Our young Osprey Blue44 is going from strength to strength and has today been doing some great jumps whilst flapping- actually off the nest vertically a few inches, before landing again safety. This is a really important stage and means that full fledging- that is first flight- is only a few days away.

The thread on his satellite tracking harness is still there, though shorter and has frayed into finer strands. Though it was in his mouth at one stage today, it is not, Roy Dennis assures us, a risk to his safety.

Some of you have been wondering why “the ranger doesn’t just climb the tree and trim it off”. We have been advised against doing this as the chick is now so close to fledging that any interference at the nest may cause it to try to try to fly off too early and injure itself getting stuck or landing badly ( This is why ringing and tagging are done at exactly 6weeks of age before this is likely). Only in a true emergency would we be given permission to intervene on the nest but this is risky strategy and to be avoided if possible. We are constantly monitoring the situation and discussing developments with Roy Dennis, who is today in Wales satellite tagging Osprey chicks for another charity.

On a brighter note here is another lovely picture of our young chick, with his amazing orange eyes- did you know that they fade to yellow with age?