Just a very quick note to apologise for the lack of camera on YouTube at present. We have a wiggly amps problem in the electronics which my vast experience of matters electrical (ie turning everything off then on again, wiggling the wires and hopefully tapping the offending bits of kit) has failed to resolve. Luckily, there’s not much action being missed as the chicks are spending most of their days away from the nest but I will try to resolve it.

Like typical kids, the juveniles have left the days of nervous short flights with swooping take offs when they forget to use their wings properly and only slightly-in-control crash landings on the nest (preferably softened by landing on a sibling or adult) behind them. They are now super confident, even cocky, racing around the sky, swooping, climbing, stall turning, twisting and chasing. A group of us were watching 4 of “our” ospreys, plus a possible intruder, all manoeuvring above the field a few days ago and we were spinning like tops trying to follow them all. I was very flattered to be asked if I could recognise which bird it was that we were watching at one point. It was still a dot, even with binoculars, but even I can’t distinguish specific ospreys at that distance, but thanks to the questioner for her confidence. It was interesting to see that the youngsters were willing to join in protecting the territory from the intruder but honestly, I’m not sure that they were an actual help!

One further bit of progress is that 9J7 (chick 2) returned to the nest looking a little soggy and clutching something that looked like riverweed a day or so ago. It looks like she, at least, is practising her fishing technique. It is nevertheless a fact that most juveniles set off on migration having never caught a fish themselves. The sensible ones find somewhere to refine their technique before getting too far. Brian’s home is near an estuary on the south coast teeming with fish and most years locals can watch a youngster breaking their journey there and mastering catching fish on a regular basis before travelling on. Far easier to do than waiting until they are really hungry and the fishing conditions are less benign.

That’s all in front of them and our family seems to be just enjoying life. Both parents are fishing and the juveniles are probably having the easiest time they will have in their lives. No worries, the freedom of flight, food being delivered regularly and still having the protection of their parents. I hope they enjoy it while they can as life will get tougher for them in a few weeks’ time.

Well, if we thought 9J7 (chick 2) took her time to go, it was nothing in comparison with 9J6 (Titch). In the end, it was quite comedic with her on the tip of the nest perch and she kept looking down and almost shuddering (like the hero in a silent movie) but she eventually went at 0936 this morning, did a very brief fly around and then landed back on the perch again. I don’t know about you but I was trying to encourage her as she built up her courage…and then watched it subside again. That said, I wouldn’t be too happy at launching myself off a 100ft cliff and having to rely on instinct to work my wings and tail properly, so I have some sympathy for her.

So that’s all of them fledged and an empty nest for the first time since the first egg was laid on 22 Apr. Another sign that the end of the season is starting to approach is that I was told that yesterday Augusta brought in a fish that she caught herself. Her job has now been completed with all the chicks able to fly and leave the nest so she will disengage her bond with her chicks and will start on the business of building up her strength and fat reserves for her migration. If it’s anything like last year, Samson will stop bringing her fish and will concentrate on providing for the chicks, which is quite a challenge in itself. It seems a little harsh but she is quite capable of finding food for herself now she is no longer tied to guarding the nest.

The next few weeks are the most exciting time to be down watching the birds as it’s not often you can see potentially 5 ospreys in the same area, particularly when Samson brings in a fish and hungry ospreys seem to converge from every corner! Even though the nest will become less and less the centre of activity, it remains out of bounds to humans and the best views are still to be found along the river track or up on the road leading down to the car park.

Please continue to let me know of anything of interest you see from the camera view or if you’re down in person or any questions you may have. Leaving a comment on here is the best way to get in touch initially.

9J7 (chick 2) fledged today at 1318. She’d been umm’ing and aah’ing for a couple of days since her big sister first flew but she just lacked the courage for that final launch. When she did go, it was in a very controlled manner and she could be seen doing lots of circuits over the potato field.

She’s not quite back on the nest yet but is on a branch on the other side of the tree, yelling at her mum for instructions. She hasn’t yet worked out that she needs to fly away from the nest in order to get back to it but she’ll sort it in the end.

Chick 3 is now being left on her own in the nest and is not enjoying the experience, so has been doing some fairly violent wing flapping exercises to try and catch up with her siblings, although we haven’t seen any helicoptering yet.

We also had a short visit from a young peregrine which enjoyed bouncing our family before Augusta shooed it away.

It’ll probably be a day or so before chick 3 fledges but keep a look out for Augusta to start fishing for herself. She might not be as willing to share a fish she’s caught herself as she is with the offerings that Samson brings.

9J8 (otherwise known as Chick 1) fledged at 1705 today and, after 15 minutes flying around, landed back on the nest as nice as you like, at 1720. I’m not entirely sure she meant to go as she actually fledged backwards but the gentle breeze that picked up this afternoon gave her the confidence to go and it was amusing to see the two other chicks tracking her around the sky, even though we couldn’t see her. Chick 2 will not be far behind but I have yet to see Chick 3 lift off the nest yet during her wing exercising, so I assume there’ll be a bit of a gap until we see her leave the nest for the first time.

I think Chick 1 has been a bit overcome by it all. She’s nestled up to her siblings, put her head down, and has dropped off! It’s not every day that something so important happens in your life!

I think she could do with a celebratory fish.

I’m absolutely livid that, about an hour ago, we had three human intruders who thought it was acceptable to walk out to the nest and then stand and chat directly under it before sauntering off again after about 15 minutes. Augusta was circling and alarming, having flown off as they approached, and then was joined by Samson who had just been on a fishing trip.

I wondered at first if it was agricultural workers who may not have been aware of the nest, especially as the field is let to a separate farmer for potato growing this year. However, at least two of the threesome had binoculars and it was clear that their interest was primarily the nest and the birds.

There are signs around, although the pertinent one may be obscured by foliage at this time of year, but the fact that they clearly knew what they were looking at means that they should also have known that they were disturbing the birds. Augusta would have been distress calling by this stage, and they seemed not to care. None of us were down there at the time to stop them, which might have been lucky for them as my language would have been less than temperate and diplomatic.

The disturbance constitutes an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 but the very real danger of this incident is that the chicks are now getting close to fledging. There is lots of wing flapping and some helicoptering going on. Something like this might easily have led to at least one of the chicks attempting to fly the nest, with disastrous results. Luckily it didn’t, but no thanks to these (at best) ignorant people.

I doubt that we will be able to identify the intruders, but I will nevertheless try. In the meantime, it is a timely reminder of visitors to the area to stick to the path. You can get great views from there (better than from where these men were) and the birds will not be disturbed.

If anyone is able to identify these people or could give further information, you can drop me a note on the comments section that you have information, and we can chat directly. Despite my temptation to name and shame, I would want to hear their side of the story first.

The good news is that both parents returned to the nest after the perceived danger was passed, and the fish that Samson had in his talons soon occupied their complete attention.

I don’t do “early“ on Sundays but I just about managed to get to meet up with the ringing team and a few observers by the arranged 1000 yesterday. It wasn’t ideal weather with the rain coming and going to tease us but, luckily the wind had dropped sufficiently for Björn to make his way up the tree safely and then carefully lower the chicks down.

First to be ringed was Titch who weighed in at a whopping 1620g, despite being the youngest. Its stuffed crop made up a fair proportion of that weight and showed that all our concerns about it not getting its fair share of food were completely misplaced. She’s probably female but we’re not 100% sure as she’s still quite young to assess her various wing and foot measurements accurately. Her two siblings are also both girls but neither weighed as much as she did, despite being 4 or 5 days older! They have been ringed as 9J6 (chick 3), 9J7 (chick 2) and 9J8 (chick 1). They were weighed (all 3 had target practice during this period and narrowly avoided splatting several of us!) and various measurements were taken before a quick ride back up to the nest, accompanied by a fish I had brought (Morrison’s tilapia) them to atone for the interruption to their day.

Augusta was overhead the whole time, watching what was going on and Samson arrived mid way through with a fish. That mysteriously disappeared by the time the chicks were back in the nest and I rather think that Samson took the opportunity for a quick snack whilst his family was otherwise engaged. Being an old hand at this he’s very calm about the whole ringing process but it was the first time for Augusta since she herself was ringed back in 2020 so was the more agitated of the 2 by it all. By the time I got home and switched on the live camera feed, the tilapia had disappeared so I assume no one turned their beaks up at the foreign fish but they gobbled it down while recounting the story of their day to their mother.

The next bit of drama is that the chicks will be increasingly exercising their wings to strengthen muscles and eventually to lift off the nest. The latter is known as helicoptering and always makes me nervous when you feel that a sudden gust of wind could so easily whip them off the nest. Augusta in particular has been bringing in small sticks and soft material to build up the nest into a more suitable, flat take off and landing pad. This is all in preparation for fledging which will probably happen in the next fortnight, weather depending, and then them becoming less reliant on the nest. You may also have noticed the chicks making some attempts to feed themselves. Augusta will see this and the fledging efforts as signs that her role is coming to an end. Once the chicks can feed themselves and can leave the nest, albeit temporarily at this stage, her job is done. Some of you may have noticed that she has been moulting and new feathers are coming through on her tail and wings. This is normal for females who take the opportunity of the breeding season to spruce up their feathers in readiness for the migration south. Males don’t have that option as they are busy flying all the way through the breeding season. They therefore moult over a much longer period so that they never lose their flying effectiveness.

The niggling between chicks will peter out now but, as they start to feed themselves, the fights to grab the fish when they arrive can become quite aggressive. Samson will bear the brunt of this and you will see that the chicks will dive in to snatch what they can and he often ends up with his feet and feathers getting grabbed by over-eager chicks, which will now weigh as much as him! In past years, he has been known to hover over the nest and drop fish onto it without landing for his self-preservation.

I hope you will continue to watch the chicks on the live feed (search for border ospreys webcam on YouTube) gaining confidence and starting their journey towards independence. It’s incredible to think that they are just over a month old and have already come so far. I’ll be in touch again at fledging; drop any name suggestions for the 3 chicks in the comments.

I hope that you have all had the opportunity to watch our osprey family on the nest now, thanks to the marvels of fibre broadband and YouTube. The time is passing so quickly and it was only when I read that one of the earliest nests in the UK had their chicks ringed yesterday that I realised that I’d better get a grip and write another blog.

The family have done really well this year. Augusta has been a great mum in protecting (we’ve had a few visiting ospreys) and feeding the rapidly growing family and Samson has been a star, having found a supply of decent sized rainbow trout with which to keep the family well fed.

You can’t fail to have noticed how quickly the chicks develop. From the time they were hatched, their one priority has been to eat and their growth has been noticeable every single day that you see them. Chatting to one of our “regulars“, she commented particularly on how the length of their wings has changed. If you recall, when they first hatched, their wings were tiny useless little stubs. After a day or so, they were able to use them to help prop themselves up when food begging and for a while they could be used a little like forearms in the battle to be first to the most recent fish. Now, however, they are clearly developing into the long, elegant wings that will carry the chicks in the months to come, initially around the area and eventually on that incredible journey of migration.

Their mobility has also increased and they now chase Augusta around the nest when she has a fish or just need her to supply some shade. Several times she has almost been pushed completely off the nest.

The hot weather is another challenge for the chicks. Both adult birds can, of course, go for a dip in the river to cool down but the chicks are limited to finding shelter on the nest and often Augusta ends up as a “mumbrella”, standing tall with her wings slightly open to provide some shade. Their only source of moisture is the fish that they eat, so these are long, uncomfortable days for them. You will also see both chicks and adults with open mouths and looking like they are panting. It is known as gular fluttering where they oscillate the skin below their beaks (mine is called a double chin but we’ll move quickly on!) to keep cool. While the chicks can all temperature regulate now, ospreys have no capacity to sweat so this is the only method they have to self cool their bodies.

As I mentioned, Samson appears to have found a good source of decent sized rainbow trout which has taken some of the pressure off him that we’ve seen in previous years. However, he still brings in quite a few grayling from the river and some of them are found close to the nest as they are still flapping when they arrive. The regular supply of fish has meant that inter-sibling squabbling hasn’t got too bad although there have been a few instances where one has picked on another. The main aim seems to be for the aggressor to grab the back of the victim’s neck and give it a good shake. The defence is then to turn one’s back and hunch the body over while lowering the head and just presenting one’s back end. This is sometimes done when food arrives to prevent the younger chicks from getting the food or in between meals to assert dominance. In 2023, the second chick actually killed the third one by bullying it constantly and denying it access to food. I don’t envisage any such problem this year with the supply of fish as generous as it is, but a large fish arriving as I write this caused a bit of a scuffle with Titch having to scurry out of range of its siblings.

The next obvious signs of progress will be the continued growth of feathers of the chicks so they start really looking like ospreys and not something out of Jurassic Park, and then they will also start standing up on their feet rather than shuffling around on their “heels”. All things being equal, we will look to ring the chicks at about the 6 week point and we should then have an idea of which are male and female. I’d be interested in your thoughts if you’ve been watching them. Remember, the females tend to be larger; chicks #1 and #2 were hatched a day apart and then there was a 4 day gap to chick #3. So what do you think we’ve got? Is #2 a female as it’s the same size as #1? Does Titch’s ability to outwit its siblings and get ahead of the food queue suggest a wily male or a clever female? Let me know what you think.

I said in my last blog that I would chat a little about what the future might hold for this little family. While some of the points may be of interest to those of you who are experienced followers of ospreys nests, they are primarily aimed at those following this nest, or any nest, for the first time and to manage expectations or warn you that it can be a tough, as well as rewarding, experience.

A serious obstacle has already been overcome in that the pair have succeeded in hatching out a complete family. In 2024, in Augusta’s first year with us, they were forced to abandon the clutch, with eggs only a few days from hatching, because extended bad weather had made fishing conditions atrocious. Samson was unable to provide food for both of them on his own and Augusta was literally in danger of starving before she decided to fly off and try to catch a fish for herself. The eggs were exposed for over 30 hours and so never hatched, even though the parents returned and heartbreakingly continued to try to incubate them. So getting to where we are now is already an achievement.

The next potential problem is along the same lines in that Samson now has to provide for the 2 adult birds and 3 chicks; not such a difficulty at this stage, where appetites are easily appeased with only a few mouthfuls of food, but it will become increasingly challenging to keep up with their rapidly growing bodies and associated feeding needs. That is why chicks hatch at different times. The sad reality is that, when food is scarce, what gets delivered is fed to the chick(s) that are able to force themselves to their mother’s attention best. That tends to be in age order as the eldest will be stronger and larger than its siblings and so on down the line. The youngest is the insurance policy and will always be in danger of missing out. It seems harsh but survival of the fittest is as true in the nest as it is on the savannah or in the mountains. What makes it particularly difficult in our nest this year is that the 3rd chick is so much younger than the other two. Normally there’s a gap of one or 2 days but, in this case, it’s 4 days and you can all see the distinct difference in size, so it is already at a significant disadvantage in its ability to compete with its siblings. So, keep your fingers tightly crossed that Samson can keep everyone satisfied. However, I’ve noticed in the past that the youngest chicks tend to develop good coping strategies and often use their brains rather than their brawn and it’s certainly the case with our 2026 brood. As soon as Samson arrives with a fish, Titch (as we’ve nicknamed chick no 3) is on the move, and while its older siblings take prime position, Titch is busy coming up between them or sneaking around the sides, and you watch where it ends up – often right in front! So that is a great sign that it will use skills at its disposal to ensure it gets a decent share of the food.

As the chicks continue to grow, they will start bickering and that can be tough to watch on occasions. However, you must remember that they are apex predators and they will need to build up strength and skill to fight for their rights as adults, be it for fishing grounds or, ultimately, for nests and territories, so it’s hardly surprising that they will be discovering aggression and will fight, usually by trying to grab each other on the back of the neck. It’s less noticeable when there’s plenty of food but, if food is short, the third chick can be bullied and attacked to the extent that it is unable to feed and can starve to death or be killed by its siblings. Our nature is to feel for the weakest but that is a luxury not available to ospreys and, again, with a chick much smaller than its siblings, Titch is vulnerable. Chick no 3 was killed this way in 2023. It’s can be very harsh to see but it is a necessary part of them growing up and, thankfully, the behaviour only tends to last for a few weeks until they seem to grow out of it.

I don’t mean to depress you all but osprey watching can be like a roller coaster with a constantly changing scenario and no one knows what is waiting around the corner. We seem to have had more than our fair share of dramas on this nest over the years and each year I hope for a text book season. Perhaps the advent of the live stream will tilt the scales and we will have only good news; if nothing else, it spreads the tension, increased heart rate and bitten nails around a bit more as it’s a monopoly I am more than willing to share! I don’t like to speculate and I will never tempt fate with forecasts but I am hopeful about this pair of adults; they seem to have a good working relationship when there are chicks around. I look forward to watching how they get on.

Just a final note. You will see chick 1 has already lost its fluff and has entered the dinosaur phase and chick 2 is close behind. Titch has a few days of fluffiness left. The two older chicks will now rapidly start developing their proper feathers and growing exponentially. It’s interesting to take a screenshot either every day or every other day and just see how quickly they grow. They are already too big for Samson to brood effectively and you will already be able to see bits of chicks where they haven’t been able to fit completely under Augusta, despite her much larger size. Let’s hope for decent weather to keep them all fit and healthy as they grow.

As several of you have already noticed, the third chick hatched overnight. Just as we were beginning to wonder whether it would hatch at all, the chick decided to make a grand entrance. To celebrate, Samson brought in what, for him, was a small whale so the two chicks got well fed. The third chick doesn’t need feeding yet as it can survive on the yolk sac within it but we should see him stretching up and begging once it gets over the trauma of hatching.

I’ll write about what that means for the family and the next stages in a little more depth later but, in the meantime enjoy watching Augusta with her first brood of 3 chicks.

Can I also quickly apologise to those who wrote comments on the last 2 posts. For some reason, WordPress hung onto them and didn’t send me emails telling me they were there and then just sent them all yesterday. I do like reading them, so please keep them coming.

Well, no 2 chick didn’t hang around. The weather has been cooler and wetter today but that didn’t stop chick no 2 from arriving this afternoon. I wasn’t actually expecting it until tomorrow but it decided that it couldn’t wait a moment longer. The picture was a screenshot from 1730 when Augusta went for a quick circuit to stretch her wings. Samson is in for a nice surprise when he brings in the teatime fish.