Osprey pair's third chick of the year hatches

The fourth and final chick is expected to hatch in the next 48 hours

The nest of the only breeding pair of ospreys on England's south coast has a third new arrival.

The chick emerged from its egg on Saturday night, with the previous two having hatched on Thursday at 06:00 BST and shortly before 19:00.

The ospreys, female CJ7 and male 022, laid a clutch of four eggs in their nest near Poole Harbour in Dorset for the second year in a row in April.

Birds of Poole Harbour, a charity leading the area's osprey breeding project, said all three chicks had been "fed well" and they are hoping number four will arrive in the next 48 hours.

Ospreys typically lay three eggs, so for four to be laid two years on the run is highly unusual and it would be "unprecedented" if all four hatch again this year.

A webcam set up by the charity monitors the nest in a walled garden near Wareham.

Ahead of settling down again together the pair of ospreys were embroiled in a love triangle when another female also arrived at the nest.

The unwelcome visitor, who normally calls Rutland home in the spring and summer months, left after a few days.

The birds, part of a reintroduction scheme, became the first nesting pair on the south coast in 180 years in 2022 and are protected under UK law.