We were expecting eggs to hatch at camera nest two, and so most of us involved with the project were glued to the screen, hoping all would go well.
The lead-up to hatching was during the heatwave, and both parents were on and off the nest and were restless.
On Thursday, June 25, we got the first glimpse of the newly hatched young osprey, which had emerged from egg one.
It was tiny, wobbly, but lively, and had crawled out of its split shell.
Home alone looking up (Image: Forestry and Land Scotland)
FS2 must have been waiting for the right moment to get off the nest for a toilet break, and she flew to a post to the side of the nest, looking around, and then jumped back on the nest.
Moments later, Eli arrived to see the first glimpse of his newborn.
6J5 RSPB Geltsdale (Image: Ian Ryding)
It was as though FS2 had called him over to see, and she left for a quick break once he arrived.
He climbed down to the chick and watched over it until FS2 returned.
He then left to hunt.
He came back quite quickly with fish, and FS2 fed the newly hatched its first meal.
We had doubted Eli as a provider, but since hatching, he has made sure supplies have been plentiful and has taken to his dad role very well.
At one point, there were three fish in the nest; the parents had one each, and there was a leftover spare.
Nest 2 – mum feeding (Image: Forestry and Land Scotland)
All the family had good feeds, which was a great start for chick one, but there was a while to go yet for chick two, still inside its egg.
During all the excitement of hatching, the parents got a surprise and unwelcome visit from a Tweed Valley male, 725, that fledged from the area in 2022.
He has been seen in 2024 in Cumbria, 2025 in Kielder and now back in the Borders.
Sadly, the nest he fledged from has since been abandoned after birds (his parents?) failed to produce young successfully for a couple of years.
Hopefully, he will find a site of his own soon and settle.
Nest 2 – close up of chicks (Image: Forestry and Land Scotland)
With one egg still to go, FS2 was back on incubation duty and brooding her little one as well.
After what seemed like the longest wait, a small hole appeared in the egg, but it took at least another 24 hours before the chick managed to chip its way out.
Seeming a little exhausted at first, with its egg tooth clearly visible, which it had used to chisel out of the eggshell, it took a while before it was ready to gain the strength for its first meal.
Eli has definitely switched on to the super dad role and has proved himself in his capacity to both provide for his family and to defend them impressively against an intruder.
725 swoops down on F52 with new chick (Image: Forestry and Land Scotland)
We have had reports of sightings of Tweed Valley birds which fledged in 2024.
Both birds came from nests very close to each other.
Osprey male 6J5 has been visiting a nest platform at RSPB Geltsdale, in the North Pennines, in June, but doesn’t have a partner yet.
He has been doing the rounds this summer; he visited Derwent Reservoir on 16th June and prior to that was at Kielder on May 24.
Female osprey 6J6 has been seen at Rogerstown, County Dublin in Ireland, and across at Broadmeadows Estuary there.
She fledged from the longest-standing nest in the Tweed Valley project area; it would be great if she became a pioneering breeder in Ireland where there are platforms in position ready for birds to colonise.
Meanwhile, down at Poole Harbour in Dorset, Teddy 6J8 (FS2’s daughter from Tweed Valley in 2024) continues to make her presence felt.
Teddy 6J8 on the platform in Dorset (Image: Kate Plater)
Not satisfied with the attention from her male suitors 5H6 and 5R0 (local Dorset ospreys) at the platform she has taken a shine to, she decided to make a nuisance of herself at the resident pair’s nest site where they are raising 4 chicks.
She didn’t receive much of a welcome.
It is heartening to know that she is still at Poole Harbour and hopefully is going to become a breeding future resident there one day, maybe next summer perhaps?
The day after her surprise visit, she returned to her favoured platform and was sitting there preening with one of her local suitors accompanying her.
Kate Plater sent us another nice photo of her sitting on the platform.