In fact, we think that mum, Blue 35, has already gone. The last time we saw her on the nest was Tuesday 30 July.

The general opinion is that she stayed around stocking up on fish for a few more days before disappearing - we think during the first week in August. This is possibly a little earlier than most years, but then you can’t blame her for escaping our disappointing summer and heading towards the warmer sunshine.

We think this is the last time that the family was together on the nest this year, although they'll have been flying around the reserve before going their separate ways.

Blue 35 will more than likely follow the same route south that she has done for the past ten years: heading off south westerly towards France and Spain then possibly onwards towards the west coast of Africa. We don’t know where she winters.

She may stop on the Iberian peninsular or she may carry on to Africa. It's possible that she may have stop off points during the journey resting for a few days in between flying or she may attempt the journey without a break apart from catching fish to keep her going.

Before she left, Blue 35 spent some time on the nest one evening looking as though she was contemplating her impending journey...

It’s completely different for the juvenile ospreys, 0C5 and 0C6.  This will be a perilous journey for them. Unlike most migrating birds, they will fly on their own without their parents or siblings, guided purely by instinct and weather.

Like Blue 35, they'll set off in a southwesterly direction but they won’t have the experience to know how to cope with the strong easterly winds that could drive them towards the Atlantic ocean. It really is a flight of chance for them.

This simple map shows the direction they will be heading and the distance covered.

They have to discover their own roosting sites, teach themselves how to fish successfully and find a suitable perch on which to eat their catch. They'll have seen their parents catch fish around the Foulshaw nest and maybe even have practised their own fishing dives but it is unlikely they will have been successful before they start their migration. 

Once they're in their wintering site, there are many threats and predators that they need to learn to avoid. Hence, sadly, the survival rate of juvenile ospreys is so low – around 30%.

Our two young ospreys look to be in really good condition and it would be lovely to see them again back in the UK in a couple of years time as teenagers having survived the most hazardous years of their lives.

Dad, White YW, will probably be the last of the family to leave. He has been fervently fishing and feeding the two youngsters. His job will be done once they leave Foulshaw and he will concentrate on getting himself fit for migration.

How many fish deliveries has he made this year? These hungry youngsters are working him hard.

Once again, Blue 35 and White YW have been conscientious parents, successfully rearing 29 young ospreys over the past ten years. It's interesting to see how they fill their year.

For more than seven months they're holidaying in the sun. Then in just a small space of time they work hard to successfully rear their young. They certainly deserve their holiday!

The chart below illustrates what they get up to in a typical year - spending September to the end of March in their wintering ground before returning to their nesting site for five months.

Do keep watching the osprey webcam and checking the Trust's social media pages. Even if the birds are now rarely on the nest, our wonderful osprey volunteers and staff keep us up to date with what they see on Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve.

We look forward to seeing Blue 35 and White YW back again in the spring, as well as the exciting possibility of another pair of ospreys at Foulshaw!

What have you enjoyed watching the most whilst the ospreys were on the nest? Comment below!

We welcome guest bloggers! 

If you've something to write home about - whether you've got a trail cam in your garden, or you've been bird watching, or visited one of our nature reserves - if it's to do with Cumbria's wildlife & wild places then we'd love to hear from you! Email us