Eggcellent timing!
The Glaslyn ospreys are now proudly incubating their first egg, laid at 5.25pm yesterday - Easter Monday. Around 15 very chuffed visitors saw the great event and were cheering and clapping with as much enthusiasm as if they had laid it themselves! During Sunday and Monday, the female had been very agitated, shuffling and fussing around the nest. The male had busied himself bringing moss and lichen into the nest to line the inside and make it a soft, egg-ready environment. It turned out to be a very well-timed bit of bank holiday DIY and the egg has been able to nestle among the moss in complete comfort. Using our new technology we were able to zoom in on the egg and see it close up. It is white with brown speckles and around the same size as a chicken egg. Ospreys usually lay between two and four eggs, so we are hoping to see some more soon. The eggs will be laid a couple of days apart, so we could expect another one to arrive on Wednesday - there will certainly be many of us eagle-eyed viewers in the visitor centre waiting in anticipation. The birds will also be closely watched by members of our protection team. They are at a seperate location, keenly watching footage from the nest-cam round-the-clock to make sure that nothing happens to the birds or the nest in this critical incubation period.
The male has always shown himself to be a great father and partner, and this year seems no execption. He is staying very close to the nest, ready to protect his family if need be and to take over the incubating duties when his missus needs a break to stretch her wings or to eat on one of the feeding trees. The female was eating in the nest more than usual over the weekend but that could be because she knew the first egg was iminent and didn't want to stray too far from home. The male has been bringing plenty of food back, though his judgement was a little less than perfect on Saturday lunchtime. He would be embarassed if he knew I was telling you this I'm sure, but he presented his mate with the weediest thumb-sized tiddler of a fish that you ever saw. Ever the supportive mate, our lady osprey ate it anyway, though it barely amounted to a mouthful. Apart from that little blip, he has been bringing some whoppers back and the pair have been eating very well indeed.
Anyway, fingers crossed for another egg soon. We have polished off a chocolate egg or two and plenty of biscuits here in celebration...well, calories don't count on a bank holiday, everyone knows that!