Keeping it clean

It has become evident that the adult birds run a very tight ship as far as housekeeping is concerned. Any crumbs from mealtimes that get dropped in the nest are picked up and swallowed quite quickly by one of the adults - and the chicks have started imitating this tidy-up ritual too.

As for other mess in the nest - namely poo - well, it just isn't tolerated and all the birds seem to have come to an arrangement about how and where they go.

The adult male most probably combines pooing with one of his fishing jaunts, whilst the female goes on what we have delicately called a 'poo flight' - flying a little circuit, stretching her wings and doing a little poo as she goes. The chicks, unable to fly off and poo discreetly away from the nest, have embraced the 'no-poo-in-the-nest' rule with enthusiasm and from the very early days learned to point their bottoms outwards and squirt dramatically over the edge - clever things. Luckily, we at the viewing site are not close enough to be used as target practice!

Both chicks continue to grow daily and are almost unrecognisable as the same little white fluffballs that emerged a few weeks ago. If you have been checking up on the webcam - which has had some stunning images over the last week or so - you will know what we mean.

Their colour has changed dramatically and their neck and chest feathers are much more developed. Despite their speedy growth, they still need lots of mummy-care and are still being sheltered by the female, particularly from the strong sun that we have had over the weekend - though they are almost too big to fit in the shadow of her now, even when she spreads herself out.

Female and male have been trimming up their beaks, grinding them on a sticky-out branch at the back of the nest. The female was giving it a good going over yesterday, really chewing vigorously. One of the chicks has been doing the same, imitating its mother - quite sweet.

We have seen a third osprey again on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Each time it was just gliding over heading northwards. On Friday both the Glaslyn adult birds came off the nest when they saw it appear. They didn't give chase but the male did follow this third bird, keeping a little distance between them, for a good five minutes before heading back to the nest. On Saturday and Sunday, both adults were on the nest when it appeared but didn't bother getting up, they just kept an eye on things.