Both boys have successfully fledged.

On Tuesday morning nobody was really expecting a fledge. Neither Tywi (KC7, the oldest brother) nor Teifi had been 'helicoptering', a behaviour typically seen as a definitive prerequisite to fledging.

Tywi had clearly not read the rule book.

At just before 9am he took off from the nest and landed on the camera pole above; a controlled flight to a perch outside the confines of the nest - so an official fledging.

Tywi reaches new heights

After 74 minutes and a good look around from his new vantage point, Tywi took to the skies, a 30-seconds orbital around the reserve before landing back safely on the nest.

On Tuesday morning Tywi became a record breaker. His official fledging age is just 48.7 days - the first Dyfi chick (and Welsh chick?) to fledge in the 48s.

Tywi: From an egg to airborne in less than seven weeks:

With just one flight, Tywi brought the average male fledging age down 0.3 days, or around eight hours. He is now the youngest Dyfi chick to fledge, beating Gwynant by seven hours.

It's incredible to think that seven weeks prior Tywi was an egg, now he's an airborne, fully grown raptor.

Teifi

Clearly not one for the record books, Teifi was in no hurry to join his older brother in the skies.

Bad weather had put a stop to any realistic fledging attempts on Friday and Saturday. However, Sunday was much better, but he kept us hanging on and hanging on. He was no slave to the 4,000 people that tuned in to the Live Streaming on Sunday to see him go.

Teifi (left) sits out the bad weather on Saturday with Tywi looking on

Telyn and Tywi wait for Teifi to fledge in the mist

Finally, on Monday morning at 07:15, Teifi took to the skies and just like his brother, he seems to be a first class aviator.

It's amazing to see the behavioural changes that are immediately evident once an osprey chick takes to the skies for the first time. They seem to go up a level in confidence and assuredness; Teifi has seemed like a different bird today.

He might have taken four days longer to get airborne than his record-breaking older brother, but he knew when it was his time to go.

• TYWI FLEDGES - 08:52 on 14th July. He fledged at 48 days, 16 hrs and 22 mins old
• TEIFI FLEDGES - 07:15 on 20th July. He fledged at 52 days 18 hours 41 minutes old 

Teifi flies early Monday morning at 52.8 days old

Remarkable Brothers

Two things have stood out for me with the class of 2020. How pale Teifi is and how mature Tywi is.

Teifi's plumage is so pale, he looks like a different species sometimes - a rough legged buzzard to be precise. Is his paleness due to genetics? It will be interesting to see next year's offspring when hopefully Idris and Telyn return.

Tywi has been a revelation. I have never seen such a mature osprey at his stage of life. His flying skills are seemingly those of an experienced adult, easily taking off and landing on thin perches, at speed, as if he's been doing this for years. His aeronautical skills are remarkable for a bird that has only been airborne a few days. He's still only 55 days old as I write, an age where many ospreys are still nest-bound.

The way he processes his prey is also unusually precocial. He was ripping through a mullet yesterday, proper speed eating, with all the precision, determination and agility of an adult. Incredible to witness and see.

Tywi munches his way through a tough flounder

Fun Fact: With 12 osprey chicks in Wales this year at five nests (7 males, 5 females), this is a new record (11 was the most previously in 2015 and 2019). We've also, in the last few days, just passed the 100th chick to fledge in Wales this century. 

Here's the fledging chart, now complete for all Dyfi chicks:

And here's the 2020 fledging video: