Ospreys return to Llyn Clywedog for summer breeding season
The resident ospreys of the Llyn Clywedog nest have returned for the summer breeding season after migrating to Africa for the winter.
The female osprey – identified as 5F and known as Seren by nest followers – arrived home on Saturday 25 March and had soon caught herself a large rainbow trout.
The resident male – who does not have an identifying ring but is known by nest followers as Dylan – returned two days later.
Video streams set up to monitor the nest went live for the 2023 season two weeks ago.
The live video, provided by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), was launched in 2020 when the first Covid-19 lockdowns was announced and allows nature lovers to view a nesting pair of ospreys and their attempts to rear chicks.
One camera focuses on the nest while another takes a wider angle shot, enabling it to share footage of a nearby perch.
Live footage
Live footage from both cameras is available on YouTube by searching “Llyn Clywedog Ospreys”, or by using the following links:
Nest Camera: https://bit.ly/GweilchClywedogOspreys1
Perch Camera: https://bit.ly/GweilchClywedogOspreys2
Solar panels installed before last year’s season will allow for 24-hour streaming from the nest.
The camera’s infrared capability also means the ospreys can be watched at night.
John Williams, Technical Support Land Management for NRW said: “We never know what nature will throw at us, so we are thrilled that both resident birds have made it back to Llyn Clywedog in good shape.
“They will both start to build their nest together, and we will hopefully have some eggs laid on the nest in a few weeks’ time.”
The nest was built by NRW staff on a platform high up in a sitka spruce tree in 2014. It has proven to be a productive incubator over the years, with 21 chicks fledging the nest and migrating since it was built.
Ospreys are migratory birds that winter in Africa. Llyn Clywedog’s resident female is known to spend the winter in Gambia, West Africa.
Ospreys can rear up to three chicks in a season.
Llyn Clywedog is located at the NRW run Hafren Forest.
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Let’s hope there’s a bigger effort to keep the idiots away from attacking the nest site
Da iawn. Ond gwaetha’r modd, mae llawer o wladychwyr gwrth-Gymreig yn heidio i gyffiniau Llyn Clywedog. A gwaeth na hynny, yn epilio hefyd.