Dyfi Osprey Project

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Paith

Padarn - Idris - Paith - Telyn is feeding Paith... big girl

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https://www.facebook.com/dyfiospreyproj ... E78iXZtpsl
Evening
Here is the shortened video of both Padarn and Paith fledging:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNdsucupxYc


July 22

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Bore da
Q. What happens now that all the youngsters can fly?
A. The whole family will be with us for at least another month, using the nest and perches, particularly for feeding.
Telyn will start fishing for herself very soon and will be the first to head off back south, followed probably by Pedran then the rest of the fledglings at the end of August or early September.

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July 23

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With just 24-hours of flying experience under her feathery belt, Paith landed in the long grass on the reserve yesterday.
Thankfully there were no ground predators around and she managed to escape unharmed.
These 'mistakes' are important survival lessons for inexperienced ospreys.

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July 24

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Bore da
Science Sunday
What a crazy week, meteorologically. Hotter than the Sahara desert on Monday and Tuesday then colder than Norway by the end of the week.
Thankfully, all three Dyfi chicks pulled through fine, but we were a bit worried with the 35C temperatures.
A few people asked us why we were worried... paraphrasing the main question:
"If these birds will be migrating into 35C temperatures in West Africa in a few weeks, why would you be worried about them now?"
Here are five reasons:
1. In the searing heat of West Africa, adult ospreys have a choice - they can seek shade on the ground or in mangroves. They can also drink directly from a water source if dehydrated. Nest-bound chicks don't have these options.
2. All the ospreys in West Africa inhabit coastal areas which almost always have a sea breeze coming in off the Atlantic, helping them cool down. The wind was dead-calm on the Dyfi on Monday and Tuesday.
3. Met Office temperatures are always noted as recorded in the shade; 35C would be more like 45C in exposed sunlight during the middle of the day. This is far higher than the body temperature of ospreys (around 38-40C). Once ambient temperatures rise above body temperatures, birds have to find a way of cooling down - difficult/impossible to do for an inexperienced chick on an exposed nest with no wind.
4. By late Monday afternoon, after being in direct 45C temperatures for several hours, the chicks were starting to 'wilt' a little. They seemed to become lethargic and their wings dropped (Note: not the adults though, we were not worried about Idris or Telyn), which is never a good sign - main photo. Thankfully we only had this intense heat-wave for a couple of days and all three soon perked up..
5. Extreme heat is dangerous for all warm-blooded animals. We have seen osprey chicks of roughly this age simply keel over in the nest and die in Wales before - and in other UK nests. A chick died in 2006 (it 'only' got to 30C then) and when bio-assayed it was found that heat-exhaustion was to blame. Intense heat can cause thiamine (vitamin B1) imbalances in birds, with disastrous results (it affects their neurological system resulting in organ failure).
So, we consider ourselves fortunate that all our chicks pulled through; the last two, Padarn and Paith, have since fledged. Pedran, Padarn and Paith are now all doing fine - in 18C temperatures.
As you know, every year we hope for 'Goldilocks weather' - not too cold, hot, wet, windy etc. Thankfully, this year, the 'too hot' bit came when the youngsters were between 7 and 8 weeks old. A month earlier, chances are they would not have been so lucky.

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July 25

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This post is for all of you that have asked us for a windscreen wiper on a nest camera for the last 12 years!
This is one of the new cameras for 2022; our camera appeal is just £2,000 short now - thank you to all of you that have donated so far


https://www.facebook.com/dyfiospreyproj ... JaWbX2qLDl
Mullet Overboard!
Will any of them try and retrieve it...?

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July 26

https://www.facebook.com/dyfiospreyproj ... cp3MBQQW8l
Unfortunately, we have some sad news to report:
Hesgyn Has Died




so sad...

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July 27

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Thank you to so many of you that sent us kind messages yesterday after hearing about the sad loss of Hesgyn - Monty's last chick from 2019. They really mean a lot to us.
Just to let you know The Rural Crime Police guys came to pick Hesgyn's body up yesterday and he is now at their Aberystwyth forensics department.
If we get to know anything about how he died, we will, of course, let you know.
Thanks again

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July 28

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Pedran, Padarn and Paith have all been airborne for a week or more today - this is another milestone in their lives.
A lot of trial-and-error happens during this first week in the air - as we saw with Paith last week - so to get a week's worth of air miles under their feathery belt is good.
Here's Padarn and Paith looking straight into one of the new 2022 cameras...




July 29

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Quick video of Pedran and Paith - when will our three sisters start fishing for themselves?

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July 29

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Whoopsies.......
Another mullet overboard




July 30

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Another Paith 'near-miss' this morning...
Thankfully, she is alright

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July 31

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Telyn has started to catch her own fish, a sure sign she is getting ready for her long migration south in August.
But when will she leave?
Here are all the dates we last saw Telyn in previous breeding years:
2022:?
2021: 21st August
2020: 13th August
2019: 23rd August
2018: 28th August
Telyn will probably go first, followed by the youngsters and then Idris. They all leave and migrate independently of each other.




Aeron/Z2 and Blue 014

August 1

https://www.facebook.com/BywydGwylltGla ... 368189299/
The eldest chick on the Pont Croesor (Friends of the Ospreys) nest fledged on Friday 29th July at 53 days old. She had helicoptered to the perch at 13.51 and remained there throughout the afternoon, before taking her first flight at 18.16.
From our daily observations of the development of the chicks, it is likely that it was the first and third eggs that hatched, so the
youngest chick is possibly four to six days younger than the oldest one. Therefore, there might be a couple more days of helicoptering before we see her join her older sister in the sky above Pont Croesor.

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August 4

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Do you remember Monty having his leg pulled because he didn't know what Hyperphagia meant?
Now poor Telyn is getting the same treatment.
August = Hyperphagia in ospreys




August 3

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Another milestone today: Pedran is 70 days old.
She's been airborne for almost three weeks but will probably not start her migration for another three weeks - so she's around half way through her flight school.
The chart below shows the overall migration ages for all the Dyfi youngsters to date. If you're watching on a phone and it's too small.... the combined migration age average is around 90 days.


August 2

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We had amazing views of a female marsh harrier on the reserve yesterday...

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August 6

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Here's a video of yesterday's very rare visitor, and a couple of possibilities as to who she was...

Blog : https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/blog/ ... -fledgling


Telyn



looks delicious

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August 10

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Fish Delivery: Unusual camera angle shots of Idris bringing in fish for Paith and Pedran..



August 9

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Telyn looks thoroughly fed up. Not one of her daughters wanted to play croquet with her.
Disappointed



August 8

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Here's another incredible image from one of the new 2022 cameras..
The middle sister, Padarn, caught in that moment where she's realised she's overshot the runway. She's a lot heavier with a full cargo of mullet caught my her mother.
Can even see a fish scale dropping from her mouth

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August 11

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As Telyn spends her last few days of 2022 with us, it's forecast to be in the 30s Celsius on the Dyfi for four days straight.
Don't remember that happening ever before. It's the same exact temperature in The Gambia this week - as Wales.
The whole global climate system is broken.
With the entire planet warming up, will we see more and more ospreys over-wintering in Europe?
How far away are we till the first osprey doesn't migrate at all from the UK, and stays here?





Aeron/Z2 and Blue 014

August 10

https://www.facebook.com/BywydGwylltGla ... 721523250/
The youngest of the two chicks on the Friends of the Ospreys Pont Croesor nest fledged on Wednesday 3rd of August at 09.58. Just in time for our volunteers to witness her first flight from our hide.
We also managed to capture the moment on our Pont Croesor camera.

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August 12

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Here's a blog and video of yesterday's exciting visitor:
https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/blog/ ... urns-wales

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August 13

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Telyn is coming the the end of her fifth year breeding with us. The earliest she has migrated? 13th August - today.
The latest is 28th August.
Just lapping up the Welsh sunshine before she goes




August 15

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P'nawn da,
The family have been spending less time on the nest over these last few days of high temperatures, instead preferring to be down by the riverside (and who could blame them).
Idris has been kept busy, catching fish for his hungry daughters and chasing off unwanted (in his opinion) intruders. Here you can see him chasing off another male while Padarn watches from the nest.
We haven't positively identified Pedran at the nest since Thursday morning or Telyn since Friday. Too early to call it yet, but we are keeping a note of the dates - just in case.

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August 16

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Bore da,
Telyn is still with us. After a few days away from the nest she returned yesterday evening with half a fish. Her two youngest daughters were there to greet her but were far more interested in the fish than who was delivering it.

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August 18

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Quick update: All the family are still with us, apart from Pedran. This was taken exactly a week ago, minutes before we last saw her.
Will she do a Peris and come back to the nest (as a very different bird) or did she really start her migration at 77 days old last Thursday - would be record for this nest.
Pedran could equally be in Africa or Aberdyfi this morning




August 17

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P'nawn da,
Idris has been keeping up the supply of food to his two youngest daughters, both with healthy appetites.
We have not seen Pedran at the nest since last Thursday. Has she left? Only time will tell. Should we be worried? No. If she has gone, that is a good thing, sadly many young ospreys don't get that far, as some UK nests have seen this year.
It is still possible she is around the area and may be seen at the nest again, we'll just have to wait and see.

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August 18

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Hesgyn has come back home.
Well, at least his soul and leg rings have.
We will put his leg ring - KA3 - next to his oak name block on our Dyfi Family Tree in the Osprey Room.
We would like to extend our gratitude to the kind folks at The @Animal and Plant Health Agency in Carmarthen for sending us Hesgyn's leg rings. In due course they will undertake a Post Mortem on his body.
And soon as we know the results, we'll let you know.
Rest in Peace young man.
Hesgyn's story here if you missed it: https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/blog/ ... n-has-died




August 19

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P'nawn da,
Idris and both of the younger girls have been seen around the nest today. Here is Padarn at first light this morning.
As the call of Africa gets stronger, how many more Welsh sunrises will she see?

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August 21

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Here's Telyn bringing a mullet to her two daughters, Padarn & Paith, yesterday afternoon...




August 20

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P'nawn da,
Idris is still keeping up with the demands for fish from Padarn and Paith. Here he is trying to enjoy his supper last night as Padarn flies in to see what is for sharing.
All three have been seen at the nest this morning, Telyn last seen on Wednesday evening and no sign of Pedran for over a week.