Having spent the last seven months somewhere in the sun: maybe on the west coast of Africa or on the Iberian peninsula, they have flown the 4,000 or so miles (6,400 km) to return to their breeding grounds.

Earlier return of 2024 ospreys

2024 has seen an earlier arrival of ospreys from their wintering grounds across the UK and our Foulshaw pair was no exception.

Male White YW arrived in the early evening of Sunday 24 March: three days earlier than last year. He had to wait a few days for his mate to arrive. Female Blue 35 flew in four days later on Thursday 28 March only to find that her nest was already occupied by an intruder – an unmarked female who had spent a few hours getting comfortable on the nest and with White YW! 

However, after a short scuffle and a few angry words Blue 35 soon chased her off and took her rightful place in the nest. Bonding with White YW seemed to start immediately with lots of nest building and mating.

Will we see their 30th fledgling this year?

When White YW and Blue 35 first visited Foulshaw in 2013 they were only youngsters and, whilst appearing to be nesting, they didn’t produce any eggs and abandoned the nest. However, since then they have returned every spring and successfully raised 27 fledged chicks.

This year we would expect to see the first egg around two weeks after Blue 35 arrived. Just on time the first egg appeared in the early hours of 15 April; the second egg on 17 April and the third egg on 20 April.

Before the eggs appeared both birds continued to renovate the nest, making a deep cup perfect for keeping the eggs safe; they warned off any intruders that took an interest in their nesting site and, of course, they continued mating. Both birds hunted for fish although Blue 35 seemed to be quite content to sit on the nest and yell out to White YW to bring her a meal.

After egg laying their behaviour changed with Blue 35 doing most of the incubating, although White YW enjoys sharing the job. Housekeeping has continued with Blue 35 doing what she can to keep the nest safe for the eggs.

During this peaceful stage, before the responsibility of rearing youngsters, the only real threat has been the weather. It has been an exceptionally wet spring but, even more unusual, has been the strength of the wind. Fortunately, the nest and the ospreys have managed to stay safe during storm Kathleen, although at times it has been a bit of a battle.

Do keep checking the live webcam to get a close up view of the nest and look out for the first egg to hatch around the third week of May.

I would also recommend a visit to Foulshaw Moss where you can use one of the scopes in the hide and learn more about our ospreys from one of our many helpful and knowledgeable volunteers.

You can also find more information about our Foulshaw Moss ospreys on our FAQ page.

If there is anything you would like to know please post your question on the comments section at the bottom of the webcam page.