Third osprey egg hatches at nest

Several ospreys have been spotted in Wales this year

A pair of rare ospreys have seen their third and final chick successfully hatch nearly a week after the first emerged.

The first of the three eggs hatched on Thursday, followed by another on Sunday and the last at 0800 BST on Wednesday.

The parent birds - Wales' only known breeding pair this year - laid near Porthmadog, Gwynedd, in early May.

Since then, conservationists have kept them under constant surveillance to protect eggs from thieves.

The same pair bred last year, but the clutch of eggs was lost after the nest fell to the ground in high winds.

Thousands of people have been able to see the birds awaiting their arrivals via a nest camera.

OSPREY FACTS Scientific name : Pandion haliaetus Wingspan : 5ft Clutch: 3, but not all fledge Sexual maturity: Three to five years Diet : Mainly fish, particularly perch, pike, and trout

The fish-eating osprey was hunted almost to extinction in Britain by gamekeepers and fishermen in Victorian times.

Birds from Scotland - which has remained a stronghold for the species - were taken as chicks to other parts of the country, in the hope they would breed and spread elsewhere.

Last year, an osprey chick fledged at a secret location in mid Wales - the first on record in Wales.

The osprey remains an Amber List species, which means it still needs protection for numbers to recover to an acceptable level.