For our second “Osprey morning” on Sunday 25 June, a warm and sunny day with no wind, 61 observers got up even earlier than for the first one. A total of 31 sites were watched simultaneously, mainly in the Three-Lakes region but also in a few other locations in the Aar and Doubs river basins.
Racine (F29) was the first to be spotted at 05:18 and again at 05:32 at Bellechasse, while Arthur (F12) was already present at Hagneck (Lake of Bienne) at 05:25. He was seen again flying at Bellechasse at 7:31, later perching on a nest platform there from 08:01-08:45, before flying towards the Lake of Morat and disappearing from sight at 08:51. At 9:22, he was then spotted (photo above) about 8km away at the Chablais de Cudrefin jetty on the Lake of Neuchâtel flying north-east, before vanishing towards the Lake of Bienne.
In the meantime, after his first very early appearance, Arthur was observed at Hagneck again from 6:23 until 7:15, when he disappeared before returning with a fish at 8:41. From then he ate intermittently, still holding part of his meal in his talons when Racine suddenly turned up at 10:20, 14km away from his previous sighting at the Chablais de Cudrefin. Both then circled together higher and higher (with Arthur whistling) until 10:24, when they disappeared from view. This is the first time that one of our Osprey (Racine) was identified in three different places around three different lakes in one single morning.
In the Grande Cariçaie, Olympe (F28), a three-year-old like Racine, was first spotted at 8:00 on one of the two nest platforms built for him. At 8:09 he flew towards a nearby forest to break a branch, and bring it to the other platform, almost 2.5 km further away, at 8:12. He returned to perch near the first one at 8:23, before being lost from view at 8:33. Finally at 10:00 an Osprey (Olympe?) was seen catching a fish, carrying it to the other nest platform, and then to a dead tree, where he was still perched when the last observers left at 10:55.
Despite a full court press of 15 observers spread in eight different places looking for Taurus (PS7) along the Aar (where we suspect he has a territory, having briefly seen an unidentified Osprey carrying a branch there on June 14), no Osprey were seen in the area. Taurus has been remarkably difficult to locate this year in comparison to past years, making us wonder what he is up to. Likewise, no Osprey were seen at six sites covering two parts of the Doubs basin. However, observations on June 4 (most likely Flamme, ex-KF6), and on June 27 (a female, apparently unringed) indicate the presence of two different birds in the Haut-Doubs region.
In summary, at least three known males were seen from five different sites, thanks to a very motivated team of volunteers!
