Ospreys have made us their home since 2013 and may be seen here from April until August.
This spectacular fish-eating bird of prey is incredibly rare because of its historical decline and low breeding numbers. We feel very humbled that they choose us for their home. We built the first nests in 2013 using wood recovered from the visitor centre when the café was redeveloped in the previous winter.
In 2020, we were able to see that three eggs had been laid. One egg was taken by a crow. Two of the eggs did hatch, but the youngest did not survive. The one remaining chick did well and was named Dwynwen. It fledged in July. Sadly, it was killed after being struck by a wind turbine blade a few weeks later.
In 2021, the ospreys returned but the nesting site was callously felled by vandals with a chainsaw in April, destroying the nest. The birds remained in the area for the remainder of the summer but did not find an alternative nesting site so did not breed. Once they had left for the winter, a team from Openreach and GT Williams Engineering replaced the pole for free and in early 2022, colleagues from Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water winched a new nesting platform into place.
A new 4k nest cam has now been installed which is capable of capturing super-detailed images of the beautiful raptors and their behaviour in the nest.
Large screens in the visitor centre stream live from the Llyn Brenig osprey nest-cam and perch-cam.
They will enable you to follow all the drama throughout the season, from first arrival, squabbles, interlopers and feeding. Maybe you will even be the first so see this year’s chicks hatch.
With scopes available to use for free from the North Wales Wildlife Trust, you can see the pair nesting from a safe distance from Sailing Club Bay from April to the end of August. Or for a closer up experience, North Wales Wildlife Trust are helping to staff our osprey hide.
Situated in the Visitor Centre, spread your wings to explore the exhibition, learn about the project history and follow our birds throughout the seasons.
Why not come on an RSPB Osprey Date with Nature at our specially constructed hide, that gets you within 150m of the nest?
The hide is kitted out with one-way glass, snoods, gimbals and even comfy seats. RSPB staff will be on hand to answer any questions about the Ospreys.
Groups of up to four can book places on the Llyn Brenig website or directly at the Llyn Brenig Visitor Centre.
In order to minimise disruption to the ospreys, we regret that dogs are not allowed.
The Llyn Brenig Osprey project began in 2013.
We built the first nests using wood recovered from the visitor centre when the café was redeveloped in the previous winter. These were used to put together the basic structure of three nesting platforms. They were mounted on telegraph poles around the site, that were felt to be sufficiently quiet, yet also accessible for maintenance by cherry pickers.
By 2015, the first signs of success were beginning to emerge. A young male known as CU2 “Jimmy” decided to call the area its home.
In 2018, the team decided to focus all preparation effort on the nest they had shown such interest in during 2017. Trail cameras were mounted and extra perches were added, both on the nest and in nearby woodland.
Authored by Dr Tim Mackrill of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation on behalf of Dŵr Cymru, RSPB and North Wales Wildlife Trust, Llyn Brenig’s Osprey Conservation Plan sets out the conservation measures required to protect the breeding ospreys at the site.
