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Recent Events

June 4

Sunday June 22nd was wet and miserable all day, but H/D was seen feeding all three chick in the middle of the day. Thankfullly Monday was a much better day, as the wind dropped and the sun came out. H/D was having a good preen early on, ready for when EP brought in fish in the middle of the day. It was encouraging to  see all three chicks being fed;occasionally you feel  that H/D gets bored with the process once she has fed two of her young. After lunch, H/D did some 'nest-work', moving sticks around, while chicks 1 and 2 had a preen and chick 3 a doze. She then fed chick 1, but not chick 3, who had woken up, whilst chick 2 had a doze. We were pleased to see chick 3 getting fed a little later. Early evening the chicks were all lying in the sun whilst H/D fed herself - what a contrast after the cold, wet weekend! Although they looked very full, both chicks 1 and 2 were soon asking for more food. No wonder they're  growing so fast! The oldest chick is now beginning to stretch and flap its wings, as we saw on Tuesday afternoon, but by the evening it was getting cool and windy, and all the chicks were sheltering under Mum, who was sitting low in the nest.

Wednesday 25th was cold and wet, with no sign of fish. The oldest chick was pecking at its younger siblings at lunchtime, but fortunately some proper food arrived soon after! Though ospreys only eat fish, aggression between chicks is not uncommon. The windy weather continued into Thursday, but the chicks appeared well fed first thing. Chick 3 was well tucked down out of the wind between its larger siblings. Windy weather makes fishing more difficult for the male, although he managed to provide fish for supper despite the wind.

How fast our chicks are growing! The oldest is now three weeks old, and the difference in size between the chicks is now very noticeable: chicks 1 and 2 are now significantly bigger than chick 3, who is never-the-less managing to get enough food to grow, if more slowly. We are always relieved when we see H/D feeding chick 3, as she was at lunchtime today (27th). Several more periods of aggression by the larger chick have been seen: at one time chick 3 was lying on its back being pecked by chick1, at another the two older chicks were fighting, with chick 3 keeping well out of the way. So far no real damage seems to have been done, although chick 3 was very quiet after one episode. More wet weather on Saturday kept the chicks pretty well hidden from view under H/D, who was wet and bedraggled by the evening. However, EP kept the fish coming, with trout for lunch. Sunday was a better day, giving us good views of well fed chicks snoozing in the sun, while H/D sat preening on the edge of the nest. With the chicks separated out on the nest, it was easy to spot the huge difference in size between chick 1 and chick 3. The two older chicks now have their real feathers coming through, and are beginning to look like real ospreys, with their black eye stripe and mottled brown backs. They are both doing lots of wing stretching. Chick 3, on the other hand, is still in its second, grey, downy coat - not nearly so smart.

As the month draws to a close, it has been very satisfying to watch our three chicks develop and grow. We were initially a little concerned that young EP would not be able  to rise to the challenge of catching enough fish to feed his family of four, but so far he has been magnificent!