White-tailed eagles in Durbe
The most popular live nest continued to be inhabited by female Milda, but this year with a new partner, who was named Hugo in a public vote. At the end of March, Milda laid two eggs. However, on April 12 Hugo disappeared and Milda had to cope alone and fight off other eagles. Milda went on longer and longer flights, leaving her eggs uncovered - during this time they were carried away by a raven. Milda and one of the other males paired up, were occasionally seen in the nest, took flights and mated.
White-tailed eagles at Ķemeri National Park
A pair of white-tailed eagles Rasene and Akacis inhabit a nest in Ķemeri National Park. The female laid two eggs in the first half of March, one of them was productive - the chick hatched in April and was named Rausis. The chick faced a big challenge on April 23, when the whole of Latvia was hit by snow. The chick was alone and unwarmed in the nest for an hour and a half while the temperature outside was still very low, but it survived. On May 25, during a thunderstorm, the live broadcast was interrupted and could not be restored, so it was impossible to follow the eagles further. In July, LDF inspected the nest and found that it had survived the storm and that Rausis had grown well.
Osprey
The inhabitants arrived at the top of a pine tree high up in Kurzeme on the day of the live stream launch - March 31. The couple were named Singa and Svings. Singa disappeared in the second half of April and was replaced by another female named Selga. On May 17, the female laid her first egg, and three days later her second egg. On the summer solstice, the two chicks hatched and were named Līgucis and Jancis. On July 30, the two chicks were ringed. In August they started flight training, and in mid-August, they both fled the nest and left the nest completely in early September.
Lesser spotted eagle in a birch tree
On April 12, Laila and Uldis, a couple that the viewers had already met in the previous two seasons, returned to their nest in Zemgale. The pair, as usual in this nest, showed a very harmonious relationship and care for each other, and one egg was laid on April 26. The chick Bruno hatched on June 5 and started flapping his wings and moving to the nearby birch branches at the end of July. The food supplies were mostly small rodents. A strange eagle also used the food and in early September responded several times to Bruno's parents' calls to come for breakfast, but Bruno kept the stranger away. Bruno was last seen with his parents in the nest on September 18.
Lesser spotted eagle in a spruce
In the lesser spotted eagle nest in the spruce, everything went smoothly this year, with Anna and Andris nesting there for the sixth season and successfully raising one chick. The pair laid two eggs this year, and the first chick hatched on June 2 and the second on June 6. The youngest chick died on June 9. The first chick was named Ieva, started to inhabit the nearby branches at the end of July, and made its first flight on July 31. The last to leave the nest was the owner Anna, who was seen there on September 25.
Common kestrel
This year, for the first time, we had the opportunity to follow the nesting of a kestrel. The pair, named Tilla and Tango, arrived at the beginning of April and four eggs were laid during April. On April 23, a snowstorm surprised everyone and Tilla warmed the eggs in her snow-filled cage. The May frosts also made Tilla worry whether she would be able to protect her eggs, but all four hatched in May. The male delivered small birds, mice and lizards to the cage, but most often voles. The nest quickly became too cramped for everyone, so on June 21 the first attempt at flight was made - one of the chicks flew out. The next day, the other three followed suit.
White stork
Since 2021, LDF in cooperation with JSC "Sadales tīkls" provides live broadcasts from the white stork nest in Tukums municipality. In the first year, the nesting of white storks was unsuccessful, but in the following years, chicks have successfully hatched and fledged in this nest. This year, at the end of March, last year's occupant, named Mamma, returned to the nest and a few days later two males competed for the opportunity to nest with her. As always, the strongest wins, so this time the stork with the injured leg lost and the male, who was later christened Tuks, stayed to nest.
Five eggs were laid between April 10 and 19, and all chicks hatched successfully in mid-May. At the beginning of June, Tuks threw the youngest chick out of the nest, but the other four were fed and started their training flights at the end of July. By the beginning of August, the nest was increasingly empty. The last time Tuks was seen was August 15.
Black stork in Ogre
Last year's male, Ogris, returned to the black stork nest at the end of March and immediately set to work on improving the nest. The female arrived on April 2 and was named Urga. They were also surprised by a snowstorm, and the online audience had the opportunity to see how the storks endure snowy days in their nest. On the night of April 17, the first egg was laid, followed by the other four eggs exactly two days apart. The first two stork chicks hatched on May 22, two more the following days, and the fifth egg never hatched. On June 18 the chicks were ringed.
Urga and Ogris were diligent in caring for the chicks and the nest, regularly arranging and improving it, bringing twigs and moss, and food for the storklings, mainly frogs and small fish. At the end of July, when the grey down of the chicks was replaced by feathers and the nest became too cramped for all four, the youngsters began to inhabit the nearest branches and soon made their first flights. On August 14, when Urga arrived with the food, there was no one left in the nest - the new generation had already left. The next day, an Ogris arrived to check on the home and was never seen again.
Black stork in Rīga forests
In this black stork nest we observed various fights, pair formation, and breeding, but no stable pair formed and no nesting took place.
Common swift
The live broadcast from the cage within the walls of Cēsis Castle started on May 27, and already in the evening a pair of swifts was observed in the cage. Soon, two eggs were laid. At the beginning of the incubation only one of the eggs was heated from time to time, the other was left without heat even for more than a day. There were also times when both eggs were neglected.
The atmosphere was not calm, with other birds - corvids and other swifts - trying to get into the cage on several occasions. The cage was also visited by insects - flies, swarming bees and a hornet. Despite all this, both eggs hatched at the end of June and the chicks fledged in early August.
Goshawk
Tracking of the hawks was possible from two nests located on the territory of the Children's Clinical University Hospital (BKUS) in Riga. The live broadcasts were created on the initiative of BKUS staff. This year, the pair chose nest 2 as their main home, but, as is typical for goshawks, both nests were used. Nest 1 was frequented by the male, who had his meals there and improved the nest with new twigs.
The goshawk pair showed itself to the audience on the first day of the live broadcast on March 1 arriving at the nest and cawing loudly. The hospital's little patients suggested names for their backyard neighbors and the pair were christened Pērle and Rio. Four eggs were laid between March 21 and 29, and all chicks hatched successfully in early May. The parents successfully fed the chicks, which started to exercise their wings in June and soon flew out of the camera's view after inhabiting the nearby pine branches, but by mid-July they had left the nest altogether.
Underwater camera
Thanks to the underwater camera, the audience could observe the inhabitants of the Ligatne River again this year. Although the camera lens often became dirty and visibility was obstructed, during the fish spawning season in autumn the lens was cleaned and the fish swimming by could be seen live.
This year, the LDF live broadcasts had 6 million views, up from 4.3 million worldwide. 71% of viewers are from Latvia, followed by Lithuania, Germany, Poland, and other countries interested in bird life. The live broadcasts can be watched on the Latvian Fund for Nature's website, YouTube channel and LMT Smart TV.
