Halfway to hatching
We are now halfway through the incubation period, which means we can expect our first chick in around two-and-a-half weeks from now. The textbook incubation period for an osprey egg is 37 days, so if we count from Easter Monday when the first egg was laid, we reach Wednesday 16 May. Could this be the golden date? History would suggest so, as this pair have been spot on in previous years. Circle the date on your calendar and keep checking this diary to find out...
The third osprey was seen once again yesterday. It seems to be an early riser, as it was around 8am when it passed over the nest site, clutching a fish. The Glaslyn pair showed little interest. Their feathers won't be ruffled by the parade of some puny fish overhead - especially not when the Glaslyn male has such a skill for catching whoppers. At around 3pm yesterday he brought a big fish - around one foot long - into the nest. We often see him bringing mullet back but a couple of keen fishermen that were in the visitor centre at the time studied the screen and informed us that this was a sea bass, which he must have caught in the Cob in Porthmadog.
As usual, he had already eaten the head. Sometimes it looks as though he is a reluctant provider, because he seems to hang on to the fish and not want to give it up. Really it is only because he occasionally has trouble pulling his big talons out from the flesh and it can take a few moments to make the hand over to his mate. Ospreys have long arched claws which are brilliant at grasping fish when he emerges from the water with it slippery wet and thrashing around but do make it tricky to let go when the time comes.
We had fantastic views of a female peregrine on Tuesday afternoon. She was hovering over the field about 50 yards away from the hide. Peregrines are amazingly fast hunters and can reach speeds of up to 112 mph on the stoop (dive) when they hunt. She made a couple of dives to the ground, which were pretty spectacular and she was there for a good ten minutes but didn't seem to catch anything. Our 'Aren't birds brilliant!' comrades in south Wales are busy showing visitors the nesting peregrines in the Dare Valley Country Park in Aberdare and on the clock tower of City Hall, right in the middle of Cardiff city centre! Follow the Aren't birds brilliant! Link on the right of this page to find out how to visit these other viewing schemes.
On Tuesday we heard the first cuckoos of the season - a little later than elswhere perhaps but very special and now we regularly hear three or four of them in the woods, mostly in the morning and then late afternoon. A true sign of spring!
Help the Glaslyn ospreys
Lots of people coming to see the ospreys are so impressed that they want to support the project and the other important work that the RSPB carries out in Wales and across the globe. We couldn't do any of it without the support of our RSPB members. It costs as little as £2.67 per month to join but makes a huge difference. If you would like to join or find out more about our membership, please contact Ellen Perry (029) 2035 3045 ellen.perry@rspb.org.uk
Or, why not raise money to help projects like the Glaslyn ospreys? You could become one of our wonderful team of fundraising volunteers across Wales and it can take just half an hour a month. For more information, please contact Nick Bates (029) 2035 3009 nick.bates@rspb.org.uk