We have a girl and two boys, here are the details:

🟦 Chick 1 - FEMALE Named BRIANNE ring number BLUE 6B6 (1,730g)

🟦 Chick 2 - MALE Named CWELLYN ring number BLUE 6B5 (1,430g)

🟦 Chick 3 - MALE Named HONDDU ring number BLUE 6B4 (1,380g)

Many thanks to many of you that suggested over 100 chick names this year, sadly we could only use three of them!

Brianne, Cwellyn and Honddu all fall pretty close to the average weights we would expect for their gender, perhaps the lack of sea trout this year explaining the very modest gap under the trend line (trout, per unit weight, have more calories than mullet and flounder due to them being an 'oily fish').

If you'd like help with the chick pronounciations this year - here's Alwyn to help.

Below is a chart with our newest chicks (mustard colour) with all our previous birds as reference. Females in red, males in blue. 

This year's ringing day was unusually hot, with temperatures approaching 30°C by midday. To avoid stressing the chicks, we aimed to ring them early in the morning before the heat exceeded 20°C whilst at the same time being mindful of the full tides. Two chicks were already panting heavily when we brought them down, signaling the urgency of our task.

In our focus on the chicks' welfare, we inadvertently placed the blue Darvic rings on their left legs, a practice typically followed in Scotland but not in England and Wales, where rings go on the right. However, the rings were correctly oriented to read upward from the foot, which is the critical detail.

Ultimately, the leg placement doesn't matter, we occasionally see such variations in Darvic ring placement among ospreys in the UK. The key achievement was completing the ringing ias quickly as possible - which we did in just 34 minutes, thereby minimizing the time the three chicks were out of their nest.

Most years we have surprisingly calm chicks who stay very still and placid during the ringing process. This year, however, we had a feisty one - Honddu, our little Bobby Bach (that many thought wouldn't make it).

Ringing Video

This year's video is a bit special. It was filmed in 8K resolution via multiple cameras.

8K resolution has 16X more information than High Definition, but don't worry if you don't have a 8K monitor or TV (who has!), you can still view in 4K or any lower resolution of your choice.

Filming in 8K future-proofs our videos, ready for 8K displays when they come in the years ahead. We did exactly the same with HD in 2012 and 4K in 2016.

If you can't wait that long, worry not. We will be installing an 8K TV in our new photographic hide by the Dyfi Wildlife Centre later this year, this ringing video will look unbelievable - like looking through a window.

Many thanks to Siân, Sarah and trainee ringer Thom for their help with the ringing - and obviously Tony Cross again this year. We think he enjoyed his breakfast this year - on the house, of course!