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The female osprey has done it again - laid another egg in the Glaslyn nest, bringing the total to three.  Around half past one yesterday afternoon, we were all relaxing in a Sunday afternoon kind of way, when the female flattened herself out across the nest again.  Well, we'd seen her do this move before and had a pretty good idea of what was coming, so a few of us ran over to the viewing hide, arms flailing, and rounded everyone up.  All snugly gathered in the visitor centre around the nest-cam screen, it was about another 10 minutes before she got up.  Unaware of the gathered masses, waiting for a first glimpse of the new arrival, she stood in between the camera and the eggs for a few frustrating minutes, before stepping back.  The mossy bowl that the pair have built to protect their eggs is so deep within the nest that it was hard to see at first but by quickly switching the screen to another camera, we could look down into the nest and see all three of the perfect eggs - brilliant!  All of the osprey's attention will be on protecting and incubating their little shell-encased family over the next four or five weeks.  Hatching is expected to begin in the middle of May and they will hatch in the order that they were laid, a couple of days apart.

More peculiar behaviour came to light yesterday.  When we switched the TV on in the visitor centre first thing in the morning, we could see a rough slate - about 3 inches square - in the bottom of the nest.  The birds were fussing with it and moving it around so that it was beside them whilst they were sitting on the eggs, then spending quite a bit of time rubbing their beaks against it - most odd!  However, we think there is a pretty sensible explanation for this.  You see, the beaks and talons of birds of prey continue to grow, just like our fingernails do.  And, like our fingernails, need a bit of maintenance to keep them from growing long and curling around.  Basically, the birds seem to be filing their beaks and talons to keep them in tip-top shape - great eh?

Great news...moments ago a second egg was laid in the Glaslyn osprey nest at 2:56pm! Just before, the female had been flattened out across the nest like a great flat feathery pancake.  When she got up a minute later, the  first egg had been joined by an identical white speckly brother or sister.  It's impossible to say now which egg is which as they look just the same, but we will know when they hatch, as they hatch in the order that they were laid, several days apart.  The 35 expectant visitors that had been eagerly watching the screens exploded with glee.  There was lots of smiling, back-slapping and clapping.  Everyone's thrilled and already having thoughts about a third.  Could they make it a hat trick? We can expect it to arrive over the weekend if so...  

There's still only one egg in the nest at the moment.  It is almost exactly three days since the first was laid so we are expecting the next to come along at any time.  There is a great reluctance among visitors to leave the screens in the centre just in case something happens whilst they are away.  The first egg is being incubated nicely and, the female has just this minute turned it over.  Both the male and female turn the egg every half an hour or so, either using their huge talons, or by nudging it over with their beaks - delicately of course.  This is so that the heat from their little feathery bottoms gets distributed evenly around the egg as they incubate it.  The birds have continued to mate.  This is normal and they will only cease mating completely when the final egg is laid. 

Down on the ground, we have been indulging in some light decorating.  Last night, as the last car drove away from the viewing centre after 6pm, we threw on our overalls and got to work on giving the viewing hide a good lick of paint.  Two hours later, the hide was resplendant in glorious green.  It has dried overnight so there's no danger of visitors sticking to the walls today.  A great job by our multi-talented volunteers.

We can't help but notice this year that the osprey pair have a couple of funny habits that we never picked up on before.  It could be that they have always had their weird little ways and we are only just noticing them now thanks to the super, zooming camera system.  Or perhaps they have adopted some new behaviour...

The male has been seen standing on one leg quite often.  This kind of thing is common with wading birds but we have never seen our male osprey doing it quite this much.  He routinely stands on the nest with one leg tucked up under him, giving it a rest for several minutes at a time before swapping over and resting the other leg.  Still tired from his long flight perhaps?  Or resting his super talented talons, which need looking after if he is to continue being a great hunter? 

Both birds are winking lots too.  It's most obvious when we have the camera zoomed in on one of their heads and they turn to the camera, one eye shut, the other open in a jaunty little gesture.  It looks pretty funny and several of our visitors have commented on it.  It's difficult to say why these couple of habits have come about but we'll keep watching for any others and keep you posted.

Other birds that have been delighting our visitors at the site include a beautful red kite that came soaring over on Saturday - unmistakeable with it's vibrant red feathers and forked tail.  We got great views of it overhead.  A kingfisher has been spotted flying up the Glaslyn and three oystercatchers have been visible right outside the viewing hide - wonderful!  

The Glaslyn ospreys are now proudly incubating their first egg, laid at 5.25pm yesterday - Easter Monday.  Around 15 very chuffed visitors saw the great event and were cheering and clapping with as much enthusiasm as if they had laid it themselves!  During Sunday and Monday, the female had been very agitated, shuffling and fussing around the nest.  The male had busied himself bringing moss and lichen into the nest to line the inside and make it a soft, egg-ready environment.  It turned out to be a very well-timed bit of bank holiday DIY and the egg has been able to nestle among the moss in complete comfort.  Using our new technology we were able to zoom in on the egg and see it close up.  It is white with brown speckles and around the same size as a chicken egg.  Ospreys usually lay between two and four eggs, so we are hoping to see some more soon.  The eggs will be laid a couple of days apart, so we could expect another one to arrive on Wednesday - there will certainly be many of us eagle-eyed viewers in the visitor centre waiting in anticipation.  The birds will also be closely watched by members of our protection team.  They are at a seperate location, keenly watching footage from the nest-cam round-the-clock to make sure that nothing happens to the birds or the nest in this critical incubation period. 

The male has always shown himself to be a great father and partner, and this year seems no execption.  He is staying very close to the nest, ready to protect his family if need be and to take over the incubating duties when his missus needs a break to stretch her wings or to eat on one of the feeding trees.  The female was eating in the nest more than usual over the weekend but that could be because she knew the first egg was iminent and didn't want to stray too far from home.  The male has been bringing plenty of food back, though his judgement was a little less than perfect on Saturday lunchtime.  He would be embarassed if he knew I was telling you this I'm sure, but he presented his mate with the weediest thumb-sized tiddler of a fish that you ever saw.  Ever the supportive mate, our lady osprey ate it anyway, though it barely amounted to a mouthful.  Apart from that little blip, he has been bringing some whoppers back and the pair have been eating very well indeed.

Anyway, fingers crossed for another egg soon.  We have polished off a chocolate egg or two and plenty of biscuits here in celebration...well, calories don't count on a bank holiday, everyone knows that!   

It was T-shirt weather up here yesterday and (in between lots and lots more mating) the Glaslyn male found time for a spot of fishing.  At around midday he brought back a huge trout - it must have been over a foot long.  His normal routine is to take the fish to one of the feeding trees and chomp off the head, gobbling it down to maintain his energy and get plenty of nutrients.  With our new camera systems in place, we are now able to show images from the feeding tree in the vistor centre, which means we can see what they get up to even when they are not on the nest - it's compulsive viewing, and our visitors so far have been very impressed with the new footage.

After eating the head of the big trout yesterday, the male took it on a couple of victory laps, circling round the nest - most probably showing off to his missus!  Less than impressed, she took it from him and went back to the feeding tree with it for a bite of lunch herself.  They generally prefer to eat on a tree away from the nest, as it allows all the waste - bones etc - to be depoisted away from the nest, they are a houseproud pair.  Of course, once the chicks arrive, all that will go out of the window as the female will need to stay on the nest and rip pieces of the fish to feed to her chicks. 

Last night we held a volunteer evening locally, to meet any volunteers interested in helping out with the Glaslyn Osprey Project this year and talk about the season ahead.  There were some old faces (in the nicest possible way!) and some new ones.  It's great to all get together like this and we had a good evening.  If you missed it but would still like to volunteer with us, it's not too late, just contact Lucia Ruffino (01492) 562168 lucia.ruffino@rspb.org.uk

It's not just ospreys that are attracted to the Glaslyn - we have seen a water rail over the last couple of days, and a few whooper swans are still hanging around before making their journey to their summer breeding grounds.  Plus our well-stocked feeders have attracted great tits, blue tits and a siskin so far.  Last year we had a great spotted woodpecker too but he has yet to make an appearance.

The viewing site officially opened over the weekend and we have had some glorious weather to get things started.  More than 1000 people have been to see the ospreys so far over the first three days.  This year, we have some magnificent high-powered telescopes, giving a much clearer view of the nest and the birds.  

In fact, our technology at the site has improved all round this year and we now have not one but three cameras watching the nest!  The original camera remains on the nest tree, just above the nest giving us a view looking down on the birds.  A second one is level with the nest and we are able to zoom in on the birds with this.  The camera is in a protective dome to keep it safe from the weather (it can get pretty wild at times here in north Wales) and doesn't move or make a sound as we zoom, so the birds are totally unaware of it.  A third camera is on a seperate tree around 40 metres away, giving us a wider view of the area.  There are now two screens in the visitor centre and we can choose which of the three images to show, depending on what the birds are doing.  It means we should have even better footage to show visitors this year and get all the nest-side action.

The birds have had an active couple of days and have been mating plenty.  As well as all the visitors on the ground, they have had a few aerial guests to deal with.  Love is certainly in the air, as a couple of peregrines were displaying and bonding together around the nest on Sunday afternoon.  They didn't bother the ospreys at all, they were just wrapped up in their own courtship rituals, plus it made great viewing for us through the binoculars.  This morning, just before 10am, a pair of herons went over the nest - they looked huge, even from all the way down here.  The ospreys took this a little more seriously and both went up off the nest.  After plenty of angry calling from both pairs the herons made off and have not been back.  That's great teamwork from the ospreys! 

More mating and plenty of fish-eating has followed this morning.  It's a little cloudier today but still pleasant around the site and we are looking forward to welcoming lots more visitors over the Easter holidays.

Now that both ospreys are back, they are taking the time to do a little spring cleaning.  Once the season was over last September, a brave RSPB Cymru bod was sent high into the tree on a mission to strengthen the nest and remove all the clutter of twigs and moss that had built up there over the breeding season - as you can imagine, it was pretty smelly and full in there.  Now the birds are determined on building it up again - the male has been bringing back moss and the female has been adding it to the inside of the nest and making it all nice and comfortable.  She will need to be comfortable because once the eggs arrive she will spend all her time in there incubating them.

The male has been bringing back plenty of fish today - all trout.  The pair have also found the time to mate enthusiastically.  Last year the first egg was laid twelve days after the birds were first seen to mate.  If that happens this year then we really will have Easter eggs, as they will be laid over the Easter weekend  - fingers crossed!

During the day the ospreys have fended off the attentions of a couple of cheeky crows who came a little too close to the nest - interested in the fish and all the mating no doubt.

Here on the ground we have our aprons on and feather dusters out and are tackling some spring cleaning of our own as we dust off the visitor centre and viewing hide ready to welcome the first visitors of the season.  From tomorrow, we will be open from 10am until 6pm every day until early September.  There are telescopes and binoculars in the hide, plus you can see all the close-up action in the visitor centre where live images from the nest-cam will be showing.  Looking forward to seeing you there!

It's all happening so fast! Just two days after the male osprey turned up, a female arrived. At 3.15 pm yesterday, she flew in from the west of the nest site and plonked herself straight on the nest. 

The male sprang into action and began displaying, flying high into the air and calling. Not to be left out, she began calling too, indicating that the male should go off and bring back a fish, which he dutifully did. Not long after his return, they were already mating. 

As always with the female, it is difficult to identify her beyond doubt as she is unringed but the speed with which she has begun mating with the male and her apparent familiarity with the nest site and local area suggest that this is the same female as previous years. 

The pair do not spend the winter together in Africa, they migrate seperately, so they will need to reacquaint themselves and carry out the usual pair bonding activities. It's amazing to think that they have flown all the way to Africa and back, yet here they are, sitting on top of exactly the same tree they left six months ago. 

We're all filled with anticipation for the season ahead. It's fantastic to see the pair again, almost like welcoming two old friends back into the neighbourhood.

We are beginning to unravel the mystery of the male osprey. It appears as though it is our regular male after all, despite the absence of the orange ring from his right leg.

Using the camera installed on the nest, we have been able to zoom in on the metal BTO ring around his left leg and read the ID number, confirming his identity after all. 

The mystery of what became of the ring still remains though. Perhaps it came off whilst he was fishing - it would receive quite an impact each time he plunges into the water. The ring could have come off anywhere between Wales and west Africa - suffice to say we won't be going looking for it!

Some exciting news yesterday evening. After around 7 pm, we had confirmed sightings of a male osprey at the Glaslyn osprey nest at Pont Croesor near Porthmadog. A pair of birds have nested here in north Wales since 2004, so we were expecting - hoping! - that they would return. 

It's a bit unclear at this stage whether this is the regular male. It certainly looks like him, but the orange ring on his right leg is missing. Could it have come off in the last six months? Or is this a new male osprey looking to settle in and find a mate? We will have to do a bit more investigating before we can know for sure...