Osprey 3 - Clear take off...

We're getting close now, very close. Even though many of us have been watching these ospreys for years, it's still a little strange to see three such large chicks in one nest at the same time. As ever at this stage, there is much friendly debate as to the day the first chick is going to fledge - opinions vary from as early as this Saturday through to next Wednesday. A lot of serious wing flapping going on at the moment and the occasional helicopter flight as I call them, actually being airborne for a few seconds hovering perilously over the nest; this can't be an easy skill to master in the strong winds we've had of late. It's incredible to see the live images of the chicks as they do this, they constantly micro adjust their position in the air by moving different, and sometimes individual, feathers. They are continiously changing the pitch of their streamlined bodies in relation to differing wind conditions just like a large aircraft would by using rudder, flaps and ailerons but in a much more elegant way of course! We sometimes forget how masterful ospreys are at aerial manoeuvring, this photograph shows our male osprey returning to the nest a few days ago only to find an intruder near by. The image is not upside-down!

Those that have been following our live swallow-cam at the visitor centre will be pleased to know that we, or should I say they, now have five hungry little mouths to feed. Brilliant to see these on a 46" plasma screen!

For the Welsh speakers/learners blogging in, the whole of the BBC's Galwad Cynnar radio program will be live from the Glaslyn Osprey Project this Saturday 5, July from 06.30 to 08.00 on Radio Cymru. This will coincide with our second community weekend of the season - everybody welcome as usual, over 2,500 people visited during the last event. (see earlier blog for some more details)

Finally, for those of you that visit, please be aware that we are in the middle of some construction changes at the moment and in the next few days the entrance/exit gate will change to a newer site around 70 metres away (towards Porthmadog). As soon as we have our first chick fledge, I'll let you know..