Dyfi Osprey Project staff are “planning for the worst” after their star osprey female swallowed a fish hook and line.

This afternoon at 12:10, Telyn, their nesting female, was spotted swallowing a small metal fish hook and line whilst feeding a fish to her three chicks.

Reviewing the footage, staff can see no more fish line or hooks in the trout or nest, and the nesting male, Idris, has since taken the fish away.

Telyn, the female, can be seen swallowing a fish hook and line earlier today.
Telyn, the female, can be seen swallowing a fish hook and line earlier today. (Dyfi Osprey Project)

An update by staff on the website states they are “planning for the worst outcome, but hoping for the best”, adding: “At this point there is little we can do other than monitor closely Telyn's behaviour over the next few hours and days.

“There is a chance she may regurgitate the fishing tackle or that strong enzymes in her stomach may start to break it down.

“We've seen fishing lines come to the nest before, but we're never seen an osprey actually ingest a hook.

“We can't catch her, but even if we could, all three chicks would soon perish during the time she would be away.

“There are a lot of 'we don't knows' at the moment.”

The male Idris seen with the trout, clear of lines and hooks.
The male Idris seen with the trout, clear of lines and hooks. (Dyfi Osprey Project)

Telyn and Idris are currently tending a three-chick nest at the Dyfi Valley site, monitored by wildlife cameras.

There are estimated to be 300 osprey pairs in the UK, with Telyn and Idris making up one of just five pairs who call Wales home.

Telyn is a 13-year-old female who has been seen at the Dyfi Valley site since 2017 and has laid three eggs a year at the site since 2018, producing 21 successful chicks in her time there, not including the three in her current brood.

Only time will tell how the female will get on.

For full updates, follow the Dyfi Osprey Project website and YouTube live feed - https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/