First ospreys arrive back in the UK

The old lady laid her 56th egg at the Loch of the Lowes in 2010. Credit SWT

Ospreys back in the UK

On 20th March, Rutland Water's most prolific male osprey, the romantically named 03(97), arrived back at his nest on Rutland Water. Ospreys have been reported in Wales - on the 17th of March, and also in Yorkshire on the 19th. There were several early reports form the south-west of England, as far back as 7th March, of glimpses of ospreys at several sites. On Monday 21st March, the an osprey was seen over Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust's Hilfield Park Reservoir Nature Reserve, in Hertfordshire.  And at Loch Garten, EJ, the regular breeding female, has already retruned to her nest.

Osprey watchers in Scotland are waiting to see if the extraordinary Lady, the remarkable 25-year-old bird (If she is still alive, ospreys live on average just 8 years), that has raised 48 chicks so far, will return to her nest at Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes wildlife reserve. 

Robert Potter, the Scottish Wildlife Trust's North East Reserve Manager, said: "This individual female bird is incredibly old and her return dates have varied in recent years. Last year, she arrived at the nesting site on 23 March. In 2009, she arrived on 20 March. And in 2008, she was with us on 30 March. So, we remain hopeful that we could see her any day now.

"However, we must also prepare ourselves for the fact that she might not return. She is the oldest known breeding osprey in the UK, and last year we watched as she fought for survival while plagued with an illness that experts predicted she was unlikely to recover from. Amazingly, she did defy the odds and recover and she left to migrate to Africa in August. But since then her fate is unknown. If she doesn't return, we hope to see another osprey take ownership of the nest at Loch of the Lowes very soon."

Rutland Water's 03(97) having just arrived back on the 19 March 2010, being greeted by one of the resident crows. Credit John Wright.

Rutland male
Ten years after fathering the first osprey to hatch in England, 03(97) flew in to Rutland Water on Sunday 20 March. 03(97) has bred every year since 2001, successfully raising 23 chicks with three different females. The staff at Rutland were greatly cheered with his return. 

Staff and volunteers at Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve, run by Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, expect to see the return of their bird during the first week of April. It is hoped 2011 will see the second breeding pair ever recorded in Wales.

Hundreds more birds are expected to make the annual 3,000 mile migratory return to the UK. Satellite-tracking and colour-ringing studies have shown that most ospreys from the UK winter in tropical West Africa - from Mauritania south towards Guinea. Only around 30% will survive the journey across the Bay of Biscay and Sahara Desert.

Nestcams allow a unique insight into osprey family life - from hatching right through to fledging and makes for compulsive viewing. In some places, cameras help monitor the birds as part of 24-hour surveillance operations, including at night through infra-red pictures, manned by a small army of local volunteers plus staff. Nest cameras can make viewing an exciting and intimate experience. Watch online from the comfort of your own home or onsite at The Wildlife Trusts' visitor centres.

Loch Garten
Scotland's osprey season got off to a flying start at RSPB's Loch Garten Osprey Centre with the return of a famous face. EJ, the female osprey, delighted staff by making an earlier than expected appearance at the popular nature reserve.

EJ has returned to Loch Garten for the 9th year. Credit RSPBimages.com

Ready to spend her 9th year in the Cairngorms, she touched down at around 2.25pm on Thursday 24th March 2011 with a freshly caught 12 inch rainbow trout. Named after and identified by the letters on her leg ring, EJ will now spend time recovering from her exhausting migratory journey. At 14 years old, she is one of the most experienced and well-known birds to visit the nature reserve.

Richard Thaxton, RSPB Scotland, site manager at Loch Garten, said: "We are thrilled to have her back, and with high pressure weather in the past few days we had been expecting her at any moment. Staff were busy continuing with our preparation at the Osprey Centre, and just happened to glance up at the nest, and lo, there she was, perched on the nest, in the mid-afternoon sunshine. This is the earliest that she has arrived with us, no doubt having taken advantage of the high pressure weather to make good her progress on migration from West Africa. She appears to have wintered well, and as far as we can tell, she looks to be in good condition, instantly replenishing her reserves, by tucking in to a big trout on the nest."

Last year, EJ, and her partner Odin, who staff hope will also be winging his way back to the reserve, successfully raised three young. The hope is that they will do the same again this year. 

The Osprey Centre will open to visitors on Friday 1st April. Between now and then, it is important that the site remains as undisturbed as possible and that EJ is given time to settle in and await the arrival of a male osprey. We would ask visitors to be patient and await the Centre opening on 1st April. 

Where to see ospreys with The Wildlife Trusts

England: Lyndon Nature Reserve in Rutland offers two fully accessible hides which overlook a nest where a pair raised three chicks last summer. The Rutland Belle offers 13 evening cruises and four early morning cruises from May-August 2011; a great way to see fishing ospreys. More at Rutland Water Nature Reserve.

Wales:  Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve offers nest viewing through telescopes from the purpose built-hide or via the nestcam on large screens in the visitor centre. The artificial nesting platform was erected by Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust in 2007 on the salt marsh next to the Dyfi Estuary. Both returning ospreys are unringed so age and origin are unknown but staff and volunteers use plumage patterns to identify them. One bird has orange eyes instead of the usual bright yellow of an adult osprey.

Scotland: Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes nature reserve, near Dunkeld offers a bird's-eye view to the nest of the UK's oldest known breeding osprey. With hides overlooking the Perthshire loch and video footage from the nest cam streaming live in the visitor centre and online, bird-watchers can follow all of the action throughout the
breeding season: www.swt.org.uk and

Osprey calendar

March: Many ospreys return on the same day each year. Breeding pairs are reunited after a winter apart. Although the same pair may breed together for many years, they have separate wintering sites - sometime hundreds, if not thousands, of miles apart. When the birds return to breed it is the first time they have seen each other for six months.

April: Once settled, the female will lay between one and four eggs during the first part of April. Five weeks later the chicks will hatch. To complete his duties in breeding, male ospreys must provide food for the female - as she sits on the nest - bring sticks to maintain the nest's condition, and protect the nest from other males, known as interlopers.

Late May/Early June: The eggs start to hatch.

July: Fledging is another great time to visit. Many hides are no distance from nests which mean visitors may be treated to really spectacular views of the juveniles' first flights and progress as they master the art of flying and fishing before heading off to Africa in late August/September.

September: Over the last decade, ospreys have spent increasing amounts of time in the Lee, Colne and Mimram valleys, north of London, during their autumn migrations. The quality wetland habitats provide fish and plenty of waterside trees where the birds can roost. Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust installed three artificial nesting platforms at key sites in the counties. In recent years, the most regular migration site is the Mimram Valley between Hertford and Digswell. Look for ospreys from the car park at the bottom of Thieves Lane in Hertford. From here there are wide and long ranging views west along the valley.

Ospreys facts

• Ospreys became extinct in England in 1847 following widespread persecution and habitat loss.
• By 1916 ospreys were all but extinct in Scotland. 
•  In 1969, a pair first returned to the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve, when they were only the fifth known pair in Scotland. 
• 64 Scottish ospreys were released at Rutland Water between 1996 and 2001 in order to establish a population in central England for the first time in over 150 years. This was the first project of its kind in Europe - and has now been copied in Spain and Italy.
• 48 chicks have successfully fledged from Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes nest
• In 2010, the Lady of the Lowes began her twentieth breeding season. This one bird laid 55 eggs, 48 of which hatched and successfully left the nest.
• 43 young ospreys have fledged from nests in the Rutland Water area since the first pair bred in 2001. In 2010, five pairs raised 12 chicks.
• 03(97) was the first translocated osprey to breed in Rutland - in 2001. He has returned every year since and has raised 23 chicks with three different females (certainly above the average). Four of 03(97)'s offspring are now breeding in the area.

Did you know?

• Ospreys have a five-foot wingspan and feed exclusively on fish.
• Ospreys live, on average, for eight years.
• During an average lifetime, it is estimated females can produce 20 eggs.
• There are 200 breeding pairs in Scotland, seven in England (five at Rutland Water) and one in Wales.