All chicks now fully fledged.

The third chick is now finally flying. All three chicks will use the nest as base camp for a while yet as they practice honing their flying skills. The parents are still around and Dad is bringing fish to the nest for the young chicks to feed. Soon they will begin to attempt hunting techniques and Dad will oversee their training until he is confident to leave them to fend for themselves.
At times the nest may be empty but when the chicks are hungry they will head to the nest and call for food. It is at this time of year when other ospreys sometimes take a visit to the nest site to check it out while the family are away. Last year, late in the season a white leg ringed adult, with the letters HC appeared at the nest site and began moving sticks around and scraping out the bottom of the nest. He was a bird from another nest in the Tweed Valley that had been ringed as a chick back in 2007 and this was most likely his first return since fledging.
Hopefully, he has returned again, found a partner and set up a nest of his own. Who knows, perhaps he has reared young of his own for the first time this year.
This is a good time of year to spot young ospreys and adults flying around the area. If anybody spots coloured leg numbers that they can read, please let us know and we can find out about the birds spotted.