Camera footage from the Glaslyn Ospreys Centre in Gwynedd, north Wales has captured the first few days of life for several new osprey chicks, marking another breeding season for one of the UK's key osprey viewing locations.
New osprey chicks have been filmed going about their first few days of life at the Glaslyn Ospreys Centre in Gwynedd, north Wales, as conservationists report a successful hatching season.
Several chicks have hatched in the past fortnight across multiple nests in the Glaslyn Valley, according to the partnership behind the centre at Pont Croesor — Glaslyn Ospreys and Friends of the Ospreys. Osprey pair Elen and Teifi are tending to three new chicks, while their neighbours Blue and Aeron have also welcomed three chicks of their own. A third pair whose nest can be viewed via the centre's camera system has chicks as well, though centre staff say they cannot provide an exact count because not all nests have close-up camera coverage.
Meanwhile, former Glaslyn male Aran has found a new mate on a fresh nest, where at least one chick has hatched. The centre's cameras offer visitors a view of the nesting activity as part of an ongoing partnership between the two conservation groups.
"Over two decades of successful conservation efforts in the Glaslyn Valley by Glaslyn Ospreys and the Friends of the Ospreys group has made the centre at Pont Croesor one of the key osprey viewing locations in the UK," a spokesperson for the groups said.
The UK osprey population remains modest. Estimates previously cited by the centre's partners suggest there are about 270 osprey pairs in Scotland, about 25 pairs in England and five in Wales.
The Glaslyn Valley project has been running for more than 20 years, during which time the osprey — a bird of prey that hunts fish — has gradually expanded its breeding range in the UK after near-extinction in England and Wales in the 19th and early 20th centuries due to persecution. Ospreys were reintroduced to England and Wales from Scotland in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the species continues to be monitored closely by conservation groups.
All factual claims in this article are supported by the primary source. Population figures are as previously cited by the project spokesperson.