Exactly two weeks ago, Sunday evening, I was in the middle of closing an osprey project for the season and preparing for a long trip the next day. Ceulan was doing exactly the same.

The day after, Monday morning at around 09:15, I headed off north to Scotland. Around 10 minutes later at 09:26, Ceulan headed off south to Africa.

You always try and keep a scientific view of these things, but with all the trials, tribulations and coincidences this summer, you can't help sometimes but think there are other forces at work. By sundown that Monday evening, I was 150 miles away from the Dyfi, so was Ceulan.

Ceulan had started his journey south to better weather, and to where he would meet up with many more birds of his kind. I was heading in the opposite direction, to Castle Douglas, Dumfriesshire, to see an old friend. Black 80.

Black 80 in 2006, age 39 days. Does this image look familiar?

Animals are special to many of us, some animals more than others. Black 80 is a male offspring of the Glaslyn osprey pair that are still breeding in the Glaslyn valley near Porthmadog, some 30 miles north of the Dyfi. He hatched on May 20th, 2006, and was one in a brood of three - two males and a female. His big sister, Black 2J, died in the nest at quite an old age, 43 days, probably due to excessive heat. It was around 30°C that day.

Both brothers survived to fledging and migration age. Black 80 fledged at 52 days old and started his migration 55 days later on September 4th.

Black 80 being ringed as a chick, June 28th, 2006. He weighed a healthy 1460g (exactly the same as Dulas last year)

What makes Black 80 such a special bird is the fact that he was the first Welsh osprey, ever, to have been positively sighted as having coming back to the UK as an adult. He returned two years later in 2008, and was seen holding a territory and displaying at a nest near Threave Castle, a couple of miles west of Castle Douglas.

Threave Castle - the name derives from the Old Welsh 'Tref', meaning home or town. Another Welsh connection!

Black 80 didn't breed in 2008, but he did manage to attract a female. Both birds returned back from Africa the following year and bred successfully - they raised two chicks. The same osprey pair returned in 2010 and 2011 and successfully raised five more chicks, three and two respectively.

The female didn't return this year and all hope was lost by May that Black 80, who had returned as usual at the end of March, would breed in 2012. But he did.

On May 11th, a blue-ringed female showed an interest in Black 80 and his nest - what happened next broke all the records. The pair laid eggs in June (unprecedented in the UK) and two chicks, a male and a female, survived the severe 2012 summer weather and fledged at the end of August, a time when most UK ospreys are just setting off to warmer climes. They were so late breeding, in fact, that on the weekend that both chicks hatched, their auntie and uncles in the Glaslyn were fledging!

So, what an opportunity to see an old friend again, one which I hadn't seen in six years. Late on the Tuesday, when Ceulan had just arrived in France, I spotted Black 80 in glorious Scottish evening sunshine. He had eluded me all afternoon, but I finally spotted him as a goose flew straight over his head, giving up his position. What a feeling, what an emotion. Looking through the viewfinder, it was difficult to focus the camera on him.

Black 80, September 4th, 2012. Six years exactly, to the day, since I last saw him in the Glaslyn when he started his first migration 

He looked exactly like his father. He was almost completely white on the chest and underwing, and had a kind of semi-colon shape as a head pattern on his crown. As Ceulan was making his way across the Bay of Biscay, I watched Black 80 all day Wednesday. He seemed to have a good strong bond with his female and a strong healthy family.

Black 80 brings a flounder back to his two chicks and female (middle)

Black 80 brought three flounder and two coarse fish back to his family in one day

One of Black 80's chicks (male, I think), around a week after fledging

Both youngsters were gaining confidence in their flying skills, but one, the female, looked much more proficient than the other. She may well have fledged a few days earlier than her brother, giving her a bit more experience.

The Glaslyn Grandchildren - brother (left) and sister follow each other around Threave Castle

The National Trust for Scotland have done a wonderful job in Threave showing their ospreys off to visitors. There's a viewpoint with a volunteer at hand to explain all about Black 80 and his family, a beautiful 800m walk with a really comfortable, modern hide at the end, just 350m away from the nest. As I was leaving that evening, I met up with Karl Munday, the National Trust's ranger for the Threave site, and we had a good old chin-wag about Black 80 and ospreys in general.

After speaking to Karl, we realised there was one piece of the jigsaw still missing. Nobody knew the ring number of the new Threave female. Karl knew it was blue and on the left leg (so Scottish bird), but nobody had been able to make out the characters on the ring. I decided to stay another day.

Looking through the photographs - I couldn't quite make out the female's leg ring details. So frustrating.

Thursday was a manic day. Find the little cafe in Castle Douglas with wi-fi and download Ceulan's latest GPS points, drive six hours back to Wales, but before that try and figure out two characters on a leg ring, just half an inch wide, from a quarter of a mile away! The long camera lens I had with me was not up to the job, unless the female flew closer to me in the hide. There was only one thing for it. Digiscoping!

Two tripods, a beanbag, a magnifying glass, a telescope, and a modified compact camera with all settings on manual. Proper hit and miss photography, but it worked, eventually.

Some crazy photography finally gave up the Threave female's ring number - Blue XC

I've emailed Roy in Scotland to try and find out where Blue XC is from and how old she is. At a guess, she may be a Scottish three year old, so 2012 would be her first year breeding.

I struggle at this time every year. After spending every day with ospreys over the summer, the scientific part of you knows the odds of these fledglings coming back in future years. You try and put a brave face on it and explain everything away in terms of biology, statistics, and natural selection. The odds of Ceulan coming back in 2014 are less than 50:50. In fact, there's only about a 30% probability that he will survive and return, and less still that he will breed and have young of his own. But Black 80 did.

I know that thousands of people have grown an emotional attachment to Ceulan, as we all have here at Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust. A feeling of happiness that he has made it through this far, but also an overwhelming feeling of sadness that he has gone, and with all the hurdles he now has in front of him.

I remember many years ago, Richard Burton explaining to an American chat show host what the Welsh word 'Hiraeth' meant. Even with all his communication skills and oratory prowess, I don't think he managed it. It is something that doesn't translate well across languages. It's a deep, heartfelt feeling of loss but, also perhaps, one of optimism that whoever or whatever you are missing, may return one day.

As I write, Ceulan's GPS points have just come in for today. He's reached the Senegal River, and he's got there in less than two weeks after leaving Wales. He's reached water and he's reached food, he's reached his promised land. His environment has suddenly changed green again. If I could somehow tell Richard Burton Ceulan's story today, it may well have enabled him to better explain Hiraeth in another language.

The three day trip to Scotland cost £200. The tracker on Ceulan's back cost £3,000. The feeling of seeing Black 80 for the first time after six years the other day was indescribable, priceless, it has no cost value. The best remedy for Hiraeth is to see your young osprey return home as an adult in years to come. Yes, the odds are against Ceulan; yes, it's 30% or whatever,  but if he does make it and return, we can all see him again and share that feeling. And it's the best feeling in the world; I know, I've just experienced it.

Hireath