Wow, what month it’s been, but we’re thrilled to announce that the 2021 cohort of Osprey chicks have now been released. Over the last ten days we’ve gradually been releasing the new batch of Osprey youngsters in age order and our team are now working hard tracking their progress and movements (with radio trackers) to make sure all are Ok and continue to feed well. (they’ve been eating like kings and queens within their pens)!!

We apologise for not being able to update on the progress sooner, but with a small team trying to remain Covid free, working around the clock (partly during a heatwave) to care for the birds our main priority has always needed to remain purely on the rearing of the chicks, monitoring their welfare and releasing each safely, which we’re extremely pleased to say we now have.

The next 2-3 weeks are critical in their development whilst bonding with the harbour, where they’ll need to feed up as much as possible before starting their long migration south for the very first time. Other than covertly putting the fish out for them each day, the chicks will need to remain totally undisturbed so they can feed up as much as possible and also feel safe within their new environment where they’ll eventually begin to explore the wider landscape later in the month.

We’ll provide a more detailed update soon, but in the mean time, here’s some lovely footage of several of the newly released chicks getting used to their new big wide world.

A huge thanks to everyone who’s supported and followed this story with us, either since the start or over the last few years. There are hopefully exciting times on the horizon and we can’t wait to share those moments with you over the coming years.

Regards

The BoPH Osprey Team