In the Three Lakes region the 2023 season has started with a bang, with Arthur already back at Hagneck on March 25, almost two weeks earlier than in 2022. Let’s hope that he finds a female this year, following the example of Mouche (PR4) with her partner AM06. According to David Meyer and Dominique Lorentz they were back together on their nest in Moselle on March 18 (the male having returned on 17th), both a little earlier than last year.

This year we have also built two new artificial nests: one in February in the Grande Cariçaie by the Lake of Neuchâtel, where Olympe (F28) formed a pair in 2022 with an unringed female in 2022; and one this month in the Haut-Doubs, to replace the natural nest built by Flamme (ex-KF6) which was destroyed by a storm last summer. The same day (March 25), Cathy Poimboeuf discovered an Osprey that roosted in the vicinity, although too far away to see if it was ringed. Was it Flamme, or maybe another bird stopping over on migration? Great thanks go to the climbers Christian and Pascal Grand, Paul Ducry and Jean-Luc Holweger as well as to the ground team: Michel Beaud, Emile Curty, Denis Landenbergue, Dominique Michelat, Marie Pierre Nibbio, Didier Pépin, Cathy Poimboeuf, Christophe Sahli, Wendy Strahm and Vincent Tardy.

While waiting for more returns, please don’t hesitate to save the dates now for the next two “Osprey Mornings”, scheduled on the Sundays of June 4 and June 25. These simultaneous observations at fishing sites really help a lot in identifying how many Osprey spend the summer in the region and where. So if you are interested and available, please let us know here.