What a fabulous few years it’s been for our Poole Harbour Ospreys, CJ7 and 022. Since their first successful breeding back in 2022, the pair have produced a further 7 young, with hopefully another 4 this year all being well. With all the excitement, we thought it was about time to start up our Osprey diaries again. As usual you can watch the nest live 24/7 on our YouTube channel. However, on this page we’ll be providing weekly summaries of all the action from the nest and the harbour, including what we’ve been seeing from our Carey Osprey Tours and of other Ospreys spotted in the harbour. 

22/05/2025 – 29/05/2025

Thursday (22nd May) marked the day of the first Osprey chick of the season, hatching early in the morning at 5:30am. Later that morning, it had its first feed, which was a bit of a messy affair! CJ7 soon got back into the swing of things. 

First feed for the first chick of the season

Just a couple of hours after, we noticed a crack in a second egg and sure enough by 7pm, the second egg had hatched. This is due to a behaviour called delayed incubation, where incubation is postponed until the second egg is laid, resulting in a more synchronised hatching.  Just two more to go! On Friday, during our afternoon Carey Osprey Tour, a Grey Heron got a bit too close to the nest and we watched as 022 went into full defence mode. He chased the Heron up into the sky for a couple of minutes, before it eventually got the message and flew away.

The second chick to hatch shortly after the first

There wasn’t long to wait for the next hatching, as the third egg hatched late on Saturday night. It was fabulous to see all three chicks doing well and CJ7 and 022 being so attentive as usual.

CJ7 feeding her three chicks

Away from the nest during Sunday’s Spring Safari, the BoPH team saw 022 in the Wareham Channel firstly catching a fish, before being harassed by a Common Buzzard and then skydancing in reaction to seeing another Osprey in the harbour identified as 1AO, a Scottish ringed male. 

Scottish ringed Osprey – 1AO – dizzygirl66.bsky.social

And that wasn’t the only intruder! On Monday, we had 2-year-old Rutland female 3H9 pay a visit to the Carey nest, whilst CJ7 and 022 were there. Later on, she landed on another of our nest platforms, joined by 022. She’s also been seen at other spots around the south coast this week. Hopefully she’ll stay around and who knows, could be a future local breeder!

022 (left) with 3H9 (right) on another nest platform in the harbour

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the fourth and final chick of the Carey Osprey nest hatched. CJ7 and 022 are great parents and it’s always a joy to see them very carefully feeding the chicks so each gets a sufficient feed including the fourth chick. It’s only in about 1% of Osprey clutches that they lay 4 eggs, and even rarer for them to all hatch. Now that the hatching is out the way, we should see a rapid growth and development of the chicks over the next few weeks, very quickly turning from being extremely cute to looking like mini dinosaurs!

Four Osprey chicks on the nest

What a week it’s been – here’s to another successful season for our Carey Ospreys.

30th May – 6th June

Welcome back to the Osprey Diaries. 

Now that 022 and CJ7 have hatched their four chicks, they are on high alert for any threats from predators. On Saturday, the last day of spring, one of Poole Harbour’s adult white-tailed eagles flew over the nest. This also happened during incubation, when CJ7 hunkered down over the eggs and kept an osprey eye out as it soared overhead. Today, 022 soared into the sky and made sure to see the white-tailed eagle on its way!

By Wednesday, our chicks had grown a lot already. Chick number four is quite small compared to its siblings, but the eldest are a whole week older. As the younger chick, it doesn’t need quite as much food as its older siblings but still manages to get plenty of fish from 022 and CJ7, especially when chicks one to three are asleep!

Chicks one to three sleep while chick four enjoys a feed

Ospreys, like many bird species, can hold food in their crops for a few hours. Crops are muscular pouches near a bird’s throat, and act as an extension of the oesophagus which can store food for later. For our osprey chicks this is particularly important while they wait for 022 to deliver their next meal.

022 and CJ7 were still keeping their eyes on the skies and visitors to Carey’s Secret Garden were treated to both adults seeing off intruders. At midday, an adult buzzard got too close to the nest for CJ7’s liking. As CJ7 approached the buzzard, it tried to defend itself with its talons. CJ7 briefly flashed hers and the buzzard was soon soaring east. 

Later that afternoon, while both adults were on the nest, a red kite approached. This time, it was 022 who defended the nest, circling around the kite as it flew away. Once the kite was gone, 022 flew back to the nest with a series of acrobatic tumbles. This was another example of sky dancing, mentioned in the last osprey diary, a behaviour that displays stamina to rival ospreys, predators and potential mates. 

Elsewhere in Poole Harbour, Thursday kicked off the weekend of heavy showers and high winds, but that didn’t dissuade 2023 Rutland female 3H9, who was seen visiting one of our other nest platforms on numerous occasions. Fingers crossed she’ll nest here next year with a male!

Female 3H9 on one of our other nest platforms on 6th June

Don’t forget that you can keep up with the Carey Ospreys by watching the 24 hour live feed on our YouTube channel, or you can come and see them in person, plus lots more, with our Carey Osprey Tours. Hopefully, we’ll see you soon!