Glaslyn Osprey Project
11/04/2008 11:42:58 Glaslyn Ospreys 2008The Glaslyn ospreys are nurturing their first egg of the season. The egg was laid on Tuesday 08 April. The female had been agitated throughout the afternoon, moving around the nest and engaging in displacement activity. At just after 5pm, she flattened herself down on the nest and, seconds later, stood to reveal the new egg.
Update 2008
20th May. 3 chicks have hatched, all well so far.
1st May. A second female osprey is now present at Glaslyn, and their have been reports of a second male too.
14 April. Third egg laid.
9 April. First egg laid.
31 March. Osprey pair return.
The female usually lays a second egg two days after the first, with the potentially a third egg after two more days. Each egg will be incubated for around 37 days, which means hatching should occur in mid-May.
The adults are the only known nesting pair of ospreys in Wales. The viewing scheme is open to the public every day from 10 am until 6 pm until the end of August and is free of charge to all.
VisitingCome and see the only pair of ospreys breeding in Wales. This site is in the Glaslyn Valley - one of the most scenic and biodiversity rich areas in Wales.
Visitors can enjoy views of the osprey nest via high-powered telescopes at a hide and on a large, wide-screen plasma monitor, which broadcasts live images from a nest cam directly above the nest. There are also picnic tables for people to use and to take in the views of Snowdonia and other mountain ranges. 75,000 people visited in 2005.
Facilities
RSPB Cymru staff and volunteers will be at viewing site each day to answer questions and help visitors get the best views of the birds through telescopes and binoculars. Live images from the osprey nest-cam will also be showing in the visitor centre.
How to get there
The RSPB Glaslyn viewing site is on the B4410. Take the A487 north from Porthmadog and turn right onto the A498 at Tremadog. Turn right onto the B4410 after approximately 2.5 miles. The Glaslyn Osprey Project viewing site is at Pont Croesor, at grid refence SH593413.
Telephone: RSPB North Wales Office 01248 363800
Click here for more details.
Glaslyn Ospreys in 2007
The Glaslyn osprey pair has been reunited at their nest in north Wales, ready to begin another breeding season.
At 3.15pm on 28th March the female osprey appeared over the horizon and settled straight onto the nest. The male (who arrived a couple of days earlier) began displaying immediately, flying high into the air and calling. Just twenty minutes later, the pair began mating.
It had been unclear whether this was the same male from previous years, as the orange identity ring on his right leg is missing. The male has now been identified by the number on the metal BTO ring around his left leg.
Emyr Evans, RSPB Cymru Osprey Officer explained: ‘The orange ring was an easy way to recognise the male but this has now gone.
The ring would receive quite an impact each time he plunges in the water to catch a fish, plus he has just completed a long and arduous migration, so the ring could have come off anywhere between Wales and West Africa.’
The adults are the only known nesting pair of ospreys in Wales. Two chicks fledged from the Glaslyn osprey nest in 2005, followed by another two in 2006.
Emyr continued: ‘This pair has arrived back even earlier than last year, and are probably among some of the first ospreys to arrive back in the UK. It’s as if they couldn’t wait to get back to sunny Wales.’
The Glaslyn osprey pair has been reunited at their nest in north Wales, ready to begin another breeding season.
At 3.15pm on 28th March the female osprey appeared over the horizon and settled straight onto the nest. The male (who arrived a couple of days earlier) began displaying immediately, flying high into the air and calling. Just twenty minutes later, the pair began mating.
It had been unclear whether this was the same male from previous years, as the orange identity ring on his right leg is missing. The male has now been identified by the number on the metal BTO ring around his left leg.
Emyr Evans, RSPB Cymru Osprey Officer explained: ‘The orange ring was an easy way to recognise the male but this has now gone.
Timeline for Welsh Ospreys.
- 2004. Ospreys nest in Wales for the first time, but nest blown down and destroyed.
- 2005. Same pair of Ospreys return and succesfully raise 2 chicks.
- April 2006. Osprey pair return again, lay three eggs.
- May 18 2006. First chick hatches.
The adults are the only known nesting pair of ospreys in Wales. Two chicks fledged from the Glaslyn osprey nest in 2005, followed by another two in 2006.
Emyr continued: ‘This pair has arrived back even earlier than last year, and are probably among some of the first ospreys to arrive back in the UK. It’s as if they couldn’t wait to get back to sunny Wales.’
A similar story to other places. Three chicks were hatched, but one didn’t make it through the bad weather. The surviving two, one male and one female, have all left for Africa.
18th July. Both surviving chicks have fledged, and are looking good.
29th June. The 2 surviving chicks are growing strongly, despite some appaling weather. Dad didn't seem to have too much trouble catching fish in the rain though.
13th June. The Glaslyn ospreys hatched 3 chicks in mid May, but one has since died, probably as a result of bad weather.
18th July. Both surviving chicks have fledged, and are looking good.
29th June. The 2 surviving chicks are growing strongly, despite some appaling weather. Dad didn't seem to have too much trouble catching fish in the rain though.
13th June. The Glaslyn ospreys hatched 3 chicks in mid May, but one has since died, probably as a result of bad weather.
