Ring-a-bling bling

The two osprey chicks are now sporting their latest glamorous accessories - brand new identification rings. On Tuesday morning three licensed BTO ringers and Emyr Evans, our Glaslyn Osprey Officer, went along to the nest.

The time was right for ringing as both chicks have been developing so well and are very healthy and strong right now, plus we had to ring them both before they fledge in a few weeks time. The ringers have done this many times before of course and know exactly how to conduct a smooth and sensitive ringing session.

As the nest was approached, the adult birds flew off, calling to the chicks to play dead - this is the young birds defence strategy and works extremely well. They are camouflaged wonderfully against the nest and can hardly be seen at all when they lay completely still.

During the ringing, a metal BTO ring was placed on their left legs and a plastic darvic ring on their right legs. These plastic rings are brightly coloured with large lettering on them - one Glaslyn chick has the letters YA and the other YB. They are easily spotted through binoculars and telescopes so they can be used to identify ospreys in the field and, if spotted in future years, they will allow us to tell instantly that the wearer is a Glaslyn chick from 2007.

It is extremely useful to ring these birds as it is a great research tool, allowing us to find out more about osprey lifespans, migration patterns and breeding habits etc. Both chicks were also weighed and their wingspans measured - these details will be analysed and will help determine the sex of the birds as it is impossible to tell this just by looking at juvenile birds.

That was all two days ago and they are behaving no differently now that they have their rings on. They are still eating well and growing extraordinarily fast.