We have received several messages recently enquiring as to why we are showing a distant view of a nest with ospreys on it, rather than the close-up images of Mrs G and the Glaslyn nest that everyone is more familiar with. Here is the explanation, and, also the answer to some of your frequently asked questions.
Where is Mrs G?
Z2/Aeron (Dyfi, 2017) returned to his nest at Pont Croesor at 17.32 on Thursday 31st March. Exactly a year to the same day we first saw him on the Glaslyn nest last year. Mrs G was on the Glaslyn nest 1.5 miles away when he arrived and she possibly spotted him flying in, as at 17.39 she circled above the Glaslyn nest and headed down the valley to join Z2 on the Friends of the Ospreys Pont Croesor nest. A week later they are still together at Pont Croesor. Z2 has been providing Mrs G with daily fish and they have been mating. He is also bringing in nesting material. It is not unusual to see this courtship behaviour in areas where ospreys breed close to one another, while they are waiting for their own partners to arrive. Basically, they are hedging their bets. If their own mates fail to arrive, they still have a chance of breeding success, which is their main priority. They have not made the 3000-mile journey to simply have a summer holiday. Ospreys have a long breeding season, and they need to get things underway as quickly as possible.
Why are we looking at a distant nest on the livestream sometimes?
Although the Friends of the Ospreys Pont Croesor nest is close to the Visitor Centre, it does not have a camera on it. One of our cameras that shows the Afon Glaslyn during the winter can see the Pont Croesor nest at a distance, so we decided that rather than live streaming an empty Glaslyn nest all of the time, we would sometimes show images of Mrs G and Z2 on the Pont Croesor nest. We only do it when we are close to the computer in the Visitor Centre, so that we can quickly switch back to the Glaslyn nest should Aran or another osprey appear. Unfortunately, the distance means that when it is windy the images can make some viewers sea-sick and want to grab a pack of Kwells! Our new 4K “station cam” can also see the nest, but we are unable to show that on YouTube, as yet. Hopefully the technical issue with it will be resolved soon.
Is Aran likely to return?
Although Aran was injured last season, he looked to have made a full recovery when he left during the middle of September. He was catching large fish, successfully defending the nest from intruding ospreys and by late August, we were struggling to tell him apart from other ospreys, as the gap in his wing was much less noticeable than in the initial weeks after he was injured. However, migrating birds face many dangers and it is always possible that he has met with some hazard during the winter. But it is still possible he will return this season, and we have not given up hope yet.
What will happen if Aran and Blue 014 return?
It is difficult to predict exactly what will happen and there are several scenarios that might play out. The likelihood is that if Aran and Blue 014 return things will go back to the way they were, once they have sorted things out between themselves. There could be a few disputes along the way, but we have seen it all before at Loch Garten, Dyfi and Manton Bay.
Will Mrs G return to the Glaslyn nest?
Despite males preparing their nests in readiness for the females to lay eggs, it is the female ospreys that generally make the decision as to where they lay their eggs. There are cases where they have courted a male at one nest, then chosen another nest when they are ready to lay. It happened to Mrs G’s son Yellow 37 (2005) last year, when his new female moved from the nest he had used since 2014 in favour of his nearby original nest. Initially, when Aran first arrived in the Glaslyn Valley in 2015, he preferred another nest platform and Mrs G followed him over there for a couple of days. However, it was during the period that she laid her five hormonal eggs and she returned to the Glaslyn nest to lay her fourth hormonal egg. (see link) Aran followed her over there and they went on the raise two chicks that season from the sixth and seventh eggs on the Glaslyn nest.
It is possible that when Mrs G feels ready to lay, she will return to the Glaslyn nest. If Z2 is still alone he is likely to follow her. He knows that the Glaslyn nest is a successful one as he has been visiting it since at least 2020. He has also visited the Glaslyn nest several times over the past few days and knows it is a desirable nest.
What will happen if Mrs G lays Z2’s eggs?
If Aran does return and Mrs G lays an egg soon after his return it is likely that he will kick it out of the nest or break it. In 2015 Aran broke and ate some of the fourth egg, and, also broke the fifth egg after incubating them for a few days. We think this is likely to happen again, but with ospreys there is never any certainty as they seem to like proving people wrong!
If Blue 014 returns to Pont Croesor it is likely that she will fight to try to regain her nest. If Mrs G has laid an egg at this point it is likely to be broken.
There are three key points that we have noted about the new relationship in recent days. Firstly, Mrs G has not brought any nesting material into the Pont Croesor nest, as yet. Also, on Sunday evening, she soiled inside the nest, (she would never do that inside the Glaslyn nest) and finally on Monday morning when Z2 did not share his fish as quickly as she would like, she went and caught her own much larger fish.
It is impossible for us to predict any of the outcomes, they are wild birds, and we can only look on and learn from their behaviour.