Lift-off for young Welsh Ospreys

Osprey (Sophie Dorman) - runner-up in WOS Young Photographer of the Year 2022

Young Ospreys made their maiden flights this month, a vulnerable time for any bird. Two left their nest platform at Cors Dyfi last week, followed by two at Llyn Brenig and brothers at Pont Croesor, upstream from Porthmadog, at the weekend. Youngsters will remain within short flights of their home nest for another month, learning to fish and navigate before starting their first journey to West Africa. There is a lot to learn and it’s not without risk, as illustrated by the fate of one at Llyn Clywedog, near Llanidloes, which was the first Welsh Osprey to fledge this year. Ten days after its first flight, a Goshawk predated the young male while it was tucking into fresh fish brought to the nest by one of its parents.

Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife, which monitors and protects the Ospreys at Pont Croesor, is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Ospreys nesting in Wales, which occurred there in 2004 . They have a weekend of events on 12-13 August – you can find out more and book tickets here.

Ospreys found their way to Wales naturally, although several adults that have nested here originate from reintroduction projects in England. White-tailed Eagles are much less likely to arrive in Wales without assistance, but a proposal is being developed with farmers and landowners around the Severn estuary, as visitors to the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show have been finding out this week. Planning and consultations are underway, boosted by news of the first White-tailed Eagle chick to fly from an English nest for 230 years. Its parents were released as juveniles on the Isle of Wight in 2020; an immature bird released on the island has been on the Mersey estuary, at Hale, throughout July and was perhaps the one on Anglesey the previous week.

Scarcer seabirds passing our coasts at the weekend included a Sooty Shearwater off Cemlyn, Arctic Skuas and Little Tern near Criccieth, and a couple of Roseate Terns were at Penmon last week. Mediterranean Gull numbers are increasing, with 40 at Hafan y Môr and 25 at Nefyn.