 TWO osprey chicks were last night getting ready to fly for the first time. The birds were the centre of attention at Glaslyn on the Ll£n peninsula for the last few weeks, attracting twitchers from all over the country. Experts yesterday ringed the pair, determined to keep track of them. The delicate operation was carried out by a team approved by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Countryside Council for Wales. The birds were also weighed and measured. Each chick was fitted with two rings, a metal BTO ring with a unique number, and an engraved yellow ring on the right leg, with the number 37 on the older chick and number 39 on the younger. "The advantage of the colour-rings is that it is possible to read them with a telescope, which will allow them to be identified as Glaslyn ospreys born in 2005 if they return to nest in a few years time," said a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds last night. RSPB Cymru osprey project manager Gili Armson said: "They were both very plump and well fed, with the weigh-in revealing that the younger chick is actually the heavier of the two at just over 1.5 kilos." She added: "We will now be able to identify them, which means we can monitor their progress, log sightings of them to find out where they go and recognise them if they come back to Wales to breed in the future. "Both chicks will be 50 days old by the end of the week so we are expecting them to be flying then." | 
