We are now at the point where we can start to expect signs of hatching.  Staff and volunteers at the visitor centre are all eagerly awaiting and watching for any signs of hatching at the nest.  We would expect the behaviour of the Ospreys to change when the hatchlings are preparing to break out of the egg.  Keep your eyes peeled for the following behaviours.

• The eggs being turned more often by the parents during incubation
• The female bird head tilting and listening to the chicks inside the eggs calling
• The eggs themselves moving independently- not touched by the parents
• The appearance of tiny holes or cracks in the eggs as they start to hatch.

Unfortunately as you may have noticed, our male Osprey has been leaving the eggs unattended rather a lot lately.  Last night around 16:48, our male decided to leave the nest.  Interestingly both Ospreys were observed from the hide, soaring and hovering within sight of the nest.  Eventually the female did go back to incubate but we have no idea why they were both so relaxed about leaving the eggs exposed.  Today the Ospreys have continued to incubate and our male has been dutifully delivering fish and taking his turn at incubating.  Although he has left the nest unattended 3 or 4 times with the longest stretch approximately 26 minutes.

All we can do now is cross our fingers and hope that we have a chick hatch in the next few days.

Keep watching the webcam, you might be lucky enough to see it all happen.

Emma – Visitor Centre Assistant