Bon Voyage Mrs osprey

Now there are just three ospreys left at the Glaslyn site, as the adult female has not been seen since last Thursday and has more than likely set off on her migration to west Africa.

Well, with the weather we've had this week who can blame her?! It's been blustery, wet and generally not very August-like. This was about the time we would expect her to go anyway. After five months in the nest, she has spent the last few weeks eatling lots and flying lots, building up her strength ready for the long journey ahead.

The adult male seems a little lost without the missus. On Sunday, an adult male osprey - we are pretty certain it was the Glaslyn male but couldn't be 100% sure - landed in a tree next to the nest tree and began bringing sticks and nesting material to it.

Within around ten minutes he had brought six big sticks to the tree and we could definitely see the outline of a very rustic nest in the making. It's likely that this is the Glaslyn male and that he is engaging in displacement activity. He must be a little out of sorts since his mate left and knows things aren't quite as they were so he's busying himself with something that feels safe and familiar. This new 'nest' is unlikely to get much further and the loose structure won't last long in this unseasonable weather.

He is certainly milking plenty of sympathy - sitting solo for hours on end in his favourite feeding tree, which is up on the left as we look from viewing site, about three quarters of a mile away from us. He spent around three-and-a-half hours just sat there yesterday before going fishing and is back there again today.

It appeals to him because he can see all around for potential threats, keep an eye on what the juveniles are up to and look into the nest. Not that there has been much nest activity for a few weeks now. The birds are barely using the nest, if at all.

When the chicks first began to experiment with fishing, they would often go off with the adult male to learn together. Now, however, each bird is more likely to go off on its own. In fact, the older of the two juveniles was seen fishing at Porthmadog Cob at around 10:15 am today.

Whether she caught anything or not we don't know as, just at that moment, the train went rattling past and blocked the view of the keen-eyed osprey watcher who made the sighting.

We are now into the last few weeks of the osprey season. Soon the adult male will head off to Africa, followed by each chick. But, there are still some great weeks ahead of us watching the ospreys around the Glaslyn as they prepare themselves for migration.

Plus we can still enjoy the last community weekend of the season, due to take place over the August bank holiday weekend (25 - 27 August). We will have lots of extra things to do at the viewing site over that weekend - local produce on sale, displays by local artists and photographers, face painting, bird safari sessions and refreshments - as well as osprey watching of course! It's all completely free of charge as always and we are open from 10 am until 6 pm. Come along and see us if you can.