2023
After 19 consecutive seasons breeding on the Glaslyn nest, 2023 was the year that Mrs G failed to return. Aran returned to the nest on April 3 and waited patiently for a female to join him. He had a few visitors during the first couple of weeks, including the females from neighbouring nests. On April 14 he was joined by an unringed female we had seen on a few occasions since April 3. Although she was not initially receptive to Aran’s advances she became more responsive to his attentions and gradually they began to bond. On April 24 we officially named her after Yr Elen, a mountain in the Carneddau range in Eryri. Elen celebrated being given an official name in style by surprising us all and laying her first egg! A second egg followed on April 27.
The first chick hatched on May 31, with the second following closely behind on June 1. They were ringed by the experienced raptor expert Jimmi Hill on July 4; both chicks were judged to be male. The eldest was given the ring Blue OH1 and the youngest Blue OH2. OH1 fledged on July 20 aged 50 days and OH2 took to the air for the first time on July 23 aged 52 days.
Youngest chick OH2 left on September 4 at 95 days old, followed by OH1 on September 5 at 97 days old. We last saw Elen om August 24, but Aran remained in the Glaslyn Valley until September 8.
We received the fantastic news from Joanna Dailey, that KC4 (Glaslyn 2020) had been spotted intruding at Kielder Nest 2 on April 23. Joanna had seen KC4 in Senegal the previous two winters, but this was the first resighting of her back in the UK. The sighting of KC4 in Kielder Forest was particularly special, as two very successful Glaslyn hatched males who had nested successfully in the forest for a number of years both failed to return in 2023, Yellow 37 (2005) and White YA (2007).
A special visitor to the Glaslyn nest was Blue 414 (Cumbria 2020), as she was a granddaughter of Mrs G. Her father being Blue 9C (Glaslyn 2014), the eldest of the last brood from our original male 11(98). 414 made two visits to the nest, on April 22 and May 12.
2024
Elen arrived back early to the Glaslyn nest on March 26. After waiting in vain for almost 24 hours for Aran to show up, Elen decided to disappear again! Aran arrived back to an empty nest on March 30, although he was joined by a young female Blue 372 (Poole Harbour translocation 2021) the following day. 372 visited Aran daily until April 4, as well as keeping her options open at the Llyn Brenig nest, where resident male LJ2 was waiting for his female LM6 to arrive. Sadly, LM6 failed to return, but 372 paired up with LJ2 and they successfully raised two chicks together.
Not long after we last saw 372 on April 4, Aran went out fishing, returning to the perch shortly after with a Sea Trout. Moments later he began mantling, and Elen calmly landed beside him clutching a partly eaten Mullet. Reunited they both continued to eat their lunch.
Elen laid her first egg on April 22, laying a second on April 25 and a third on April 28. The first chick hatched on May 28, second on May 30 and third on June 2. Although we did witness some sibling rivalry from the older two chicks, they were well provided for by Aran and eventually things settled down. They were ringed by Jimmi Hill on July 2. The oldest chick was ringed Blue 6M8 and middle chick Blue 6M7, both weighed 1790g and were judged to be females. The youngest chick was ringed Blue 6M9 and at 1380g was believed to be a male.
Oldest chick 6M8 fledged on July 21 at 54 days old. 6M7 followed on July 24 at 55 days old, less than two hours later she was closely followed by youngest chick 6M9, who left the nest at 52 days old.
On May 1 Elen and Aran had an unexpected surprise when Blue 498 (Glaslyn 2022) returned to his natal nest. It was only the third time a Glaslyn hatched bird had been recorded back in Wales, so it was an exciting moment for us to see him again. He was also recorded at Llyn Brenig on June 26. More exciting news followed on June 19, when his sibling Blue 497 (Glaslyn 2022) intruded at the Dyfi nest. He was also recorded at the Usk Valley nest on August 6.
On Saturday July 28 KC6/Teifi (Dyfi 2020) intruded at the Glaslyn nest. He was the youngest son of 3J/Telyn and Idris in their first breeding season together, after the original male, Monty failed to return in 2020. He was recorded in the Glaslyn Valley on several occasions subsequently, which would prove to be significant in 2025.
We last saw Elen on August 26, when she delivered a headless Mackerel to 6M7. Middle chick 6M7 was last recorded on August 30. Due to the loss of power to the Glaslyn nest on August 31, it was difficult to be certain exactly when 6M8 and 6M9 migrated, but they were both recorded moments before the cameras lost power and we only ever observed two young after August 30. Neither was seen again after the morning of September 6. We also saw Aran for the final time that day.
2025
Elen made her earliest return to the Glaslyn nest to date on March 22. Unlike 2024, when she disappeared for several days after her initial return to the Glaslyn nest, Elen remained around the Glaslyn territory while she waited for Aran to join her. However, on April 2 a young male Osprey appeared, who had visited the valley on several occasions during 2024, KC6/Teifi (Dyfi 2020). By April 11, there was still no sign of Aran and our hopes of him returning were beginning to fade, but on the plus side KC6/Teifi and Elen were starting to form a bond.
Then, in the early hours of April 12 Aran landed on the nest! Having been bonding with Elen for ten days, KC6/Teifi was unlikely to relinquish his claim to the nest easily. However, following a short dispute between the two males that was initially the case. The following day Aran and Elen appeared to be bonding well, despite visits from intruding Ospreys. On April 13 the unexpected happened and Elen laid an egg. Neither Elen nor Aran appeared keen to incubate the egg as we would have expected and Aran attempted to cover it over. Although Elen initially uncovered it, the next morning she buried it beneath nesting material. A second egg was laid on April 16, but following continued intruder activity by at least four different male Ospreys, by April 18 KC6/Teifi had regained the nest from Aran.
A third egg was laid on April 19, but on April 21 KC6/Teifi began nest scraping in an attempt to break or remove the eggs. By the end of the day eggs 2 and 3 were broken and egg 1 lay unearthed on the side of the nest. Shortly after midday on April 22 Aran began divebombing the Glaslyn nest, forcing KC6/Teifi to leave the nest and continue the dispute elsewhere. There was more drama on April 23 when Aran began another assault to remove KC6/Teifi from the Glaslyn nest. Five Ospreys were noted above the nest at one point. However, as we had previously observed, this was not a two-way dispute. By lunchtime Aran had regained the nest. Later that afternoon Elen laid her fourth egg. Aran did not accept the egg, never attempting to incubate. Although we observed intruder activity for a few days things felt much more settled, but as the end of the month approached the intrusions became more frequent and KC6/Teifi began to challenge for the nest once again.
The endgame commenced on May 2, when both Aran and KC6/Teifi attempted to land on the nest at first light. There were frequent intruder calls from Elen, as the two males circled in the skies above the nest, staking their claims to the territory. Late morning it became apparent that there were at least three unattached males challenging Aran for the nest. At teatime KC6/Teifi passed the Glaslyn nest with a fish, remaining in the area until the sun went down. Next morning he came unchallenged to the nest and later he delivered fish to Elen, who began to lose interest in incubating the remaining egg. The following day the remaining egg was buried in the nest.
Aran remained around the Glaslyn Valley for the rest of the season, but he did not challenge for the Glaslyn nest again. Due to his lateness, Aran never had time to fully recover from his long migration as he normally would. We wondered whether as a consequence of the constant challenges and battles he realised he was not fit enough to regain the nest and instead decided the best strategy for self-preservation was to retreat and rest. We saw him near to Pont Croesor on several occasions and by the end of the season he looked to be fit and in good spirits. We last saw him on the evening of September 5 before he headed off towards the estuary.
Elen and KC6/Teifi remained together for the rest of the season, defending the Glaslyn nest and adding nesting material to it. They also spent time perched on dead trees on the perimeters of the nest territory and were often observed carrying nesting material to those branches. Elen made her final appearance at the Glaslyn nest on August 28.
KC6/Teifi remained a little longer, although he was elusive at times. We did not see him at all between September 3 and 6. He then reappeared on the evening of September 7 to eat a Flounder and was back with another the following evening, which he ate nearby before flying off to roost for the final time in 2025.
Blue 498 intruded at the Glaslyn nest on April 16, for the second consecutive year. He was the middle of the 2022 Glaslyn brood. He was escorted away by his father, but put in a second appearance on May 2, the day that Aran lost the Glaslyn nest.
On April 20 Blue 499, the youngest of the 2022 Glaslyn brood and Mrs G’s final chick, intruded at the Dyfi Osprey nest. What was even more incredible was the fact that not only had all three of her final brood survived to adulthood, but all three had also been recorded in Wales! We subsequently learned that he spent much of the summer on Anglesey.
Blue 0H2, one of Elen and Aran’s sons from their first breeding season together in 2023, intruded at the Usk Valley Osprey nest on June 15.
Just as we were closing the Visitor Centre for the season, the exciting news was shared by Tim Mackrill that 497 had paired up on a nest in South Wales with a female, Blue 2H4 (Rutland Site S 2022). The nest was built in 2024 by raptor expert Steve Roberts and was soon occupied by 497 and 2H4, who had both been intruders at the Gilestone Osprey nest that year. 497 and 2H4 raised two chicks together and everything looked to be going well. Tragically, the youngest chick disappeared just before reaching 5 weeks old, evidence suggested it fell from the nest. The eldest chick also disappeared just short of 7 weeks, there is a high Goshawk population in the area and it may possibly have been due to predation. Despite the failure of their nest, they are the first recorded Osprey pair to breed in Monmouthshire and 497 is the first Glaslyn Osprey to be recorded breeding in Wales.