022 returned right on schedule, first appearing on the nest on Monday 25th March in the early morning at 05:43. Taking into account the leap year, this means he arrived on the exact same date as in 2023. It seems that 022’s early season dalliances with an unringed female last year prompted CJ7 to return earlier this season, showing up the following morning (Tuesday 26th) at 05:58. This was her earliest return date yet, turning up 5 days sooner than last year.

We had been working hard behind the scenes to get the livestream cameras up and running ahead of the pair’s return, and are excited to say that the set up is even better this year! During our preparations, we noticed that there had been some squirrel-inflicted damage(!) to our aerial camera set-up, and so the camera and cabling have been replaced. The new aerial camera is a higher quality than before, which was made possible with the generous funding from the Benefact Group – for which we were kindly nominated by our supporters, so thank you! You can watch the live webcams here.

We’ve already started to receive a few questions about whether we are running the Osprey Tours again with Careys Secret Garden this year to view the nesting pair and hear about the project. We’re pleased to say that we are currently making preparations for these tours to go ahead this year, so watch this space! We’re making final adjustments to the viewing setup and giving the birds some time to settle in before releasing any dates to book, but plan to announce these events very soon. If you want to make sure you don’t miss out on tickets, you can subscribe to our newsletter on our website, which is where our events will first be announced.

We were so grateful last year for the respect shown for the birds after we made the decision to share the location of the nest. We would like to ask for your cooperation again this year in helping us to protect the birds, by not turning up to Careys Secret Garden without booking, and not straying away from the permitted areas to try and view the Ospreys. The nest site is incredibly sensitive and Ospreys are a Schedule 1 species which means they are protected by law. We therefore ask that you are mindful not to disturb the birds and avoid attempting to get closer to the nest as this will risk the success of this very important nesting pair. We’re privileged to be able to now share this space with these birds, and ensuring their safety is our top priority.

Thanks, as ever, for all of your support and excitement for the Ospreys. We’re looking forward to seeing the story unfold again this year, and sharing it with so many of you!