Glaslyn Ospreys

Third chick hatched yesterday at Glaslyn. Aran had been feeding both females but as far as I can see from comments on FaceBook he last took a fish to the other female on Saturday. Her eggs aren't' due to hatch just yet - one was stolen by a crow when she left the nest very early on so there are only two.
 
Seems like Mrs G has taken over full time since all have hatched but Aran was there a lot today too. I thought when watching them at first that the smallest chick (hatched last I presume) was having a tough time getting food and was thinking - ah well, that's how it goes - but after a while the older chicks had their fill and Mrs G was stretching over them to make sure the littlest got some. I suppose its early days and the demand for food with 3 as they get bigger is going to be hard work. She is already having to spread out quite a bit to keep them all under cover.
Its pretty amazing that we can watch this. Just a few years ago it would be a frame every 5 seconds if you were lucky.
 
I'm sitting in the conservatory of our riverside cottage at Beddgelert, which is just a few miles away from Glasyn, listening to the good Welsh rain fusillading down the roof, and watching the stream which runs through the garden, which has risen overnight and become a brown and boiling river. The forecast is for heavy rain all day today, but looks a bit more hopeful for tomorrow. Which is good, because tomorrow morning we have planned to meet Bigyetiman and his OH and Margaid at the Glaslyn centre, put faces to names, and hope to see the birds. BYM and OH are staying in Bangor and we very much hope Margaid will be able to make the 2-hour journey along the A5 to be there as well. Margaid and I have been pen friends for several years, starting from when we were both on PP forum, which is where I 'met' BYM and OH as well, and I'm looking forward to meeting all 3 of them very much. I've never seen pics of any of them and am wondering whether my mental images will be anything like the glorious reality. Will keep you posted!
Poor Mrs G is hunkered right down, looking very wet and bedraggled, poor girl.
 
I don't go anywhere near the A5 Marigold which is why I made the comment to you about not many opportunities to overtake! It's a good cross country run via Welshpool and Dolgellau through spectacular scenery if only I had the chance to look at it! Hoping the weather will improve by tomorrow morning as I'm looking forward to visiting the Glaslyn site and meeting you (and OH) and BYM and his OH. At least I have some idea what you look like! The forecast for tomorrow is better at Glaslyn than it is here, but they got it so wrong yesterday I think a strip of seaweed would have been more accurate!
 
OK, my geography is appalling and I haven't got much idea where you live either, but am looking forward to meeting up tomorrow, anyway, if you feel up to the trip. We've just got back from food shopping to the big Tesco in Porthmadog, and managed to get soaking wet just between the store and car park. A498 Beddgelert to Portmadog flooding quite a lot, but we saw a nice clear yellow AA sign at the turning to the B4100, Carrog, saying Glaslyn Ospreys in both directions. No letup whatsoever in the rain today. Poppy's a bit fed up indoors, but doesn't like getting wet either!
 
Been a bit wet to say the least but rain did stop for a bit and we saw 13 black grouse which brightened the day. Pied flycatchers and lovely toasted tea cakes at Vrnwy kept us going.looking forward to putting faces to names.I am not too scary honestly
 
I am actually only half an hour from the A5 where it skirts round Shrewsbury, but to get to Glaslyn there's a more "direct" cross country route. Poor Mrs G is still soaking but Glesni and the chicks at the Dyfi project were feeding happily in what looked like reasonable weather. It's odd really because that's about half way between here and Glaslyn.
 
Well, after really heavy rain on Monday all day, and overnight, the river had gone on rising by several feet, and since it combines with another river and then tips it all on to the Glaslyn marsh, we couldn't meet at the reserve as it was closed yesterday due to flooding of the access road. Nevertheless, Margaid bravely made the long 2-hour trip along wet roads to get here, and Bigyetiman and OH came too, from Bangor. We all had coffee together here and then went out for a pub lunch and a walk along the Aberglaslyn gorge, as far as possible before the path disappeared under the floodwaters. It was lovely to meet everyone, and to find out we had a lot in common. My husband thought we were going to spend all day talking about chickens, and I suppose we did mention them, in passing, but we had plenty else to discuss. Thank you all for coming, let's hope other people will be able to plan to meet as well.
 
We were never going to let a lot of rain stop us. It was a great day and chicken talk was virtually non existant.
Sorry Mark didn't have dreadlocks next time maybe !!!!
 
The oldest chicks are getting quite big now aren't they? They don't really fit under her any more.
Yesterday evening (or Sat not sure) Aran arrived with a place, still flapping, and they ate all but the tail within 10 mins. Looked pretty tasty - wouldn't have minded having that for supper myself! Just before the fish arrived we had a demonstration of projectile pooping - I think someone mentioned that on here. Wow, you wouldn't want to be peering over the edge of the nest at the wrong moment.
 
I've been watching the Dyfi Project Ospreys as well and the daughter of Monty and Glesni, called Clarach has just hatched her first chick at Aberfoyle which makes them "grandparents". Also one of Mrs G and Aran's sons, W0, has been seen at Kielder on his first migration back to the UK. Apparently when Aran was incubating the eggs he knocked an egg out of the cup and it was not incubated for 11 hours. Mrs G didn't seem to have noticed it. When Aran was doing another stint he saw the egg and moved it back into the cup and it hatched as W0.
 
Thanks for that update. Thats the value of a leg ring, it's great she has survived migration etc to come back and hopefully become a well established breeder
Not had a chance to look at anything as mum has just come out of hospital after her stroke. So been a bit busy.
 
There's all sorts going on at this nest over the past 24 hours.
Went from her barely able to sit on them all to stopping sitting entirely - Aran and the chicks (!) helping to rearrange the sticks and a lot of chick exploring activity. I stopped watching for an hour this morning and when I tuned back in they had fetched lots of moss to fill up the nest so its a lot shallower than it was.
Careful little ones! Don't fall out!
There also seemed to be Aran and another osprey (?!) at the nest before Mrs G returned and did a lot of shouting.
 
Ooh missed that! Haven't had much time to watch recently. All the older chicks - Glaslyn, Dyfi and Rutland water are snoozing in the sunshine at the mo while mum or dad keeps a watchful eye. Clarach's second egg has hatched at Aberfoyle but the site isn't very informative - people asking los of questions but not getting answers.

I wonder if the moss etc is to give different camouflage or just to make it more comfortable for the chicks. When they're very young their striped back blends well with the sticks, but now their plumage is developing perhaps they're hidden better against the more speckled background of grass and moss. Anyone know?
 
Margaid said:
...I wonder if the moss etc is to give different camouflage...
Click to expand...

I think you may be right there. It defiantly happened in a very purposeful way and it was funny how the adults and the chicks seemed to know the job in hand and contribute to it happening.
Probably silly but what with the chicks out in the open in the sun (though mum was shading and fanning them) and all the peeping that Mrs G was making was relieved to see another fish arrive.
 
Mrs G has been spending a lot of time today with wings spread, sheltering the chicks in shade. She's sitting there ATM with her eyes closed looking a bit overwhelmed by the heat. Doesn't seem possible that, only two weeks ago, she was grimly sitting it out in torrential rain which had flooded the marsh and closed the access roads.
 
You wouldn't want to be sitting up there in that heat would you. Two weeks ago we were all trying to work out where to meet as rain nearly stopped play. Notice how the weather instantly improved once we came home
made early trip today to Pagham harbour to see the Elegant Tern, then went and had lovely views of the Chichester Peregrines showing the young the finer points of pigeon chasing. Then onto a site for Honey Buzzard and Goshawk
 
That sounds a really good day out.
Developments overnight at Glaslyn;
https://www.facebook.com/BywydGwylltGlaslynWildlife/photos/a.167529850063941.1073741825.164696917013901/829239670559619/?type=3
 
I saw that, it was quite eventful at Glaslyn, Aran and Mrs G are being kept busy in more ways than one.
Yes it was a good day out. Not a bad morning surveying either as a local pair of Hobby have hatched at least 2 young, could just make out two little heads, and the Little Owl owlets were very vocal
 
I was wondering - will they learn to eat a fish by themselves before leaving the nest?
Seem much stronger now and taking longer looks at the wider world over the edge.
 
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