SOME EXCITING NEWS

I am now back with you and I thank you for your forbearance while I have been away. I am still reviewing several days of footage that I had missed but I can tell you that everything seems to be going well and we still have 3 eggs. Both adult birds have brought sprigs of greenery to the nest, a sure sign that they know things are about to happen and we are expecting the first hatch, probably around Wednesday, 31 May.

The big news didn’t happen here, though, although it very much concerns us and that is that we have confirmation that one of the ringed offspring from Border Ospreys is preparing to become a parent itself with a nest and a mate.

As those of you who have followed Border Ospreys from the start will know, we began ringing the chicks at the nest in 2016. It is one of the 2017 chicks, nicknamed Walter and who was ringed as PY0, and he was discovered nesting in the Kielder area. He has been intruding regularly at Kielder since he first returned to the UK in 2019 and has now paired up with 330, a 2019 female from nearby Tweed Valley Osprey Project. He was the offspring of Samson and from the last brood raised by Delilah. The nest was discovered a few weeks ago but confirmation of the identity of the pair was only made yesterday.

This is very exciting news as it is the first confirmation we have had of a Border Ospreys bird nesting although undoubtedly there have been others from pre-ringing broods. So, as Samson prepares to become a parent again, we now know that, fingers crossed, he will also be a grandparent!

I wish the new couple every success in what will hopefully be a long partnership.