dark-eyed Juncos that arrived in mass during the horrible storm a few weeks ago seem to have departed. The numbers of birds at the feeders are returning to the norm. Even Mr Blue Jay dropped by this morning.

Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, WRDC, Woodland Trust and People’s Post Code Lottery, LRWT, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Spartan Stadium Falcon Cam, I & M Falcon Cam, PSEG Oyster Bay, Weissenburg Falcons, DHEC, Oudenaarde Falcons, MN-DNR, and Peregrine Falcon Networks.

Tiny Little, it is good to see you!

Friday morning started off fantastic with Tiny Little on the nest alone food calling. She was later joined by older sibling, 462.

What you need to know is that Tiny Little had an entire fish to herself a little earlier for breakfast! Just look at her enjoying that fish!

7:45 nest time. Nice fish delivered by White YW to his girl.

Tiny Little returned later and was joined by 462. Yes, I said that already! They waited and waited. All that waiting and food calling paid off! Both Tiny Little (or Bobbie to some) and older sibling got a fish – older sib gets the flounder, Tiny Little has something else (?). Dad, you are fantastic. This is the way to keep the kids happy and quiet.

Tiny Little is the fledgling on the right. She is a ‘big’ girl! I am just so delighted to be able to see her. She is growing and growing. Tiny simply doesn’t fit anymore!!!!!!

This is the link to the Osprey Nest at Foulshaw Moss managed by Cumbrian Wildlife Trust:

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

But there was more happiness. To top it off, the little Osprey nestling at Collins Marsh Nature Centre had two feedings before 9:30 this morning. If this pace keeps up Malin is really going to have a big growth spurt this week. Already the tail and back feathers are remarkably changed from last week.

And another feeding here. So happy to see these parents stepping up the food. Malin is really starting to present as a juvenile Osprey now. I keep looking at those little feet – wonder if we have a little boy here? Male or female it doesn’t matter. Malin is really a gorgeous/handsome.

The link to the Osprey nest at Collins Marsh is here:

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

One of my readers was asking about the nest for the Black Storks in Latvia. I was able to find some information and a couple of images so that you can see the beautiful forests in the area.

The nest is in a forest in the Sigulda region of Latvia. It is 53 km southeast of the capital, Riga. It is the orange area on the map below.

The area is home to Sigulda New Castle and the remains of a medieval castle built in 1207.

The image below is the New Castle.

“Siguldas jaunā pils (Sigulda Castle)” by twiga_swala is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Through the forest you can see the New Castle.

These are the remains of the medieval castle. It is a major tourist site and because of this, Latvia has stabilized some of the walls so it can be fully appreciated.

The nest in the forest is on a pine branch that extends about 1.8 metres from the trunk of the tree. So, in plain English, the nest is on a branch that is sticking out —- just a big branch! I know. Take a deep breath. It could make you nervous. The nest is 18 metres from the ground. Imagine these storks on such a branch! I kept thinking they could slide off the edge.

The youngest storkling is 53 days old today. It is flapping its wings and gets really excited. The eldest is 56 days old and the middle one is 54 days.

The adults, Grafs and Grafiene, have to be very careful when they come to feed their little ones now so they do not slide off the nest. It is getting a little crowded as the nestlings grow!

One of the moderators for the nest forum created a video of Grafiene coming to feed the storklings about one month ago. It is very short but shows us just how much these nestlings have grown in that time. Just look how tiny they were.

All of the storks meet to begin their migration. ‘S’ tells me that they land on the tops of all the houses, the hydro poles, and the trees. And then they begin clacking and this is the beginning of their long journey as far as South Africa. Everyone is a little sad when they leave.

The link to the Latvian Black Storks is here:

Don’t all babies look sweet when they are sleeping? The little sea eaglets are no exception. You would never know that they are so tired from all the mischief they cause when their parents aren’t watching.

They look like little angels.

Dad is making sure that there is lots of food on the nest.

Here is the link to the White-Bellied Sea Eagle nest in Sydney’s Olympic Park. It is the only WBSE nest in the world that is streaming live. One of the really neat things is just listening to the forest sounds when the streaming cam is on. You will hear many Australian birds. There are lots of YouTube videos of the birds and the sounds they make. Just do a search of ‘Australian Bird Sounds’.

There has been a lot of chatter about when the female ospreys in the UK will be leaving the nests and heading off on their migration. Blue NC0 is still up at the Loch of the Lowes working hard, along with Laddie, to feed LM 1 and LM 2. She is known to catch big fish and this morning she brought in a whopper. The sad part was NC0 worked so hard to get this fish out of the water and on to the nest and one of the kids let it fly off the nest. It happens but we all must appreciate the real effort these parents put into feeding these juveniles especially when they must be eating themselves, fattening up, to make their journeys.

NC0 has turned into one wonderful mom over the season. It has been such a joy to watch her develop from when the little ones hatched and we had no idea if she was going to figure out how to feed them!

The fledglings still associate the nest with food so you might still get in some good action. This has to be one of the most beautiful nest locations in the world. When I went to check, I could see the Ospreys flying around and food calling on the branches at the top left of the image below. So turn up your sound and look there when you check on this nest.

Here is the link to their camera:

I checked to see if the names had been announced for Louis and Dorcha’s chicks on the ‘other’ Lock Arkaig nest. There seems to be no mention or I have missed it. So hold on. Will let you know as soon as I hear anything! I am also waiting for the Collins Street Peregrine Falcon cam to come on live. You are going to be in for a real treat with that falcon nest! I promise.

Thank you for joining me today. I hope everyone is well. Tomorrow I am heading out to find the local hawk. Expect news to come in the late afternoon for all the nests. Enjoy your weekend. Stay safe.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cameras where I took my screen shots: The Latvian Fund for Nature and the Sigulda Black Stork Nest, the Collins Marsh Nature Centre and Osprey Cam, the Sea Eagles, Birdlife Australia, and Discovery Centre, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Friends of the Loch of the Lowes.