Two hungry chicks require a lot of fish!

The first chick of the 2025 season, affectionately known by all of us volunteers as 'Bob1', arrived on 2nd June and, three days later, she was joined by a second chick, 'Bob2' (male) on 5th June. LJ2 (adult male) immediately sprang into fishing mode and was bringing in more fish, mainly jack pike initially.  372 (adult female) was taking the fish and feeding the chicks. At first Bob1 seemed to be getting most of the feed and Bob2 getting very little and we felt a little concerned that he may not be getting enough; he seemed quite weak and not getting his fair share. However, after a few days, he managed to push his way to the front and started getting a full feed; from that point on both chicks seemed well. 

Osprey chicks, after 7-10 days, enter into a growth spurt, which lasts for around two weeks, and during this period they grow and develop at a remarkable rate. 

Ringing is a delicate business

Once the chicks are between 30 to 40 days old they are ready for ringing. This is a process of attaching rings to the legs of the birds, so that we can identify them in the future if they return from migration. One leg has a silver ring which is a BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) ring. It is used by the BTO to identify all species of birds. The other ring is a blue ring with white lettering, called a Darvic ring, used to identify ospreys. 

The ringing is done by a specialist ringer who is specially trained and licenced to ring the ospreys without causing any distress or discomfort to the birds. 'Bob1', the female chick, weighed in at 1.695kg and was ringed 7M4 - while 'Bob2', the male chick, weighed in at 1.350kg and was ringed 7M5. Both chicks were assessed to be fit and well and developing at the expected rate, so no concerns. 7M4 was always developing more quickly so it was no surprise when, on Thursday 24th July, she fledged and took her first tentative flight around the peninsula - returning to land gracefully back on the nest after a couple of minutes. 

Here in Wales, we do like to name our osprey chicks, and following a hotly contested poll on our Facebook page, we were very excited to announce, just yesterday, that they have been named Ceridwen (7M4) and Gwion (7M5). 

Ceridwen and Gwion are continuing to stretch and exercise their wings, and will be with us for a few more weeks before they embark on their long migration to Africa. Until then you can continue to view them right here on our live stream or, even better, why not come up to Llyn Brenig to see these spectacular birds for yourself - and test the knowledge of our expert osprey volunteers whilst you're at it!