Dyfi Osprey Project’s mating pair have now returned to their Mid Wales nest after a long migration to West Africa.

As one half of the Dyfi Valley’s longest residing mating pair returned to the Powys nest last week, another followed suit on Saturday (March 30) as both ospreys, Telyn and Idris, returned after their six-month migration.

Having established themselves as a mating pair, the Dyfi Osprey Project added that it estimates their first egg of the 2024 season could be expected within the next few weeks.

Female osprey Telyn arrived back at the nest on March 25, beating her record by a day.

Idris, the male osprey, joined her five days later, after he was spotted back at the nest at 9.49am.

Idris was accompanied by another male osprey, as often happens according to the Dyfi Osprey Project, a ringed bird from Cumbria who had visited the area before.

A spokesperson for the project said: “By now they are an established pair which could explain their respective punctual return. We would expect the first egg to be laid at around April 10 onwards.

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“As often happens, Idris brought another male with him to the nest, which confused all of us for a while, including Telyn.”

This year will mark Telyn’s seventh season in the Dyfi Valley, making her the project’s longest breeding female, and will be the fifth season for Idris.

A spokesperson for the project added: “Think of most birds as existing in two distinct modes throughout the year: breeding and non-breeding phases.

"A few days ago our ospreys were in non-breeding mode; their behaviour will be materially different now they are back together again and quickly transitioning into breeding mode.

“During winter, groups of ospreys will be much more tolerant of each other, often roosting and perching close together, sometimes dozens of ospreys colonially aligning fence posts just a few feet apart. There's not much to get possessive about. They even share food.

“Now, quickly transitioning back to breeding mode, both male and female will take approximately two weeks to suss each other out before laying eggs – and one of the main, critical ways of doing this is nest-building as a team.

“Nest building is a critical behavioural element of pair-bonding, particularly in this early pre-egg laying stage.”