A mixed week for ospreys across Wales

In the week since the arrival of hatchling number 2, the weather has turned from sub-tropical to certainly sub-optimal in that unseasonal winds and torrential rain have replaced the wall-to-wall sunshine and heat of the previous week. UVO Watchers are doing a great job in continuing to take their allocation of at least one 2-hour watch period per week to provide data for these weekly blogs. We rely, and appeal for, this continued help and commitment.

Fish delivery, bream

The change in the weather has not reduced the daily tally of fish being brought in by diligent provider, Syfaddan, for his new family. And we continue to see a mixture of both coarse and game fish suggesting his fishing trips combine stillwater as well as the nearby River Usk.

Equally frequent are the deliveries of sticks of all sizes and bedding material which are then carefully placed around the nest. Or not so carefully in some instances with reports of Clogwyn tenderly placing bedding material on top of both her chicks! In another incident a large stick could be plainly seen lying across one of the youngsters. And to add to further insult, Syfaddan clumsily treads on one of his offspring while in stick-arranging mode. All these types of behaviour of course are designed to build-up a ‘child-proof’ rim to the nest. And as we saw in 2025 any unhatched egg(s) present will in time get incorporated into the nest. It is not only sticks and bedding material used in this way. Some nest-building material was clearly identified as a “lump of cowpat” - which was then artistically trodden throughout the nest for the next few hours! Interestingly, where available, solid dung is in fact an ideal material to reduce the depth of the nest-cup and create a more level nest to aid movement for growing chicks.

Chicks June 7, 2026 (the by-now unviable third egg still in evidence)

Also of note over the week has been the emergence of ‘chick hierarchy behaviour’, with a certain amount of aggression between the two, especially at feeding time. Bearing in mind eggs hatch in the order they were laid and with progressive hatch intervals of 2-3 days the pace of chick development should mean that any dominance of one chick over another is transient.‍ ‍Even during the course of this week it can be seen that after a couple of days’ apparent ‘bullying’ by the stronger chick this behaviour has fairly swiftly subsided.

Clogwyn makes her feelings known to a cheeky jackdaw

As if any short-lived conflict within the nest isn't enough there have been several incursions from without. Mainly from corvids. At 0925 on 1st June, Syfaddan was forced to give chase after having tolerated a protracted period of corvid harrassment. And later that day at 16.26 the presence of an intruder prompted our pair to leave the nest. The next day at 11.00 a.m a similar episode meant that the chicks and remaining egg were left uncovered for 25 minutes. The likelihood was that unseen to camera-viewers one of the pair turned back from the chase and returned to the immediate nest area recognising the vulnerability of the chicks at this young age. Periods of parent absenteeism from the nest can safely increase with the age of the chicks.

With this in mind, it is with particular sadness we record our sympathies to NRW staff and all those directly involved with Clywedog Ospreys, mid-Wales who experienced extreme misfortune this week when all three of their chicks were lost in unforeseeable and very difficult circumstances. It is a salutory reminder of the many daunting hazards which can befall any wild creature at this delicate stage. But we can only hope that our Usk Valley osprey family remains strong and healthy against a plethora of possible threats to adults and young alike. There are only limited options available to prevent such natural losses.