Dyfi Osprey Project (3 Viewers)

[Boro Birder]

Hopefully a male and a female, i have been watching a lot of the Osprey sites around the country and loch of lowes 1 and only chick fledged on the 24 and 1 i no of up in perthshire but is not public knowledge went down between the 2nd and the 25 of may, however as stated on a link from justin they can look like the are sitting and there will be no eggs on the nest, so seeing a bird sat on a nest from over 250meters away is no proof of actual breeding, however these 2 birds have had me hooked and i am so happy they have had a successful breeding season after all the troublesome start they had, i have made my donation to the project and hopefully will come back to wales next year to see the Ospreys on site. Thanks for doing a great jobs down there lads and lasses.

Thanks Damian

 

[Tiger_mz]

The cam went down at 9.23am so ringing is well under way now.

 

[Tiger_mz]

Cam back on at 10:16am with the ringing party walking toward the bridge with a particularly youthful looking one among them.

 

[JustinG]

The two chicks were ringed around 10am this morning. Each bird had their own, specific identification ring - 1R and 2R. They are both females, with 1R being 1660g and with a wing length of 300mm. 2R had a weight of 1710g and a wing length of 328mm, with this bird being a couple of days older than 1R.

They have been named after local rivers like usual. 1R is called "Cerist", and 2R is called "Clarach". Both birds looked well and all is back to normal.

I was very fortunate and privileged to be part of the team that went out to the ringing, and I had the task of filming all that went on. Some of this footage will be put in a video which will be uploaded on Facebook later on.

 

[Canucklehead]

Brilliant blog and video here . Well done, Justin.:clap:

 

[Pam_m]

Brilliant blog and video here . Well done, Justin.:clap:

Seconded! Well done Justin!:clap:

 

[JustinG]

Thank you both. It was indeed a huge honour to be able to go out to the ringing, and I am truly grateful to the project manager to allow me, not only to just go out there, but to be able to film it as well!

Fledging likelihood - 10-13 days time.

 

[JustinG]

A couple of Brown Trout so far today, with the record for the number of fish brought in in a week being challenged this week. Look out for the fish stats on the Facebook page later on today.

 

[JustinG]

Apologies for the lack of postings recently.

The eldest chick, Clarach, who bears the ring '2R', fledged on Sunday at 08:13. She flew around for a couple of minutes before crashing back down onto the nest. She has been doing well since, after her early fledging at the age of just 51 days. The average for a female of her size is 53/54 days.

Yesterday, the youngest chick, Cerist, who bears the ring '1R', also fledged. She took to the air at 09:06.

Now for the bad news. After being viewed flying for a couple of minutes, she disappeared, and has not been seen since. This is rare, however happens most years. As Cerist fledged at the age of 51 days also, she may be under-strength. Clarach didn't fly again on Sunday after she fledged. Cerist could easily be hidden from view of the camera, perched in some trees somewhere. It happens many a time when Ospreys fledge and can disappear for up to 4 days. However, it is very worrying.

I'll keep this updated as well as I can - otherwise, the Facebook page or the Live Stream is the best place to see/hear what's going on. Apologies for any problems with live stream also.

 

[JustinG]

Worrying times as there is still no sign of Cerist, 1R, anywhere. It has been 36 hours now since she fledged and disappeared. Tomorrow is another day so there's hope of her returning then. It is not unusual for a bird to fledge and come back after a few days, but these birds are so precious, it's extremely worrying. A more extensive search with cameras, and by humans, tomorrow to try and see if she's perched somewhere.

 

[JustinG]

A search party is going out this morning - we are walking the saltmarsh around the nest site, checking if Cerist is on the ground somewhere. It's our only hope.

 

[JustinG]

Cerist Returns

What a day it's been! 17 of us set out this morning to look for Cerist, 1R, starting at one end of the Morfa Dyfi reserve. This is the large saltmarsh, with numerous ponds, ditches, channels and things to trip you up, where the nest is situated. We all walked in one direction towards the nest and then past the nest and to the other end of the reserve.

Alwyn, a public engagement officer at the project, believed he saw an Osprey take off from a deep channel as he approached and it dropped down by the river. We carried out and after 3 hours, we had returned to the project with nothing found.

We had a lunch and set out again to look on Cors Dyfi, which is the project side of the railway line. As we left, a bird was on top of a nearby radio mast, whom we assumed was Clarach, 2R. However, this bird flew off and landed on Monty's 'new' nest and her leg ring was spotted - 1R!

The place erupted, with celebrations and tears of joy - a humbling experience. Radio messages were passed around to inform the search teams that she was back, and everyone was hugging and smiling!

Shortly after being back at the nest site, Glesni brought in a Flounder, and Cerist has been fed. A happy family tonight, and a bunch of happy people. She's laying flat on the nest and not going anywhere too quickly!

 

[Pam_m]

Well done to all who searched and thanks for keeping us updated Justin! :clap:

A happy result all round!:t:

 

[JustinG]

Thanks Pam. It's been an eventful few days, worrying is the exact word. The dedicated work of the staff and volunteers at the project is like no other, it's humbling. Personally, I was going to go to the lengths of bog snorkelling to find Cerist. Thankfully, we flushed her out and she made her way back to the nest.

 

[Boro Birder]

Oh my heart sank for a moment there, i have been busy recently and have not kept up with the project, i have been keeping tabs on all the big Osprey nests, i.e Loch of Lowes/Garten, lake district, Rutland and all these birds have fledged.
So happy you found Cerist and well done to all who found her.
In my book you should of had a Medal.
Absolutely cracking news.

Thanks Damian.

 

[Tiger_mz]

What a day it's been! 17 of us set out this morning to look for Cerist, 1R, starting at one end of the Morfa Dyfi reserve. This is the large saltmarsh, with numerous ponds, ditches, channels and things to trip you up, where the nest is situated. We all walked in one direction towards the nest and then past the nest and to the other end of the reserve.

Alwyn, a public engagement officer at the project, believed he saw an Osprey take off from a deep channel as he approached and it dropped down by the river. We carried out and after 3 hours, we had returned to the project with nothing found.

We had a lunch and set out again to look on Cors Dyfi, which is the project side of the railway line. As we left, a bird was on top of a nearby radio mast, whom we assumed was Clarach, 2R. However, this bird flew off and landed on Monty's 'new' nest and her leg ring was spotted - 1R!

The place erupted, with celebrations and tears of joy - a humbling experience. Radio messages were passed around to inform the search teams that she was back, and everyone was hugging and smiling!

Shortly after being back at the nest site, Glesni brought in a Flounder, and Cerist has been fed. A happy family tonight, and a bunch of happy people. She's laying flat on the nest and not going anywhere too quickly!

I have not seen this account until now. Yes it was a great day.

It was nearly three hours before Glesni brought Cerist a fish. Well she brought a fish to the normal nest and Cerist had to fly down to get fed.

 

[Canucklehead]

OH and I visited DOP twice last week. Fantastic to see Monty and the girls in the flesh. If you haven't visited this lovely part of the UK, try to fit it in next spring. Brilliant staff and enthusiastic volunteers also make this a very special place. Watch the live streaming as all three are still there.

 

[Canucklehead]

Update: it now appears Clarach (2R) has started her migration

Safe journey.