Louis became a hit during the first lockdown of the Covid pandemic in 2020 on a live nest camera.

An osprey which became an online star during the first Covid lockdown has returned to his nest after fears he may not return following illness.

When it was time to migrate to West Africa from his nest at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest in Lochaber, Louis was unwell last year and was not thought to be at full strength.

However, he arrived back there at around 8pm on Wednesday evening for his ninth season, while his mate Dorcha landed early in the afternoon.

Louis and his previous mate Aila became a hit during the first lockdown of the Covid pandemic in 2020, clocking up 400,000 views worldwide on the live nest camera of the site.

George Anderson of Woodland Trust Scotland said: “The ospreys were just the dose of nature lots of people needed in 2020. We still get people telling us how watching the livestream helped them cope.

“Louis was ill last year and likely not at full strength when it came to migration time, so we were a bit worried he might not make it back this time. It’s so cheering to see him again.”

Louis has had two female mates during his time at the loch – first Aila from 2017-2020, then Dorcha from 2021 to the present.

Woodland Trust Scotland has been operating a live nest camera at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest in Lochaber since 2017, with support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “What a thrill to see Louis and Dorcha back at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest for season nine of this remarkable wild soap opera.

“We are delighted that support from our players has given many thousands of people far and wide this insight into wild forest life for so many years.

“Louis first turned up in 2017 and we have been able to follow his parenting adventures ever since.”

Woodland Trust Scotland and Arkaig Community Forest bought the woodland site in 2016 from Forest Enterprise Scotland under the National Forest Land Scheme.

They aim to restore native woodland habitats and re-connect local people with the management and stewardship of the site.

Their aim is also to use the woods to underpin sustainable rural development in the nearby communities of Achnacarry, Bunarkaig and Clunes.

We previously reported that Louis and Dorcha’s chicks, of which two survived out of three, had to be taken into a translocation programme after their father’s plummeting fish catch began to raise concern.

Trust spokesman George Anderson said at the time: “At this time of year he would normally be bringing in four or five fish a day. His record is nine.

“He has been off his game lately, often bringing in only one and sometimes none. We didn’t see him at all on Thursday and Friday.

“Bad weather is likely part of the problem and lots of nests appear to have had a poor year. But we think there is something not right about Louis. It could be his age, or he might be ill. We don’t know.

“In these circumstances the chicks will die. It is our default position not to intervene in the ospreys’ lives and we would generally let nature take its course, only stepping in to correct any problems caused directly by humans.

“However, in this case we became aware that there was an opportunity for the chicks to go into a translocation programme reintroducing ospreys to the Valencia region in Spain.”

The live cam can be viewed at https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/