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The return of the Osprey
Reintroducing these magnificent
birds of prey to the skies over central
England is part of the commitment
to enhance the environment by
the Leicestershire and Rutland
Wildlife Trust and
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Anglian Water has a strong commitment to conserving
and enhancing the biodiversity of our region and much
of this work is carried out in partnership with the
Wildlife Trusts.
The project to translocate Ospreys to Rutland Water is part of a longstanding and extremely successful partnersip between Anglain Water and
the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, based at Rutland Water
Nature Reserve. Recently the project has also received valuable funding
support from Augean plc.
Rutland Water is one of Anglian Water’s most important sites for
biodiversity and this is reflected in its status as a Site of Special Scientific
Interest, Special Protection Area for birds and a wetland of international
importance under the Ramsar convention.
Tim Mackrill
Project Officer
Rutland Osprey Project
Photos kindly supplied by John Wright.
www.anglianwater.co.uk
www.anglianwater.co.uk
Thank you to all the staff, volunteers, local landowners, conservation
agencies and members of the public who have contributed to the success
of the project.
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Aims of the project
All about Ospreys
Ospreys were once widespread
across the UK but persecution
during the Victorian era drove
these magnificent birds to
extinction.
Scientific name
Pandion haliaetus
As the population in Scotland
increased, sightings of Ospreys in
England became more frequent,
particularly in spring and autumn
when migrant birds were seen in
many areas. Artificial nests were
erected at Rutland Water in an
effort to persuade passing birds to
stay and breed, but this proved
unsuccessful. Ospreys are highly
site faithful and young birds nearly
always choose to return to breed
close to their natal site, rather than
establishing territories in new
areas. It was clear something
altogether more proactive was
needed if Ospreys were to return
In the mid 1990s, Anglian Water
and the Leicestershire and Rutland
Wildlife Trust, working closely with
Roy Dennis of the Highland
Foundation for Wildlife began a
project to re-establish Ospreys as a
breeding species in central
England. Between 1996 and 2001,
64 Scottish Ospreys were
translocated to the nature reserve
at Rutland Water. It was hoped
that the translocated juveniles
would adopt Rutland as their
natal site and return in future
years to breed.
The first birds returned in 1999
and then, two years later, a
translocated male paired with an
unringed female and raised a
single chick. Since then at least
one pair has bred each year and, in
2007, the project reached a
significant milestone when a
Rutland chick returned to the
reservoir and raised a family of her
own for the first time. Excitingly,
two translocated males not seen at
the reservoir since their first
migration have also bred
successfully in Wales.
Other language names – usually roughly translated as
fish hawk/eagle:
Gaelic Lasgair (fisherman)
French -
Balbuzard pecheur
German -
Fischadler
Dutch -
Visarend
Spanish -
Aguila pescadora
Biometrics
Overall length
-
55 – 60cm
Wing length
-
46 – 51cm
Wing span
- 145 - 150cm
Weight
- 1400 – 2000g
Average life span - 8 – 10 years
Oldest recorded - Over 25 years
World distribution
“A world citizen” (R T Peterson).
Ospreys are present on every
continent except Antarctica at
some time of the year.
In the coming years we hope
Ospreys will become firmly
established in central England and
further a field thanks to our work
at Rutland Water.
Photo supplied by Chris Lythall.
Description
The Osprey’s upper parts are dark
brown while its underparts are
white with a distinctive brown
band across the breast; this is
thicker and darker on the female.
The head is white with a dark
brown stripe through the bright
yellow eye. The stripe usually
reaches the back of the neck. The
long wings are white underneath
marked with brown while the tail
is barred brown and buff, being
paler in the male. The legs and
feet are greenish-grey, powerful
with long black talons. The outer
toe is reversible allowing the
Osprey to grip fish with two talons
forward and two back; further help
is provided by the distinctively scaly
or prickly skin on the feet. The
strong black bill is sharply hooked
for tearing fish. Juveniles can be
identified by the creamy-tipped
brown feathers covering their
upper parts and by obviously
orange-brown eyes. Osprey call
notes are a variety of whistles
and squeals.
www.anglianwater.co.uk
www.anglianwater.co.uk
Following an absence of almost 40
years, a pair of Ospreys nested
near Loch Garten in 1954 and
reared two young. Although
breeding attempts were repeatedly
thwarted by egg collectors during
the 1950s, the Scottish population
began to grow more steadily
during the next decade when nests
were guarded, most famously at
Loch Garten. Thanks to continued
conservation efforts by the
Highland Foundation for Wildlife,
RSPB, and others, there are now
about 200 pairs in Scotland.
to the southern half of the UK…
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www.anglianwater.co.uk
Feeding
The Osprey is the only diurnal bird
of prey to feed exclusively on live
fish. A wide variety of fish is eaten
– both salt and fresh water.
Ospreys at Rutland Water have
been observed eating trout, roach,
bream, pike and even zander.
In order to catch fish the birds
circle, gradually losing height until,
upon sighting their prey, they
plunge-dive, feet first using their
specially adapted talons to pluck
surface-feeding fish from the
water. This wonderful action is
often completed with a waterdislodging “shimmying” sequence
which sends sprays up into the
air, allowing the Osprey to get
air-borne again.
Habitat
Ospreys are sociable birds,
preferring to breed semi-colonially,
close to other Ospreys. They live
close to their food sources and can
therefore be found by the sea, on
lake edges and along river courses.
They are conspicuous nesters,
building large, bulky tree-top
nests which are added to each
breeding season.
Breeding
The Osprey is generally a
monogamous breeder; the pairbond being renewed each year
after the birds’ solitary migrations.
Young male birds returning from
over-wintering grounds in their
second or third summers generally
build a nest near to their natal site.
Females are more inclined to
wander before pairing and settling
into populations into which they
were not necessarily born. Nests,
built solely by the males, can be as
close as 200 metres away from
each other.
A clutch of up to 3 eggs is laid in
April. Both birds incubate
although, since the male does all
the hunting during breeding, the
female sits on the eggs for a
greater proportion of the time.
Hatching occurs between 35-40
days after laying and then it is six
more weeks before the young
begin to fly. At this point the
female may leave the nest site,
wandering for a time before
beginning her migration.
Meanwhile the male feeds the
young for a further four to six
weeks until migration time arrives.
Then, one by one, the young
followed by the male will head
off south.
Migration
Northern European Ospreys
migrate south singly from midAugust onwards. Most British
Ospreys head towards West Africa,
over-wintering there in fish-rich
regions such as the Sine Saloum
delta of Senegal. The return
journey north to breed takes place
from February onwards, with birds
reaching Britain late in March
or April.
Migration is a hazardous business;
over 50 per cent of young birds on
their first migration die en-route.
Having successfully made one
migratory journey, adult birds have
a greater chance of surviving
succeeding flights but they still
have to contend with bad weather
blowing them off course as well as
man-made threats such as
shooting and power-lines.
www.anglianwater.co.uk
Confusion species
At Rutland Water Ospreys are
easily confused with:
Greater Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Grey Heron
Buzzard
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Each year from 1996 until 2001,
Osprey chicks roughly six weeks
old were collected from carefully
monitored nests in the Scottish
highlands. In total 64 chicks were
taken, usually one from a brood of
three young at each nest.
The birds were fitted with
identification rings – a metal BTO
ring on one leg and a plastic
coloured ring on the other. The
colour changed each year to
enable us to identify the individual
birds when they returned to
Rutland Water as adults.
www.anglianwater.co.uk
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
rings-red-left leg
rings-white-left leg
rings-orange-right leg
rings-black-right leg
rings-green-right leg
rings-red-right leg
The young birds were transported
through the night, arriving at
Rutland Water at first light. Upon
arrival they were housed in
specially constructed release pens.
They were placed in social groups
and fed on trout two or three
times a day for a period varying
between 14 and 21 days.
During this time the birds grew
and strengthened. Unable to fly
when they first arrived, the juvenile
Ospreys spent their time stretching
and wing-flapping. Their actions
developed into increasingly
stronger flights onto perches and
across the pens.
This stage of the birds’ progress
was filmed by CCTV cameras
mounted in each pen and
monitored during daylight hours
by a rota of volunteers trained to
look for any indicators that things
were not well. This minute
observation of the juveniles made
it easy to judge when the
youngsters were ready to take
their first flights.
When it had been decided that the
birds were able to fly adequately,
they were re-grouped to allow
those ready for freedom to be
released while retaining the lessdeveloped for another few days.
At this point the birds were fitted
with radios of one of two
categories:
• Tail-mounted radios enabled us
to track the birds in the vicinity
of the reservoir.
• Back-pack satellite radios have
enabled us to follow some of
the birds on migration.
Release days were always exciting.
Staff and volunteers stationed in
the area around the pens, minutely
followed the initial flight of each
bird either visually or with the
radio-tracking equipment. If a
bird’s flight took it into the
woodland surrounding the release
pens, an unfortunate landing could
result in the bird being trapped
under the tree canopy or even on
the ground. The “yagi” equipment
led us to the bird, enabling us to
rehabilitate it in the release pens
before giving it a second chance.
Most of these initial flights were a
joy to watch. Knowing, as we did,
that these young Ospreys’ only
flight experience had been the
area of the cage, to see them take
to the air, then soar above the
trees before making a precarious
first landing, was an exhilarating
experience.
After their release, the juveniles
made increasingly adventurous
flights around the pens then
around the reservoir and ultimately
into the surrounding district. They
also practised their fishing skills,
with a few successful catches
being recorded. Any fish they
caught was supplemented by the
trout which was placed each
evening on the top of the release
pens. Just as in the wild, the young
birds return to the nest to be fed,
our translocated juveniles returned
to the release pens to pick up
food.
Towards the end of August the
numbers returning began to
dwindle. Their tail-mounted
transmitters could no longer be
detected and so we deduced that
migration had begun.
Translocation as
a conservation tool
Our work at Rutland Water has
taught us a great deal about
Osprey translocation and our
experiences are now being applied
to translocation projects in Spain
and Italy. Recent research suggests
that translocating birds from areas
where the population has reached
carrying capacity, allows them to
breed at a younger age. So
translocating juveniles from ‘fullup’ areas in Scotland where
competition for nest sites and
mates is now fierce, should allow
the UK population to increase at a
faster rate. Young adults are likely
to breed earlier in expanding
colonies, such as Rutland Water
because there is reduced
competition for nest sites or mates.
www.anglianwater.co.uk
First phase of the project –
Translocation
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11
www.anglianwater.co.uk
From 1999 to 2001 we were able
to follow some of the translocated
Ospreys as they migrated south
using the latest satellite
technology. In all, 14 of the
Rutland juveniles were tracked
and, for comparison, some birds
from Scotland (seven adults and six
juveniles.) Using a harness, small
radio transmitters were carefully
fitted to the birds. Mostly these
transmitters were powered by
light-weight batteries though we
also tried some solar powered
units. The radios were set to
transmit for a period of eight hours
with a predetermined interval
between transmissions in order to
conserve battery power. During the
eight hours of transmission, the
signals could be detected by very
fast moving satellites on polar orbit
around the earth.
The system is able to calculate the
latitude and longitude of the
transmitting radios and, by
contacting the processing centre in
Toulouse, we were able to learn
the likely new positions of the
Ospreys during their migration.
Sometimes the location could be
calculated with an accuracy of less
than 100 metres, though usually
locations were less certain. As the
data arrived, we were able to
construct maps showing the routes
taken by the Ospreys. Daily reports
were published on the project
website, creating considerable
interest and excitement.
Before the advent of satellite
tracking, little was known of the
migratory routes of British Ospreys.
The recovery of dead birds carrying
rings had shown that many
Scottish Ospreys spent the winter
in West Africa and that the Iberian
peninsula was a favoured route.
We were able to confirm that
several of the adult birds from
Scotland did indeed use a fairly
direct route to the wintering
grounds. They tended to fly south
through England, crossing the
English channel into France and
continuing south through Central
or eastern Spain. They crossed into
North Africa near, but not
necessarily at, Gibraltar, then
through the passes of the Atlas
Mountains. The crossing of the
Sahara desert was achieved by the
adults in about five days,
shortening the distance over the
desert by maintaining a relatively
western route. The adults quickly
settled for the winter in wetland
areas in parts of West Africa, in
particular in the Senegal.
The data showed us that the birds
almost always rested at night and
occasionally would break the
journey with a stopover for a day
or more at a favoured spot along
the way. The average total distance
travelled was about 4000km in an
average of 29 days (ignoring
stopovers).
The map on the right shows a
fairly typical autumn migration:
S18 was a young male, who was
thought to have bred for the first
time in 2000 (see image 1).
One particular exception to this
normal adult pattern was that of a
very experienced female, S06, (and
the mate of S18) who we
discovered had taken to spending
the winter in Central Spain.
Juvenile Ospreys do not migrate
with their parents or with other
Ospreys. Their ability to reach the
wintering grounds is presumably
inherited through the genes of
their parents: genes that have
been honed through natural
selection over countless
generations. It was known that a
very high percentage of young
Ospreys (like most birds) do not
survive to join the breeding
population and the expectation
was that the hazards of initial
migration would be one of the
major causes of early death.
Therefore we were particularly
interested to watch the migration
of juveniles, though perhaps not
adequately prepared for the fact
that many would fail.
The map on the right shows the
journey from Rutland Water of
male T03. This bird like the
majority of juveniles, started off
over land in a south-westerly
direction. At Lands End it was
faced with the largest “lake” it
had ever seen in the form of the
Bay of Biscay. Other juveniles we
tracked did not survive this hazard
but T03 made the 716 km crossing
in 24 hours. He made his way
south with extended stopovers in
southern Spain and Portugal until
early December. Transmissions
ceased as the bird was crossing the
Sahara desert, leading us to
assume that the bird had perished.
However, the transmitter revived 7
months later from the West
African coast, proving that the bird
had at least completed the
crossing of the desert.
The individual migration maps
of all the satellite-tracked birds,
together with flight statistics
and analysis are displayed
on the project website
(www.ospreys.org.uk).
image 1 S18’s migration
image 2 T03’s migration
www.anglianwater.co.uk
Satellite tracking migration
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1999
On 29 May, 1999 a major
landmark for the project occurred
with the return to the reserve of
08(97) – a white-ringed male
released as a juvenile from Rutland
Water in 1997. The rationale of
the project had been justified since
this young male regarded Rutland
Water as his “natal site” and had
returned to find a breeding
territory. Two weeks later another
white-ringed bird 03(97) was seen.
www.anglianwater.co.uk
2000
During the following year, 08(97)
and 03(97) continued to raise our
hopes as they busied themselves
with a considerable amount of prebreeding nest building. Two other
young males also returned to their
“natal site”. Orange-ringed 03(98)
and 09(98), both too young to
breed, took up residence in
the area.
2001
After migrating, all returned safely
and in 2001 03(97) gained a mate
- an unringed bird, probably from
Scotland. They laid three eggs in a
nest near to the reservoir. One egg
hatched in June and so the first
known Osprey chick for 150 years
was born in central England.
08(97) meanwhile settled in
Manton Bay, building a nest on an
artificial platform in the middle of
the water. During the summer he
attracted three females but
breeding did not occur. The third
female took up residence in July
and became increasingly territorial,
giving us every hope that she had
bonded to the nest and “08” had
finally settled down with a mate.
All of the adults and the juvenile
migrated in early September and
we waited through the winter with
mounting anticipation for their
return in 2002.
2002
The following spring the successful
breeding pair returned. They again
laid three eggs, one of which
hatched. This time, sadly, the
young chick died within a few
days, probably because the
weather was atrocious at the time
of hatching.
2002 also saw the return of
08(97), but not his former mate.
Had migration taken its toll? We’ll
never know. 08(97) attracted a
new mate in early May but we
speculated that she was a two year
old “sub-adult” and so was too
young to breed.
The orange-ringed males released
from here in 1998 also returned
safely. They spent the summer
establishing territories and
looking fruitlessly for mates. Two
green-ringed birds, released in
2000, were also present for brief
periods around the reservoir.
2003
2003 proved to be an excellent
year for the project. 03(97)
returned in late March and,
although his mate of the previous
two years failed to return, he was
quickly joined by a three-year-old
female, 05(00), who had been
translocated to Rutland Water in
2000. The pair raised three chicks,
two females and a male. Nearby,
03(98) paired with a two-year-old
translocated female, 02(01). We
assumed that the female was
too young to breed but, to our
amazement, the pair raised
two chicks.
Meanwhile, despite attracting
several females to his nest in
Manton Bay, the six-year-old male,
08(97), again failed to breed.
However, his courtship behaviour
did delight thousands of visitors to
the Lyndon Reserve, and thanks to
a webcam, people all over the
world were also able to enjoy
his attempts to win over the
various females.
Four other translocated birds were
also present during the summer,
and it was clear that the project
was going from strength
to strength.
www.anglianwater.co.uk
Second phase of the
project – Establishment
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Meanwhile, midway through the
summer very welcome news
arrived from Wales where two
translocated males, 07(97) and
11(98), had established territories
and were breeding. 11(98) had
built a nest and paired with an
unringed female near Porthmadog
in North Wales. Two chicks
hatched, but sadly died when the
nest collapsed after several days of
heavy rain. 07(97) was more
successful, raising a single chick at
another site with a Scottish female.
2005
03(97) and his mate of the
previous two years, 05(00), raised
three more chicks, bringing the
total of wild-fledged Rutland
chicks to eleven. During early April
two translocated males, 08(97)
and 09(98) attracted unringed
females to nests close to the
reservoir, but neither female
lingered long enough to breed.
Another unringed female arrived
later in spring. Although her arrival
date was too late for breeding to
occur, she remained in Rutland for
the remainder of the summer, and
courtship behaviour was noted
between her and at least three
different males.
2006
03(97) and 05(00) raised another
three chicks. Meanwhile the return
of both their 2004 offspring
marked a significant milestone for
the project. Male 5R(04) and his
sister, 5N(04), were the first
wild-fledged Rutland chicks to
return to the reservoir. 5N paired
with long-term bachelor 08(97) on
the Lyndon Reserve, raising hopes
that she may return to breed in
2007. Another welcome returnee
was male 08(01) who reappeared
for the first time, five years
after translocation.
thousands of visitors were able
to enjoy spectacular views of
the Osprey family from the
Lyndon reserve.
Meanwhile, 11(98) once again
raised two chicks at his nest in
North Wales.
Two more Rutland wild-fledged
chicks returned for the first time;
female 30(05) and male 32(05).
Elsewhere, three translocated
males, 09(98), 06(00) and 08(01)
continued to search for mates.
2007
Once again 03(97) and 05(00)
returned to their territory, and
reared three healthy chicks. As
hoped, 5N(04) returned to Manton
Bay and bred successfully with ten
year old 08(97), raising two chicks
– a male and a female. 5N was the
first wild-fledged Rutland bird to
raise a family of her own, and the
location of the nest meant
Like the previous two years 11(98)
bred successfully in North Wales,
raising a further two chicks.
Given the reluctance of passing
females to stay and breed, Scottish
Natural Heritage granted a special
one-off licence to translocate nine
female and two male chicks to
Rutland Water. It was hoped that
this would help redress the male
bias in the establishing population.
In Wales, 11(98) and his mate
raised two chicks, but sadly,
neither bird returned to the
second nest.
www.anglianwater.co.uk
www.anglianwater.co.uk
2004
Unsurprisingly expectations were
high in spring 2004 but the young
female, 02(01), failed to return.
Despite his best efforts, 03(98) was
unable to attract another mate,
even though at least two females
passed through Rutland in spring,
en route north. Thankfully, 03(97)
and 05(00) did survive the winter
and the perils of migration and
they raised two more chicks - a
male and a female. Another
translocated male, 02(01) returned
to Rutland, but he and four other
males present in Rutland during
the summer, failed to
attract mates.
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Visiting Rutland’s Ospreys
www.anglianwater.co.uk
Lyndon Nature Reserve
In 2007 a pair of Osprey bred
successfully on the Lyndon Nature
Reserve for the first time. The nest
is viewable from Waderscrape hide
(15 minute walk from centre) and
Shallow Water hide. Staff and
volunteers are on hand throughout
the summer with telescopes and to
answer your questions. Live images
from the nest are also beamed to a
large-screen in the Lyndon visitor
centre. A single-seater buggy is
available to hire from the centre
for those with mobility difficulties
and Waderscrape hide is fully
accessible for wheelchair users.
The Lyndon reserve is located off
the minor road between Manton
and Edith Weston on the south
shore of Rutland Water.
Osprey Cruises
One of the most exciting ways of
seeing Ospreys at Rutland Water is
to take a guided trip with
members of the project team
aboard the Rutland Belle. The idea
is simple; we sail to the parts of
the reservoir where we stand the
best chance of seeing fishing
Ospreys and, with a bit of luck, are
rewarded with spectacular views.
On many occasions we have
enjoyed breathtaking views of the
birds diving for fish very close to
the boat, making it an evening to
remember for those lucky enough
to be on board. For more details
visit www.ospreys.org.uk.
‘Ospreys - Flying home to
Rutland Water’ DVD
The story of the Rutland Water
Osprey Project is available in the
form of a DVD, narrated by Sir
David Attenborough, patron of
the Leicestershire and Rutland
Wildlife Trust.
Group visits and talks
We are able to arrange special
events at Rutland Water for groups
of all sizes. In the past, ‘Dawn
Watches’ and ‘Osprey Evenings’
have proved very popular. We can
also arrange for a member of the
project team to come and give an
illustrated talk about the project to
your group.
Thanks to footage filmed over
eight years, the 50 minute film
recounts the story of the project,
from its initial conception to the
fledging of the first Osprey chicks
in central England for 150 years
and some of the more recent
developments.
Volunteers
Since its outset the Osprey Project
has always depended heavily on
volunteer support. Volunteers
provide valuable assistance with
many aspects of the project,
ranging from 24-hour guarding
and monitoring of nests, to talking
to the many people who visit the
nature reserve specifically to
see Ospreys.
We are always grateful for new
offers of help, so if you have
enough interest and time to give,
please contact a member of the
Osprey team on (01572) 770651.
The DVD is on sale at both
visitor centres, priced £12.99
with all proceeds going directly
to the project.
For more information on any
of the above please contact
a member of the Osprey Project
team at the Anglian Water
Birdwatching Centre,
tel. (01572) 770651, email
[email protected]
www.anglianwater.co.uk
There are now several ways
you can come and enjoy
Rutland’s Ospreys during the
summer months.
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So finally…
The project reached a significant
milestone in 2007 when a Rutland
chick raised a family of her own
for the first time. We now hope
more Rutland youngsters will
survive the perils of migration and
return to breed. In the second half
of the twentieth century Ospreys
became established in Scotland
and France. The initial stages of
growth were slow but once the
population reached five to six pairs
growth became much faster and
close to exponential. The next few
years will show whether the same
is true in Rutland.
www.anglianwater.co.uk
www.anglianwater.co.uk
So finally…
An Osprey plunging into water to
catch a fish is a truly memorable
wildlife spectacle and in the
coming years we hope it will
become an increasingly familiar
sight in England and Wales. It is
thought that the UK could support
over 1000 pairs of breeding
Ospreys, and our work at Rutland
Water has greatly facilitated the
recolonisation of England.