Breeding in Manton Bay in 2007

Over the weekend both 08 and 5N continued to add sticks and lining material to the nest in Manton Bay and each day it seemed to be increasing in size! In the standard reference book on Ospreys, Poole states that, prior to incubation, the birds may make over one hundred trips per day for nest material. While 08 and 5N probably didn't quite make the one hundred mark, they were certainly very busy.

Now that there were eggs in the nest, 08 became more fiercely territorial than ever. If a cormorant, grey heron or goose dared to approach the nest, he wasted no time in chasing them off. Yesterday, he spent over ten minutes continually dive-bombing a cormorant, forcing it to dive repeatedly and barely letting it come up for breath!

The photo on the left shows 08 drying his wings after bathing. Usually the birds will land in the shallows in order to bathe, but on this particular occasion, 08 repeatedly dived into deeper water close to Waderscrape Hide - an extraordinary sight.

We now had to keep our fingers crossed that the remaining eggs would hatch in the next few days. Assuming 5N laid three eggs, we expected the second to hatch on Tuesday, and the third on Thursday.

Monday 4th June

5N continued to feed the chick at regular intervals through the day. At midday 08 took the remains of a trout to the nest, whereupon 5N fed the chick. As you can see from the photo it was very much the tail end of the fish - clearly he thought he deserved to eat most of his catch!

Thursday 14th June

Regular visitors to the Lyndon Reserve had noticed that the nest appeared to be growing in size, almost daily. Obviously not content with his handiwork to date, 08 continued to add sticks to the huge nest . The photo on the right shows him arriving with one particularly large stick. Both adults were also adding lots of grass and hay in order to keep the chicks snug and warm in the nest cup.

Whilst it was almost always 08 who brought sticks to the nest, 5N often intervened in an effort place them exactly where she wanted them. However, as the photo left below shows, the birds did not always see eye to eye on the matter. On this particular occasion 08 arrived at the nest with a stick, and was intent on placing it on the opposite side of the nest to his mate. The result was an impromptu tug of war, which 5N eventually won!

08 continued to catch plenty of fish for his growing family. On Monday evening he arrived with a still-live roach (pictures above and left). As usual he ate the head first, but the fish put up plenty of resistance, kicking violently and forcing 08 to open his wings to aid his balance.

After a few minutes 08 flew to the nest with the fish. Although the roach was now dead, as 08 passed his catch to 5N, it continued to kick and propelled itself across the nest, fortunately just missing the chicks! Eventually 5N took a firmer grip and it was just possible to see her offering pieces to the downy heads of two chicks.

Whilst we knew there were definitely two chicks in the nest, there were now indications that there may have been a third. Yesterday afternoon 5N appeared to be offering fish to a chick which was still too small to be seen over the edge of the nest. Moments later three squirts of faeces shot out of the nest in different directions, adding further weight to the argument. Frustratingly though, 08's nest-building exploits were making life very difficult for anyone trying to counts the heads, so it looks like the guessing game would continue for a few more days yet!

After two weeks of guessing, we were finally able to confirm that 08 and 5N had two very healthy chicks in the nest. We had wondered if there may have been a third youngster, but with the chicks now easily visible over the edge of the nest, we knew that there were two. Roy Dennis' studies of breeding Ospreys in Scotland have revealed that first-time breeders rarely raise three chicks, so the fact that there are two thriving chicks in the nest, was very good news.

The chicks were now really starting to grow fast thanks to the regular supply of fish provided by 08. On Friday it was still difficult to see them over the edge of the nest, but today it was possible to see both chicks very clearly as they squabbled to be fed by 5N. Feathers had now replaced down on the chicks heads, and the classic dark eye stripe and orange eyes were very evident on both youngsters. Darker body feathers would follow in the next few days and primaries and secondaries would begin to develop after that. For now the chicks' wings were still nothing more than small stumps! Both chicks can be seen in the photo on the left below as they look expectantly at their mother.

The benefit of having a nest in Manton Bay was exemplified this morning when 08 caught a bream just a few seconds after leaving the nest. He ate part of the head before delivering the remainder of his catch to his family on the nest. (Picture right.)

5N was still very protective of her youngsters. 08 always left the nest as soon as he had delivered the fish, leaving his mate to feed the chicks.

In the photo below, the two chicks are just visible in the centre of the nest, with 08 on the left.

Monday 2nd July

5N and 08 continued to add sticks and lining material to their huge nest in Manton Bayand sometimes flew considerable distances to collect an appropriate stick or clump of hay.

On this occasion 5N decided to remove one of the lower sticks and place it on the upper part of the nest. It certainly made for a very spectacular sight!

The two chicks were now taking much more notice of their surroundings. They certainly needed to have their wits about them whenever their parents arrived back at the nest with a stick. On the left you can see the two chicks and their mother watching closely as 08 arrived back at the nest with a small stick.

The chicks' wings were starting to develop, but both youngsters were very uneasy when they opened their wings, as the photo below left shows. Their flight feathers were just starting to develop and it was amazing to think that within a month, the birds would be taking to their air for the first time!

Ospreys continuously moult feathers and the photo below clearly shows the state of 5N's moult. She had a new sixth primary almost fully grown in each wing, and three new tail feathers. The new feathers are much darker and fresher than the worn and faded older ones.

Monday 9th July

Although the chicks had begun to exercise their fast-developing wings the previous week, they were decidedly unsteady while doing so.

However, in the past few days they had become far more confident, and were now flapping much more strongly. In the next few weeks this would become a common sight, and the change in the chicks' behaviour had prompted 08 and 5N to bring lots of fresh hay, grass and weed to the nest. This hads the effect of building up the centre of the nest; giving the chicks a firm footing from which to flap!

Friday 13th July

At first light an intrepid team set out on the water to ring the two chicks. Eight feet of water below the nest made things tricky but, using a triple extending ladder, volunteer Ron Follows climbed up to the nest and lowered two very healthy chicks into the boat below. There they were ringed under the supervision of Reserve Manager, Tim Appleton.

Monday 23rd July

In the past few days, it had become increasingly obvious that YP was a male. The photo on the left clearly shows the difference in size between the two chicks; YK (left) was larger than her brother, with a bigger head and heavier bill. YP also had a much whiter header, and looked remarkably similar to his father!

The chicks continued to exercise their fast-developing wings. Below left YP can be seen flapping as his mother looked on. We expected the chicks to fledge at the weekend, or the beginning of the next week.

Visitors to the Lyndon reserve may well have seen 08 and 5N bathing in the water below the nest. Sometimes they waded out from the shallows, but at other times they repeatedly dived into the water, as if fishing. Below, 08 was almost completely submerged after one such dive.

Shortly after 10 o'clock the previous morning, the female chick YK made her first flight. It was a brief, slightly shaky affair, but nonetheless, it was the moment we had been waiting for. Her very attentive mother, 5N, took to the air at the same time, and shadowed her until she landed safely back on the nest. Heavy rain later in the day precluded YK from making any further flights, but by Friday morning she was making regular sorties from the nest, clearly enjoying her new-found freedom. Evidently not quite as brave as his sister, YP did not leave the nest until Friday afternoon. He also only made a short first flight, but rather than landing on the nest, he chose to land on the nearby perch, and succeeded in knocking his father off in the process!

Friday 3rd August

Over the previous week, the juveniles made lots of short flights around Manton Bay. It was wondeful to watch how their confidence grew with each passing day. At first they were distinctly uneasy in the air, and even more clumsy when it came to landing. However, with a week's practice behind them, both birds began to make longer, more adventurous flights. In the photo on the left, the male, YP has just left the nest with his sister watching.

Although both juveniles were now very adept on the wing, they were still completely reliant on their father for food and there was often a considerable squabble when 08 returned to the nest with a fish. The photo below left shows one such squabble, with the two juveniles fighting over who should feed first.

The youngsters often spent long periods perched on the T-bar perch situated a few yards from the nest. Often they were joined by 5N, while 08 kept his distance a few hundred yards away. The photo below nicely demonstrates the difference in size between the birds, with YP (far left) much smaller that his sister (middle) and mother (right).

Tuesday 14th August

The juveniles had now been on the wing for almost three weeks, and were beginning to spend time away from Manton Bay as they explored the local area for the first time. This period is absolutely critical in the imprinting process, as the birds familiarised themselves with the Rutland landscape, ready, we hope, to return in a few years' time to raise families of their own.

The juveniles were now very adept on the wing, and, yesterday morning, YK followed the example of her parents by dive-bombing a group of Canada Geese! Although both young birds had also been seen making fishing attempts of their own, they were still very much dependent on the adults for food. When hungry, they would often follow their parents around, food-begging, and waiting to be fed. When John Wright took the photo on the left YK (far left) and YP (second right) were both looking on expectantly while 5N (second left) tucked into a trout.