The slightly early arrival of White YW and Blue 35 at the end of March came as a bit of surprise! Dad arrived on 24 March, with mum following four days later on 28 March. 

Luckily, the cameras were set up and ready to capture the flurry of activity as Blue 35 touched down – displacing an intruding female who had her eye on White YW.

Three eggs arrived on 15, 17 and 20 April. We watched with bated breath in May as the little 'bobs' cracked out of their shells. Unfortunately, one of the eggs wasn't viable and didn't hatch. 

Two months later, the chicks had grown rapidly and were ready to expand their horizons. We saw them helicoptering, catching the breeze under their wings in preparation for flight. 

The cams captured some fun moments as the young developed – stretching their wings, trying to find their feet and making their first attempts to get off the nest.

0C6 took his first proper flight on 17 July, with his brother 0C5 swiftly following on 18 July. 

We can’t talk about a Cumbrian summer without mentioning the weather. There's a reason why this county is home to the Lake District!

This year has seen more than its fair share of precipitation, which has been challenging for our osprey family. The unusually high winds have also rocked the nest; fortunately, when the youngsters were strong enough to sit tight.

We’ve not had many frosts but there was one early morning when Blue 35 had a glistening white back after spending the night keeping the eggs warm.

The four birds are now on their way south to find their safe place to spend the winter.

Blue 35 had clearly had enough of the rain this year, leaving earlier than expected – we last spotted her on 30 July. 0C6 was next to leave around 15 August, followed by his brother 0C5 around 29 August. White YW had the nest to himself for a little while before he headed off around 6 September. 

We wish them well on their journeys and look forward to seeing White YW and Blue 35 – and our webcam-viewing community – again in the spring. The nest is ready!

For an in-depth view of what the ospreys have been up to this year, do have a look at the #FoulshawOsprey blogs, which mark the key milestones of 2024.