MONTGOMERYSHIRE wildlife enthusiasts have been celebrating following the cherished return of a young osprey to the family nest.

Live footage captured Hesgyn returning to Machynlleth on Saturday (May 15), with the clip on the Dyfi Osprey Project’s YouTube channel having already received more than 3,500 views.

The three-minute clip captured Hesgyn returning to the nest – which is currently being sat on by his mother Telyn, as she awaits the arrival of her newest brood – two weeks shy of his second birthday.

Hesgyn (identified by the blue KA3 tag around his leg) is a 2019 Dyfi chick, the youngest of three offspring belonging to Telyn and Monty. It is a landmark moment for the project, and Monty in particular, as Hesgyn’s return means he is the seventh chick belonging to Monty that has returned to the Montgomeryshire nest – one for each year that Monty was here.

It’s some legacy for the proud dad and the project, which began in 2009 with the aim of supporting and conserving the osprey population in Wales and delivering an osprey project with communities at its heart.

“Hesgyn is back home, two weeks shy of his second birthday. Atta boy,” said the Dyfi Osprey Project on their YouTube channel.

“Hesgyn is a 2019 Dyfi chick; this is the first time we have seen him since then. Hesgyn was the youngest of the three in 2019 – he had an older sister, Berthyn, and brother, Peris.

“Hesgyn is the second of Telyn’s offspring to return that we know of and Monty’s seventh. He is also the last chick Monty raised. Monty has now had at least one offspring return from each of this last seven breeding years on the Dyfi. What a legacy.”

The video prompted plenty of messages from nature lovers, with Dolly Cox saying: “I am so thrilled to see a bit of Monty home again, in Hesgyn, his dad would be so proud, he has left us such a legacy in his sons, and daughter (that we know of), who have returned.

“I am also proud for Telyn, her offspring look to be strong, and hopefully we will see more return. Welcome home, Bobbi bach, such a joyful day.

“Find a good home for yourself, young Hesgyn, but stay somewhere in Wales if you can. The seventh returnee, that's got to be lucky. Thank you for the video, stunning.”

Watch the footage at the project’s YouTube channel.

In other osprey news, the latest batch of chicks are just days away from hatching. On their Facebook page the project stated: “We're just days away from hatching now – Telyn is keen to spend as much time as possible incubating her three eggs.

“She'll able to feel movement in the eggs now; sounds will be audible soon too.

“If the weather is calm enough, we also should be able to pick up the tiny chick sounds on our supercardioid microphone placed deep inside the nest, specifically for this purpose.”