A golden eagle caused a stir on one of Scotland’s most famous osprey nests after it touched down next to the resident pair’s newly laid egg – only to be seen off in a spectacular dogfight.
Fans of the ospreys watching live online from around the world were stunned when the young golden eagle appeared on the nest in the Woodland Trust’s Loch Arkaig Pine Forest, near Spean Bridge, on Saturday.
Resident osprey pair Louis and Dorcha returned from their 3,000 mile migration from West Africa earlier this month and produced their first egg of the season at 5.45am on Friday.
Louis was sitting on the egg when the eagle swooped in, and he chased the larger bird off before mobbing it together with crows in a spectacular aerial battle just visible in the distance.
‘A real dogfight’
Louis and Dorcha are expected to complete a full clutch of three eggs this week in front of a worldwide audience watching via the nest camera funded by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
This is the first time a golden eagle has appeared on camera however, with one viewer posting: “Oh wow, that’s unbelievable”.
Woodland Trust spokesman George Anderson said: “This young golden eagle was in the vicinity and came down to land on the osprey nest belonging to Louis and Dorcha.
“Louis went in pursuit and you could see a real dogfight going on over the hills in the background. Louis and Dorcha produced their first egg in the early hours of Friday so there was theoretically a risk to the egg.
“In the area we have golden eagles and sea eagles but we’ve never seen them on camera before, so it was quite exciting to see a golden eagle touching down.
‘Inexperienced eagle’
“This was a young and inexperienced eagle that had possibly strayed into the ospreys’ territory and it was immediately identified as a threat. Thanks to our nest cameras we have witnessed lots of different dramas unfold over the years but the appearance of a golden eagle on the nest was a real surprise.”
Ospreys became extinct in Scotland a century ago and Loch Arkaig is thought to have been the final nest location before the birds began to recolonise the country again in the 1950s.
Louis and his former partner Aila took over the nest in 2017 and fledged six chicks, including three in 2020 to the delight of a record audience around the world watching during lockdown.
Those chicks were named Doddie, Vera and Captain in honour of the late rugby legend Doddie Weir, Forces’ Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn and fundraising hero Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Aila failed to return to her annual nest in 2021, presumed to have been blown off course or perished on migration. But Louis has since paired up with the new female, Dorcha — a Gaelic word meaning “dark” because of her feather markings.
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