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Well, another week has passed and we still have five ospreys here at the Glaslyn. On Saturday, our protection staff observed all three chicks on the nest, with a fish kindly delivered by Dad. Brown Trout was on the menu, a fish large enough for all three hungry mouths. YE got her share first, whilst her brothers waited patiently for their turn. At the same time Mum returned with a fish of her own to the feeding tree. The two adult birds then perched together for nearly an hour, will this be the last time we see them together this season?

With the two male chicks fledging earlier than expected we thought they might be quick to head off to Africa. At the moment all three chicks look quite content to stay around the valley with regular fish supplied by Dad. An ordinary day is usually quiet to begin with. Mid-afternoon is when the action starts. The male returns with his latest catch and delivers it straight to the nest. Here, Dad is greeted by a calling chick, most frequently our female, YE. Sunday was particularly busy. Between 4pm and 5.30pm our male brought three fish to the nest, one for each of his offspring. We also had good views of the red kite that has been with us all summer.

The project has just over two weeks left for this season and we are very surprised to have so many ospreys to show our visitors. Many Scottish based ospreys will have begun their migration so we will also be keeping an eye out for any passing through!. Who knows, maybe our 2006 chick O8 will pop by to see his old home. The big question is which of our chicks will depart first? The smart money is on our eldest chick, YD. Though as this season has shown us, you can never tell with these birds!

Finally, a get well message to our wonderful volunteer Judith who is in hospital recuperating after a nasty accident. See you soon Judith.

As we approach mid August we still have all five ospreys at the Glaslyn. We would have expected the female to start her migration south by now but she is still showing well most days - maybe the fact that the daughter chick is still not fishing properly for herself is cause for concern for her so she's staying just a bit longer than normal. Last Monday, Alwyn, one of our osprey wardens was lucky enough to see all five of our Glaslyn ospreys fishing in the bay at Borth y Gest near Porthmadog (right next door to Portmeirion - the Italian village). He really needs to do other things on his days off!

A question that we're asked most days is how do we know the difference between the male and female osprey? Well, apart from being slightly larger than the male, she is a lot darker than him, particularly underneath and around the chest. Look at the images below - they are quite distinct from each other, male on the left.

I reckon that there will be ospreys at the Glaslyn until the end of the month and perhaps into September, although when the female will depart is anybodies guess - perhaps the un-seasonal southerly winds have deterred her from going. Do visit if you can, we can't promise you sunshine but we can promise ospreys most days. More in a few days..

August at the Glaslyn has got off to a wet start with the weather. However, the rain has not dampened our spirits, as we are all still overjoyed at the news of our 2006 chick setting up home in Scotland. Meanwhile, back at the Glaslyn, his younger siblings are thriving.  Our male chicks, YC and YD are taking after their Dad and have both become successful fishermen. This week has seen them bringing larger fish back to the nest, mainly grey mullet from the Porthmadog Cob Estuary. YE, the youngest female chick, has been a little slow on the uptake. She often arrives at the nest, if one of her brothers returns with a meal, and begs for a share. This is not necessarily a cause for concern - YE was the last to hatch and fledge so it may be nothing more than her taking her time. We hope to see her catching up over the next month as it is crucial for her to be able to fish for herself on migration.

It is not just the chicks that have been keeping busy. Our adult male has been seen building a 'frustration nest'. This is typical behaviour that we see at the end of the season and does not mean of course that he is setting up another nest with the intention of having a second brood!

Here he is carrying sticks back to the secondary nest.

We currently have all five birds in the area on a regular basis. Last season our final sighting of our female bird was on the 8th of August. We will be keeping an eye out for her departure, at some point in the next few weeks and will of course keep you all updated on any developments.