We rolled the dice and got 6—all of “our” six known territorial birds from 2025 are safely back! Out of the three ringed males, Arthur was the first seen back in Switzerland on March 24, followed by Racine on the 28th and Olympe on the 29th.

As for the three ringed females, they were, as usual, ahead of the game. Mouche returned to Moselle for the 8th year running, with the pair observed on March 19 on the same platform where they raised 2 young last year. Pistache returned to the Marne on 24 March, immediately adopting the new platform built on a pole during the winter by the RTE company (Réseau de Transport d’Électricité), based on advice by the LPO (Ligue de Protection des Oiseaux). This platform is located 200m from where the pair bred last year on a dangerous pylon, where their former nest was removed for safety reasons. While Pistache was waiting for her male to come back, a different male (ringed in Germany) first joined her, before the return, on March 30, of what appears to be her partner from last year. After a few hours of getting reacquainted, they started bringing branches to the new platform. Finally, Chronos and Kepler were seen back along the Rhine on March 26 and 28 respectively. After visiting a platform on the Alsace side of the river, the pair returned to the one on the Baden-Württemberg side where they bred for the last three years.

Let’s hope now that the two females which paired last summer with Olympe and Racine will also return soon. Thanks again to all the observers, volunteers and supporters who have contributed to the project over the past years – we look forward to your continued participation!