I have always believed in active wildlife management. It is not just a matter of creating nature reserves, designating protection areas or preventing egg thefts, but of giving species the best possible chance to produce young. At the moment, osprey numbers are still low and we should restore them to all of their former haunts and to a population level large enough to withstand the many challenges that they may face. The figures tell us that the number of ospreys in Britain is about a tenth of what it should be. We will know we have finally been successful when these magnificent birds are once more breeding throughout the UK: along the coasts of Cornwall and Devon, in the fens and marshes of East Anglia and even beside the River Thames in London.
Photo by Laurie Campbell
The Foundation has aided the recovery of ospreys throughout Scotland through our programs of nest-monitoring and nest building. We also pioneered the creation of a new UK breeding population of ospreys through translocation of young to Rutland Water, a project which has been extremely successful and now has a healthy breeding population of its own. We have also helped with translocations to Spain and advised on projects in Switzerland, France, Portugal and Italy. In 2017 we started a new English translocation project at Poole Harbour in Dorset.
To view details of individual projects click on the relevant link on the left.
