GOOD NEWS BUT TINGED WITH SAD

For those of you counting days, you will have noticed that there has been an ominous silence since chick #1 hatched overnight on 5/6 Jun and I’m sad to report that egg 2 did not hatch. It could have been infertile or could have been damaged at some stage; I doubt we’ll ever know but, the good news is that the chick from the third egg hatched this morning and was fully free of the egg shell at 0745.

It didn’t take much part in the feeds earlier in the day but had successfully fed by noon. Augusta seemed at first to be a little nonplussed at the arrival of this second mouth and she kept looking over at it when she was feeding #1 wondering how it had got there. Samson was also very interested in it and, as in the last few days, made some effort (albeit unsuccessful) to feed the older one. He has also been allowed to brood for the first time since hatching started and was alone on the nest when the camera came on this morning at 0430.

So it will be a 2 chick family and, although sad that the second egg did not hatch, I’m not unhappy that Augusta as a first time mum has only 2 chicks to rear. They both look strong and healthy and have a very experienced parent in Samson but there is little leeway for error in the life of a young osprey and we must hope that fortune favours them. In doing so, I would like to extend my condolences to my colleagues at Tweed Valley Osprey Project who sadly lost that incredible clutch which was incubated and would have been raised by the two females and possibly the absentee male. The combination of the male disappearing and the weather conditions making fishing so difficult was just too much for the family to survive. The margins are so small between success and failure. Fingers crossed our little family do well. The weather seems benign for the next few days, which is so important when they are so tiny and the fishing looks good. I will certainly keep you informed.