Late last night – at 22.58 – the Rutland Osprey Project celebrated a major milestone and welcomed its 150th chick into the world. 

The Rutland Osprey Project has pioneered the reintroduction of ospreys, a magnificent bird of prey, back into England where they had been extinct for over 150 years. The partnership between Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust and Anglian Water has successfully restored a population to the skies of central England.

Ospreys were wiped out in England by persecution – through egg-collection and taxidermy – and by habitat loss. They ceased to be a breeding species in England in the 1840s even though they had once been widely distributed across areas such as the Fens which had good breeding and feeding habitat for these spectacular fish-eating birds.

Between 1996 and 2001, 64 six-week-old Scottish ospreys were released at Rutland Water reservoir in England’s smallest county. The first translocated osprey returned to breed at its adopted home in 2001 and the number of breeding pairs has gradually increased since then.  There are now 25 ospreys in total in the area and eight breeding pairs among them.

Maya and her mate, ‘33’, who gave birth to the 150th chick have been breeding together at Manton Bay since 2015, and in that time have successfully reared 10 chicks. Maya was the first osprey to return to Rutland Water this season, arriving two days later than in 2018, on 14th March. ‘33’ took his time, returning uncharacteristically later than usual on 23rd March. The first egg was laid on 2nd April. In total, four eggs were laid and both parents have been incubating feverishly, fishing and preening for the incubation period, which usually lasts 35-37 days. Their third chick to hatch this year brings the total so far to 150 chicks.

The Rutland Osprey Project has pioneered the reintroduction of ospreys, a magnificent bird of prey, back into England where they had been extinct for over 150 years

Marie Dipple, Osprey Project Officer for Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust said:

“Thousands of supporters and volunteers are celebrating this exciting milestone today. It’s fantastic that we now have so many ospreys back from migration and breeding at Rutland Water Nature Reserve. Some of our Rutland ospreys are spreading to other parts of the UK too, helping the UK osprey population to grow. We expect that many of our other pairs will produce healthy chicks which bodes well for the future of osprey populations in the UK.”

This year’s osprey chicks are likely to remain in Rutland until early September when they will set-off on a 3000-mile migration to West Africa. If they survive the epic journey, the young birds will remain in Africa until they are two years old.

Visitors to Lyndon Nature Reserve at Rutland Water (LE15 8RN) can view the osprey nest from the visitor centre (open 7 days a week 9am-5pm, March-September) via a live webcam at www.ospreys.org.uk/webcam, or from a dedicated osprey watching hide. The Rutland Osprey Project runs a programme of events throughout the season, including educational outreach sessions in schools and hosts school visits at Lyndon nature reserve, Rutland Water.

You can support the Rutland Osprey project by texting the word 'OSPREY' followed by the amount you wish to donate (e.g. Osprey 5 to donate £5) to 70085. Texts cost the donation amount plus the standard rate message charge. Donations will used to develop the project, expand outreach, improve understanding and protection of the osprey and help enhance the education impact of the visitor centre.