It’s always a nerve-wracking moment when the young ospreys fledge. Quite suddenly, a lot of flapping and 'helicoptering' (hovering briefly above the nest) turns into a first flight, and we wait in anticipation to see them safely return to the nest.

This year, with a 4K camera and new camera angles, we've been able to watch as the ospreys fly off the nest and land on the perching tree. When they disappear from view on the nest cam, it’s reassuring to see them on the tree, not too far from home.

As the osplets get stronger and more confident, they'll venture further away but will still return to the nest for the meals that dad, White YW, continues to provide for them. Mum, Blue 35, can relax a bit now and spend time building her strength before she starts her migration south.

In the clip below, dad flies in with breakfast eagerly followed by the youngsters, who wait until 7K0 arrives before they tuck in.

Ospreys don’t necessarily fledge in age order. It’s often the males that fly first, as they tend to be lighter than the females. Young ospreys normally fledge between 50 and 60 days, approximately seven to eight weeks. 

Courageous youngest chick 7K0

For those of you who've followed on the webcam, you'll have seen that this year’s third chick, 7K0, has had a tough time in the nest. 

He's four days younger than 7K2, who was first to hatch. For some reason, 7K1, the second to hatch, took a dislike to him and objected to him feeding. She attacked him at every mealtime. 

7K0 soon learned that if he waited till his older siblings had fed, he could safely take his turn – though sometimes there wasn’t much fish left for 7K0 after his brother and sister had had their fill, so he didn’t gain weight as quickly.

The third chick in the clutch is often the smallest one and our 7K0 had to do some serious body building before he was strong enough to fly. As a result, his first flight was a little later than the average. However, since fledging he has continued his courageous fight for survival, making sure that he gets his fair share at mealtimes. 

You can see him in this clip, seemingly with a whole fish to himself. He started feeding just after lunch and, after a short break, was still working at it three hours later. He seems oblivious to the pouring rain as he focuses on tearing the tough fish skin to get to the tasty flesh.

It's encouraging to know that previous 'Bob 3s' have done well. We recently heard about male Blue V4, who hatched at Foulshaw in 2015 and was known as Little Chick. He was identified nesting in Scotland and had successfully raised a number of chicks. So we're all keeping our fingers crossed for this year’s Bob 3 for safe flying and migration later this summer.

If you're close to Foulshaw Moss, now's a really good time to visit the reserve, with lots of ospreys airborne. It won’t be long before 'Bob Too' on the second nest will join them!

Many thanks to volunteer, Mike, for his photo below of Nest Two chick, Blue 9K4, testing their wings. And, as always, to each osprey volunteer, watcher, enthusiast and expert who has highlighted key milestones or interesting moments in the lives of our #FoulshawOspreys.