THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE MISSING MRS G
‘Rock star’osprey has never been this late... but twitchers aren’t giving up hope
FOR almost two decades she has been a regular visitor to Gwynedd, laying the foundations for Britain’s osprey recovery programme.
In that time, Mrs G has become a rock star of the avian world, hatching 52 eggs and becoming a grandmother to at least 130 chicks.
Now a great-grandmother of 13, she is a fish-eating celebrity who, each spring, was invariably among the first ospreys to return to Britain after wintering in West Africa.
As this year was to have been her 20th known visit to the Glaslyn nesting site near Porthmadog, the bunting was ready. Worryingly, Mrs G is late. In 2015, she arrived back on March 19 and usually she’s on her nest by March 26. The latest she’s ever been was on April 1.
Aran touched down on April 3 and has cut a lonely figure ever since.
This Easter, thousands of nestcam viewers will be glued to their online streams to see if Mrs G puts in a belated appearance, as befits her status as Wales’ oldest breeding female osprey. “We’ve not given up hope,” said visitor centre manager Heather Corfield. “But as each days passes, it’s looks a little less optimistic.”
“She’s never been this late before. We’ve always known there would come a time when she would no longer return and it’s possible we’ve reached that point. It will upset a lot of people, but we have to be realistic.”
It is thought Mrs G first arrived and bred at Glaslyn as a three-year old bird in April 2004, though it’s possible she may have checked out the site the previous summer.
Since then, she’s appeared like clockwork – unlike her more tardy males.
From her early days as an inexperienced female, when she produced just two or three eggs each season, she’s become a prolific breeder. Now thought to be 22 or 23 years old, she has provided at least 60 eggs, 52 of which are known to have hatched.
Bad weather and, two years ago, an injury to food-provider Aran, meant not all survived. However 44 of her chicks have succeeded in flying the nest. Some 23 eggs, yielding 18 fledglings were with Aran, her second and, probably, final partner.
“She is a quite remarkable bird,” said Heather. “To think how long she has been coming here and what’s she’s done for the osprey breeding programme in the UK.”
It’s possible she’s been blown off course by storms during her 3,000-mile migration from West Africa, most likely her winter home, said Heather. Or she may have died. Poisoning is a possibility, or she may have been caught in fishing nets, as happened to a young Welsh osprey in West Gambia a few years ago.
Like Aran, she is unringed and untracked, so until she nests her location is usually a mystery. Aran touched down at 2.57pm on Monday, and, if Mrs G fails to appear, it is hoped he will pair up with one of Glaslyn’s unattached females.
Live, online images from her nest are being broadcast 24 hours a day. Live high-definition nest and feeding images are also beamed to the Pont Croesor visitor centre by the site’s manager, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife.
“If she does appear, it will be absolutely marvellous,” said Heather. “If she doesn’t, it would be nice to think she is enjoying a well-earned retirement in Africa, but unfortunately we know this rarely happens.”
Another breeding osprey pair at Pont Croesor have already been reunited this spring. A week ago, the female Blue 014 joined her mate Z2/Aeron at a nest site managed by the Friends of the Ospreys.
Glaslyn Ospreys near Prenteg, Porthmadog, is open every day, 10.30am-4.30pm, until the birds migrate in September.
Entry is free, but the charity that runs the site, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife, always welcomes donations.