16/04/2025
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Three’s a crowd!
We’re blown away by your reaction to our last ospreys post and we think you’ll enjoy this latest tale from the nests!
When an osprey gets back to its breeding grounds it will look around for other returners. There’s no guarantee their partner will return, so if one osprey arrives before their partner, they may cast their eye around for a new courtship.
Back for a while, and without her usual partner, the long-term female from Nest 4 approached the only two breeding males who’ve returned. She spotted Nest 7 male on his own and a flirtation ensued. She even hung around for a while when his usual female arrived, but eventually realised three is, indeed, a crowd and gave up after being given short shrift by her rival.
Not to be deterred, she headed over to another nest, where a long-term couple are residing. Despite their history they don’t have a very strong bond as they lost chicks last year, leaving the door open for this persistent female.
When the male headed off to an empty nest, fish in mouth, she seized her chance! Female ospreys require their male to have a strong fishing game, so while she was interested in the fish, he wanted to mate! She was having none of it, so he returned to his original nest and his partner with his fish, once again leaving her on her own.
The webcams – and our expert Joanna - provide us with these amazing stories and photos. We’ll continue to share here and you can check them out for yourself at kielderospreys.wordpress.com
Northumberland Wildlife Trust
Kielder Forest - Forestry England
Kielder Waterside
Wild Intrigue
