First Poole Harbour osprey chick for 2024 hatches safely
The little one broke out of its shell this morning
The first osprey chick of the season has hatched at Poole Harbour.
It started to break through the shell at around 4.45am this morning (Thursday 23rd May), and took two hours to fully emerge.
The hatching has been captured on webcams set up to keep an eye on the nesting area.
The new chick has slept for most of the morning, which experts say is 'quite normal' after using so much energy to remove their shell.
The Birds of Poole Harbour experts posted on socials just yesterday (Wednesday 22nd May), saying it had been 37 days since the first egg had been laid, and last year, the first hatching happened at 38 days.
They also recalled that the hatchings were roughly 12 hours apart in 2023.
There are four eggs in the nest this year, so it's hoped more chicks will arrive safely in the coming days.
A project to boost the numbers of ospreys in Poole Harbour has been running since 2017.