Laying, hatching & feeding galore!

On the 29 April we had confirmation of the three eggs seen. Then the first chick hatched on the 22 May. It's all happening so quick!

Laying of the eggs

Sorry for the long delay on the blog, but we are finally back! A lot has happened over the past months so let’s get updated.

On the 29 April we had confirmation of the three eggs seen.

Just below White YW flying in we can see the three eggs exposed that are being incubated.

Ospreys have a clutch size of 2-4 eggs. They are about 6cm long (2 inches) which is the same size as a chicken egg. The eggs are creamy in colour, with brown speckles shown on the photo.

Hatching of the eggs

The next big reveal was on just after nine on the 22 May when we had the first chick appear! Shortly followed by the camera’s demise, coincidental or it just wanted to spoil our excitement.

The chick erupts from under Blue 35 to her surprise

From the first chick hatching, although we didn’t see the other chicks have a spectacular reveal the second should have hatched on the 24 May and then the third on the 26 May because of the every other day laying schedule.

Feeding!

Here we see White YW flying in with tonight's dinner for the chicks

We finally get some great footage of the White YW bringing back a fish. Either White YW doesn’t trust himself feeding the chicks or Blue 35 will not let him. She takes over and starts feeding the chicks.

Eat up Shorty!

Of course, we need a video of the little one being fed!

One of the chicks is starting to get its second down coat of feathers, a darker colour than the previous creamy fluffy first coat. This will last about 10-15 days. At around 21 days, the flight feathers will start to grow.

Differences in osprey chick down — Second down shown at front, top left chick still with its first down

The galore!

A congratulations is in order as well to our Foulshaw grandparents! Blue 7A, one of our fledging chicks from 2014 has just had his own chick hatch.

When do you think the first chick will fledge? Leave your thoughts on twitter or facebook using #FoulshawOspreys

Andrew

About the author: Andrew is on a student placement with us in 2018-19 gaining experience in wildlife conservation alongside Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve Officer, Paul Waterhouse.