Nora has started her long migration south. We last saw her at 14:26 on Tuesday afternoon, August 7th. She was being mobbed by crows as Ceulan was eating a flounder just a few feet away on what we call the goalpost perch, around 200 metres away from the nest. She looked a bit uneasy being so close to several crows and a flounder at the same time and eventually she took off, circled the nest one last time, and disappeared into the distance. She went exactly a week earlier than she did last year. It was 17 days after Ceulan fledged the nest.

Nora arrived at the Dyfi this season on a beautiful, unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 24th - very early for an osprey. She was a four year old in 2012 and this year was her second year of breeding. The moment she arrived we took a photograph of her with one of the new cameras that so many volunteers had helped set up. We knew they would be good - but never this good. The Big Pull was worth all the effort.

Nora lands on her Dyfi nest at 15:34, March 24th, in glorious spring sunshine

For the next few days, Nora got to work on her summer home, rearranging what the British weather had done to the furniture whilst she was away and adding some more when required. The wait was on for her mate - when would Monty return from Africa?

The following weekend, on April 1st, Monty was still nowhere in sight. Being April fools day, I photoshopped two enormous curlew on the nest and proclaimed that the nest had been taken over by these gigantic waders and that Nora had gone. 

Little did I know that the joke would very quickly turn and that the one ending up being the fool would be me! At 10am that morning, this happened…

The significance of what happened on April 1st cannot be overstated. Just a few decades ago, within living memory for many, a red kite on a nest was as rare a birding sight in the UK as they come. Breeding ospreys were a pipe dream - not even rare, they were extinct. The sight of both species on the same nest just a few years down the line, Nora completely ambivalent to the young kite's presence, has herculean significance in the conservation and recovery of both raptor species in the British Isles. And no, I couldn't have photoshopped this masterpiece.

Ironically, Monty wasn't far away. The following day at 15:35, there was an almighty cheer from the visitor centre - Monty had landed. He'd missed the kite and the new species of Goliath Curlew, but his partner of 2011 was there to greet him.

April 2nd and Monty is back

Nora waited nine days in all for Monty to return. It is usually the male osprey that returns first - he'll have to get his skates on next year. Sixteen days later, Nora laid her first egg, followed by a second three days later and a third in another three days.

On May 28th, 29th, and 31st, all of Nora's eggs hatched, but sadly only one chick would survive. The three months from April - June proved to be the worst on record for rain and wind. The Dyfi nest took a battering of biblical proportions, it's a wonder that Nora and Monty didn't just give up and wait for next year. The tenacity and determination of Nora to protect her eggs and young chicks during this unprecedented time was inspirational and very emotional to witness.

The 'perfect storm' June 8/9th. The worst summer storm on the Dyfi in over 100 years

Throughout June, the weather didn't let up. Nora's surviving chick was a male and we named him Ceulan after the local river that burst its banks in the great storm.  As each day passed, however, young Ceulan got stronger and stronger, and despite the rain, he made it through to fledging at 53 days old, on July 21st.

Ceulan was over four weeks old before he witnessed a whole day without rain

They say a woman's work is never done, but by early August, Nora had given everything she could possibly give to raising her young chick, and more. Her remit for this year was complete. Female ospreys tend to migrate earlier than their offspring and partner - they need to. Nora will have lost body mass and muscle tone, she needs to build up her reserves and get into the hang of catching fish again before her 3,500 mile journey. Her investment to raising young in 2012 was immense and on Monday, August 6th, we thought that she had gone at around midday. Eight hours later however, she was back.

Nora came back on Monday evening and stayed one more night on the nest

The following day, Nora did start her migration. She stayed 136 days in all on the Dyfi in 2012 - that's around 37% of the year. She waited nine days for her partner to return, caught 14 fish in all (all mullet), laid three eggs, and raised one very special osprey in the worst summer storm imaginable. She's also been on Springwatch, news programmes, and in countless magazines. She's raised awareness of conservation and the importance of protecting her species and by doing that, has made thousands of people happy.

Until next year - Hwyl fawr cariad

August 7th - the last image of Nora leaving her favourite perch