A trio of ospreys nesting in the Scottish Borders has stunned researchers and bird lovers alike, offering a rare glimpse into an avian love triangle that’s unfolding live on camera.
Perched high above Glentress Forest near Peebles, the nest hosts an uncommon arrangement: two females and one male living—and breeding—together in apparent harmony. The nest, monitored by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) as part of the long-running Tweed Valley Osprey Project (TVOP), is now drawing international attention for what could be a scientific first.
“This is very rare behaviour,” said Diane Bennett, TVOP’s project coordinator. “We’ve never had this kind of polygamous osprey relationship so clearly documented on a livestream.”
Egg-laying and Fish-sharing: An Unlikely Peace
So far, the unusual trio seems to be making it work.
The nest has produced four eggs between the two females, and both are sharing duties—if not always peacefully. The male, a young bird new to the area, brings in fish for both his mates. According to Bennett, the only real flashpoints have come during these food deliveries.
“Both females go for it, of course,” she said, “but Mrs O usually gets there first.”
Mrs O, the senior female of the group, is a known figure in the Tweed Valley. She’s been returning to this nesting site for years and is easily recognisable by her distinctive head markings, despite only wearing a standard British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) ring.
Her new companions are both ringed, but lack the coloured Darvic identifiers that would make it easy to trace their history. For now, the team refers to the younger female as “F2” and the male simply as “the male.”
But anonymity hasn’t stopped them from making history.
Intimacy and Incubation: A Closer Look at Nest Life
The camera feed has become a 24-hour soap opera for osprey fans.
In one recent clip, the two females were seen sharing a particularly touching moment. Mrs O, visibly tired and hungry after her incubation shift, vocalised her need. F2 responded—not with rivalry, but with kindness.
“She leaned down as if to offer food,” said the TVOP social media team in a post. “After a few tries, Mrs O gently took a small morsel of fish from under F2’s foot. Then she flew off.”
The birds take turns incubating the eggs and guarding the nest, their dynamics captured in crisp detail by the project’s livestream setup—something that sets this nest apart from most other studies of similar behaviour, which are usually conducted at long distances.
“This is one of the first times we’ve been able to observe such rare social interactions between breeding ospreys in real-time, up close,” said Bennett. “It’s exciting both for the drama and for the research implications.”
The Science of Osprey Relationships
Polygamy in ospreys is not unheard of—but it’s almost never seen so clearly.
Male ospreys typically mate with one female and share parenting duties. Trios, when they occur, are often unstable and short-lived. What makes this case unusual is the cooperative nature of the relationship—particularly between the females.
Experts believe environmental pressures, territory shortages, or even simple compatibility could drive such behaviour. But until now, there’s been little direct evidence.
“We just don’t get this level of access,” said Bennett. “This could fundamentally change how we understand osprey social structures.”
How the Project Took Flight
The Tweed Valley Osprey Project was established in the 1990s, after ospreys—once extinct in much of the UK—began returning to Scotland in greater numbers. FLS and a team of volunteers work to protect nesting sites, install monitoring equipment, and educate the public.
This year, the project’s livestream is reaching new audiences, thanks in part to the drama playing out at the nest.
“We’re seeing a huge uptick in viewers,” said an FLS spokesperson. “People are invested. They’re tuning in like it’s a wildlife reality show.”
Regular updates are posted across the project’s social media channels, complete with short clips, nest highlights, and commentary.
The eggs are expected to hatch in the coming weeks, which will bring a new layer of complexity—and intrigue—to the trio’s arrangement.
What’s Next: More Drama, More Data
Once the chicks hatch, the nest will become significantly more demanding.
“Feeding four chicks with two females and one male will be a logistical challenge,” said Bennett. “But if they can maintain the harmony they’ve shown so far, they might pull it off.”
Researchers are preparing for even more insights as the season progresses. Detailed observations of feeding, chick care, and adult interactions could offer a rare dataset on cooperative breeding in raptors.
There are also hopes of eventually identifying the mystery birds through further fieldwork and potential re-sighting of their BTO rings.
But for now, most eyes remain fixed on the screen.
“I check the feed every morning,” one commenter wrote on the project’s Facebook page. “It’s better than Netflix.”
