Great news from north Wales. The Glaslyn osprey pair has returned safe and well, looking fit, refreshed and ready to go after a nice long winter break in west Africa. This will be their fifth season raising a family at the Welsh nest site, so fingers crossed for another cracking few months.
The male's body clock is awesomely accurate. He was the first to show up, as always, arriving on the nest at 1pm on Wednesday 26 March - exactly the same day, and very nearly the same time, as he returned last year - we should set our watches by him!
He spent the first few hours pottering around, a typical unsupervised male with no watchful female to answer to. His pleasures involved exploring his old stomping ground, doing a spot of fishing and perching on a feeding tree to eat his first Glaslyn catch of the season. When he did settle in for a little nest-rest, we took the opportunity to focus the nest camera on his BTO leg ring and double check his identity. It proved without doubt that this is the regular male - stage one complete. Now we just had to settle back and wait for his missus to catch up.
We didn't have to wait long. At 7am the next morning we arrived at the site to see the pair of them sat chummily together in the nest. No doubt they had a lot to catch up on after a winter apart. As always with the female, it is impossible to say with 100% certainty that she is the same bird returning year after year. She has no ID rings on her legs that would confirm this. But, after many seasons of watching her on a daily basis, we are all pretty familiar with her markings and behaviour patterns. The dark, speckly chest feathers are particularly distinctive, plus she obviously knows the nest and the area very well, she is visibly comfortable in the surroundings.
True to form, the birds were mating almost straight away on Thursday morning, and have been ever since, despite the gusty winds and rain we had over the weekend - aah I expect they've missed this bleak Welsh weather! Both birds have been adding twigs and sticks to the nest to build it up ready for eggs and the male has been standing in the middle and scooping backwards with his talons to make a cup shape in the bottom of the nest that the eggs will sit in. This will protect them from the elements, making them more secure in there.
As for a laying date, 'Mystic egg' predicts that Monday 7 April could be the magic date. Keep checking the blog to find out. This year we are super-interactive too and are inviting you to share your comments and thoughts on the Glaslyn ospreys with us and other blog users. Happy writing!
As the start of the Glalsyn Osprey Project looms closer, what lies ahead for 2008? Eggs? chicks? A third osprey arriving on the scene to mix things up mid-season? Who knows.
What we do know is we are raring to go and ready to show you some of the finest close-up nest footage of the ospreys that you could hope for. We unveiled our new cameras last year, and captured some breathtaking footage of the osprey family. We are able to zoom in so close that every feather of the birds, every scale of the fish they bring, and every drop of rain (and last year there was a lot of rain!) is pin-sharp.
It's been six months or so since we were last here, and if you're memories of last season are a little spongy then here's a quick recap to help bring you up to speed...
The male came back in March minus the orange ID ring on his right leg. All of us were convinced this was the usual male. His markings and mannerisms were identical to previous years and he settled in so quickly with the female. This is where the super-dooper new camera's came into their own. As he sat on the nest we could zoom in closely on the metal BTO ring on his left leg and read the ID number, confirming that this was indeed our regular male. Brilliant!
With the Easter hols came three eggs - of the non-chocolate variety! - from which, emerged three lovely chicks. Sadly, one of them didn't survive, but the other two went from strength to strength and fledged successfully in the middle of July. All in all, a fabulous season.
Now, all eyes are turned skywards, as we anticipate once more the return of the adult birds. Every gull, buzzard and even crow that flies nearby is being scrutinised more closely than usual - just in case it turns our to be Mr or Mrs osprey! We will open the viewing site on Thursday 20 March, so do come along and see us over the Easter bank holiday weekend - you may be the one to catch that first glimpse of the birds. We will also be showing last year's highlights from the nest-cams in the visitor centre. It's great to be back! Hope to see you all very soon.