Firstly, apologies for not updating last night as promised.... I wanted to wait until the chick had been fed a couple of times before reporting anything. Those of you who are familiar with last year's events will know that our first two chicks both died within 24 hours of hatching. Admittedly that was probably down to the eggs not being as viable as they should have been, nonetheless I wanted to wait until I was confident that this chick was going to survive - it would have been wrong of me to drum up a euphoria only to dash it a few hours later.
So..... our chick. It does look very strong, after only 70 minutes (10.10am) it was moving around on the nest, it made several contact calls during the day which was a good sign, but the best sight was at 17.15 when OVS landed on the nest with a headless rainbow trout, our chick was upright and calling for food.....EJ duly fed it; the chick had a further feed just after 21.00.
Things are looking good at the moment and we are all looking forward to the second chick....When? Monday or Tuesday I suspect but rest assured, when it does appear we will let you know.
Can I ask a favour of all blog readers? Please be patient about getting your comments posted and questions answered. It is busier than ever at the moment so I can't answer questions or accept comments immediately...... we do appreciate your input so thank you for your comments, messages, questions and of course support.
If you want to specifically help the Loch Garten Osprey Team 2008, you might consider supporting the RSPB. You can do this online via the RSPB website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/join, if you add the code PR08, your membership will be credited to the Loch Garten team.