At 8 weeks old, the juveniles are now at full size, and have been testing their new wings, with all of them taking their maiden flights from the nest this week.

The first of the juveniles to leave the safety of the nest was 1H1(22), the largest of the three, who took flight at 5:34am on 02/07/2022 for the first time and proceeded to explore the surrounding area at Manton Bay, gaining confidence. As soon as their sister departed, both 1H2(22) and 1H3(22) started displaying 'helicoptering' behaviour, while 1H1(22) was gone, surely an indication they were to soon follow suit...

The following day (03/07/2022) at 12:09pm, 1H3(22) took a very short maiden flight to the camera pole and back to the nest. After that tentative start, 1H3(22) stayed within the safety of the nest for the rest of the day, keeping 1H2(22) company.

On 04/07/2022, 1H3(22) started making more confident patrols further from the nest and was clearly gaining confidence. At 9:06am, 1H2(22) finally decided to leave the nest and, in doing so, left it empty for the first time since March. 1H2(22)'s maiden flight completed the Manton Bay fledgings.

The juveniles will continue to use the nest in the coming weeks and will start to travel further afield to get used to the surrounding area which is crucial as Ospreys regularly return for the breeding season close to where they were reared.