Slow progress through France

September 13, 2017

Over the last two days Blue DF has made fairly slow progress through France and at 11:14 this morning was approaching the Atlantic coast, 80 km east-north-east of La Rochelle. You can check out his latest location on our interactive map.

The last GPS fix in the previous update, at 10:37 on Monday morning, showed that Blue DF was heading south through Lower Normandy. That afternoon he continued flying until 14:17 when he was perched beside Étang du Lory, a small lake in a forested area north of Tours. He remained there all afternoon – and presumably caught a fish – after a day’s flight of 120 km.

Blue DF spent much of Monday afternoon beside Étang du Lory and then next morning was perched beside nearby Étang du Petit Puis.

After roosting away from the lake, Blue DF was back at nearby Étang du Petit Puis at first light next morning, indicating that he may have caught a fish before resuming his migration. He set-off again soon after 08:00, passing to the west of Tours and then stopping again for three hours beside the River Vienne near the village of Rivière; so if he didn’t catch a fish earlier in the morning, he definitely did then. The weather was clearly poor for migration because having resumed his journey soon at 14:00 Blue DF only covered another 25 km south before stopping again at another small lake. He remained there for an hour before flying 2km south-west to a forested area to the west of the village of Bethergon where he remained to roost after a day’s flight of just 87 km.

Blue DF stopped beside the River Vienne for three hours on Tuesday – suggesting he probably caught a fish there.

This morning Blue DF was obviously eager to press on because he left his overnight roost soon after first light, on a a south-westerly heading. A strong strong south-westerly wind would have made for fairly tough going, but at 11:14, the last GPS fix in this batch of data, he had covered 70 km, heading towards the coast north of Bordeaux.

Blue DF was approaching the Atlantic coast of France this morning

Finally, thank you very much to Val Gall for sending this superb photo that she took of Blue DF earlier this summer. Our thanks to Julian Orsi and Rothiemurchus Estate for allowing us to catch and tag Blue DF at Rothiemurchus last week.

Blue DF at Rothiemurchus Fishery earlier this summer (photo by Val Gall)

Blue DF heads south

September 11, 2017

Over the past twenty years Roy Dennis has pioneered the use of satellite transmitters to follow UK ospreys on migration and to learn more about their movements on both the breeding and wintering grounds. Much of this data is in included in my recently completed PhD thesis. This autumn we are tracking a new adult male osprey on migration, Blue DF. This osprey is well known to wildlife photographers because it regularly fishes at both Rothiemurchus Fishery and also Aviemore Lochan – a quick Google search will reveal an array of stunning photos of the bird. He was originally ringed as a chick at nest A18 by Roy Dennis in 2010 and this spring took over from another well-known osprey, Red 8T, at nest A10 in Strathspey. He successfully reared two chicks with an unringed female and by Wednesday evening last week, when we caught him under licence at Rothiemurchus Fishery, his family were already heading south. Blue DF was also ready for migration: he weighed over 2kg having put on around 500g of fat in preparation for his long journey south.

Blue DF is regularly seen fishing at both Rothiemurchus Fishery and Aviemore Lochan (photo by Mike Crutch)

Sure enough when we received the first data from his transmitter at 11:30am on Friday morning he was already in the Scottish borders, 10 km south-east of Kelso. Over the course of the next five hours he made steady progress south-east and at 16:40 he was just east of York at an altitude of 668 metres. An hour later he passed to the west of the Humber estuary and he finally settled to roost for the night in the corner of a deciduous woodland 15 km north-west of Lincoln.

At 09:54 next morning Blue DF had flown over the western part of Lincoln and was migrating south-east, in a strong westerly wind. Three hours later, despite heavy squally showers, he had flown 96 kilomteres from his overnight roost and was heading over Peterborough at an altitude of 682 metres. He maintained a constant south-easterly course through Cambridgeshire and then Essex, crossing the Isle of Sheppey soon after 16:00. He eventually settled to roost for the night in a wood midway between Tunbridge Wells and Folkestone in southern Kent after a day’s flight of 282 km.

Sunday morning dawned sunny and clear on the south coast and DF was obviously keen to press on because at 06:12 he was already 20 km south of Hastings, crossing the English Channel at an altitude of 124 metres. The 117 km crossing took three-and-a-half hours with Blue DF making landfall to the west of Dieppe soon after 09:00. He then continued on a southerly heading through Upper Normandy, at a relatively low altitude (maximum 392 metres) before settling to roost in a forested area near the village of La Saucelle, some 100 km west of Paris after a day’s flight of 277 km.

Blue DF made a 3.5 hour, 117 km crossing of the English Channel between Hastings and Dieppe on Sunday morning. Times and altitude above sea level shown on map

The satellite data suggested that DF hadn’t fed since leaving Scotland but at 09:01 this morning he was fishing in small lake 31 km south-west of his overnight roost. He was obviously successful because the next two GPS fixes (separated by 30 minutes) show he was perched nearby, presumably tucking into breakfast. He didn’t linger for long however because at 10:39, the last GPS fix of this batch, he was 12 km to the south-west migrating onwards at an altitude of 311 metres.  We’ll update you on his progress later in the week. You can also check out Blue DF’s migration on our interactive map. It will be fascinating to see where this experienced adult osprey spends the winter.

Blue DF stopped to fish at a series of small lakes near the town of Nogent-le-Rotrou on Monday morning

Blue DF’s migration from Strathspey to Lower Normandy, 7-11 September

Autumn migration and a new interactive map

September 1, 2017

The start of September means that we are in autumn migration season, and many of the UK’s ospreys have already started their long journey south. In recent years satellite transmitters have provided an incredible insight into the flights of individual birds, but colour ringing also has the potential to provide a wealth of information on migration. The Foundation coordinates the colour ringing of ospreys in the UK, and the recent surge in popularity of digital photography means that we now get many more records during migration. In the past few days alone we have received reports of UK birds from the Channel Islands, Belgium and Spain. These sightings include the breeding female from Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria, who was seen at Embalse de Aguilar in northern Spain; a two year-old male from Rutland Water who was identified in Belgium having likely spent the summer in the Netherlands; and a juvenile from Galloway Forest heading south over Jersey. We have added details of these sightings, including photos, to a new interactive Google map that we will update regularly during autumn migration. So if you are lucky enough to see or photograph a colour-ringed osprey in the coming months, please send us the details using our simple online form.

Click here to view the colour ring sightings map.

Many thanks to Alan Modral for these fantastic photos of a juvenile osprey that passed through Jersey on 26th August.

PL9 was ringed as a chick at a nest in Galloway Forest this summer and was photographed by Alan Modral in Jersey.

PL9 attracted some unwanted attention from one of the local Peregrines.

Thanks also to Alberto Benito took these stunning photos of blue/white 35, the breeding female from Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria, at Embalse de Aguilar in northern Spain. This large reservoir may well be a regular stop-over location for 35. Many thanks to Alberto for the photos.

LS7 sets off

August 29, 2017

It is now almost a month since the first release of the Poole Harbour ospreys, and the first of the youngsters has set-off on migration. LS7 was the first juvenile to fly after the pens were opened at dawn on 31st July, and, aptly, we can now say it was also the first bird to migrate. Friday dawned sunny and clear with just a very light north-easterly breeze: perfect migration conditions. LS7 was present at the release site at 7 am but by mid-morning, it and the seven other juveniles were widely scattered around the harbour. This exploratory behaviour is typical of young ospreys and is critical to the imprinting process, helping them to learn that Poole Harbour is home. After spending much of the day away, the youngsters usually begin returning to the release site around mid-afternoon; drawn in by fresh fish which is placed on artificial nests at around 4 pm.  Over the course of two-and-a-half hours on Friday evening all of the youngsters returned to the release site; each collecting a piece of fish and then eating it on the T perches on the nearby saltmarsh. All except LS7, that is. Over the years at Rutland Water we learnt that in late August and early September a sure sign that a juvenile had migrated was when it didn’t come into feed in the evening, and so we suspected that LS7 had set-off earlier in the day. Confirmation came 24 hours later when the youngster failed to appear for a second evening in succession. Now, four days later, it is remarkable to think that LS7 may already have reached southern France or northern Spain.

LS7’s migration 25 days after making its first flight is fairly early, but well within the normal range for juvenile ospreys. For example of ten juvenile ospreys satellite-tagged by the Foundation in northern Scotland,  the average length of the post-fledging period (i.e. fledging to migration) was 34 days, but ranged from a minimum of 18 days to a maximum of 56. It is likely, therefore, that the remaining seven birds will set-off on migration over the next two-three weeks. The team at Poole will continue to provide fish for the juveniles until they leave; thereby replicating the situation at natural nests where the breeding male continues to provide fish for his offspring until they migrate. Most young ospreys do not catch a fish for themselves until they have set-off on migration, but it has been encouraging to watch the Poole juveniles making frequent practice dives into the water around the harbour. Although usually lacking the grace and power of adult birds, these dives are a critical part of the post-fledging (or in this case, post-release) period. On Friday last week during one of three successful osprey cruises around the harbour we were treated to wonderful views of a juvenile making repeated dives above the Wareham Channel. It always pulled out just before hitting the water, but you really got a sense that it was learning what to do: instinct is a powerful thing for young ospreys. Like their first migration, juvenile ospreys do not learn to fish by watching their parents, but inevitably it takes some time before they become proficient hunters.

LS1 exploring the harbour (photo by Simon Kidner)

The artificial nest at Middlebere is a great place to see the juveniles. This can be viewed from Arne RSPB or the National Trust Middlebere hide (photo by Simon Kidner)

The three osprey cruises were certainly a resounding success last week, with ospreys seen on each trip, including an adult bird which caught a fish in the Wareham Channel during the first cruise on Wednesday. It is likely that this was CJ7, the two year-old adult female from Rutland Water who has now been present at Poole for at least three weeks. Ironically however the star of the show turned out not to be an osprey at all: on Friday we were treated to incredible views of a juvenile red-necked phalarope just a few metres from the boat. A small number of these diminutive waders breed in the Shetland Isles and Outer Hebrides each year and research using data loggers recently revealed that a bird from Fetlar unexpectedly wintered in the tropical Pacific Ocean. After crossing the Atlantic it flew south along the East coast of America, crossed the Gulf of Mexico into the Pacific Ocean and reached an area between the Galapagos Islands and the South American coast by mid-October; a return journey of 22000km. So if this juvenile attempts a similar migration it certainly has a long journey ahead of it.

A juvenile red-necked phalarope was an unexpected highlight of Friday’s boat trip (photo by Katie Horrocks)

We were treated to some fantastic weather on the three boat trips

The phalarope was only the third Poole Harbour record, but a more familiar sight at this time of year are marsh harriers. Young harriers are now dispersing away from their nests and on Friday evening a wing-tagged juvenile visited the osprey release site. The green tags indicated that this was a bird from North Norfolk, but it didn’t have a chance to linger long. All five juvenile ospreys present at the time joined forces to chase the intruder away. Like this young marsh harrier they will soon be fending for themselves. It will be interesting to see which of the birds is next to leave.

Sea eagles on Sunday!

August 21, 2017

My friend Mike Crutch of A9 Birds invited me to join him and two Inverness birders, Sam and Debbie, on a day trip to Skye to photograph sea eagles. Although I have been involved in the reintroduction and conservation of white-tailed eagles since 1968 in Fair Isle, I’d never been on one of the amazing boat trips to feed them. I had seen loads of incredible photographs back to the earliest days of the 1990s off Portree.

Weather forecasts were poor in August until Steve Hooper of Wild Skye Bird Trips phoned Mike to say there’s a brief calm period on Sunday. As we drove through the Ross-shire mountains it was looking good and our arrival at Carbost pier revealed a calm sea. Soon the MV Wild Skye was heading through Loch Harport, with a distant view of a sea eagle, before passing the lighthouse and aiming for a section of the great western cliffs of the Isle of Skye. A perfect morning – we could see the hills of the Uists away over The Minch and two porpoises broke the glassy surface.

We headed to the main cliffs where very quickly we found the pair of sea eagles and their exceptional brood of three flying young. This pair of eagles, like many others around the coasts, learnt early on that fishing boats are good for scraps of fish. This was taken up by tourist boats giving people incredible views of these great birds and excellent opportunities for photography.

The boat engine was cut and we could hear the young eagles calling. The adults were looking down from the cliffs as they knew full well what happens next – Steve throws a dead fish well away from boat. “Here he comes” as the male plunged from the cliffs and in a sweep of huge wings grabbed the food from the water to the noise of camera shutters. What a fantastic sight – something I never foresaw when I released those first four young Norwegian sea eagles on Fair Isle in 1968. Close up sea eagle viewing has become one of the most exciting wildlife experiences in modern day Scotland.

In a sweep of huge wings the adult sea eagle grabbed the fish from the water (photo by Roy Dennis)

Listening to Steve’s enthusiasm for the sea eagles I thought of another era at this very same cliff. There were no sea eagles when I first visited Skye in the early 1960s but I knew of their sad history as I’d often read Harvie Brown’s county faunas written at the end of the 19th century. He detailed the sad history of persecution and extinction, as well as individual visits, such as the Victorian collector on 20th April 1868 to this very cliff, who took two eggs and shot an adult. As one of the adults circled out to sea to take a fish from the water with a backdrop of the dramatic sea stacks called Macleod’s Maidens, I thought how times have changed. There are now over a hundred pairs of white-tailed sea eagles in Scotland; they are admired and enjoyed by thousands of people, locals and visitors, and contribute remarkably to jobs and incomes in fragile rural communities.

 

 

 

An unexpected visitor

August 14, 2017

It is now two weeks since we released the first of the Poole ospreys and its been encouraging to see them becoming increasingly competent on the wing. All are now making longer exploratory flights; an essential part of the imprinting process when the birds start to learn that Poole is home.  Most young ospreys do not catch a fish before they set out on their first migration, but Poole Harbour provides the perfect conditions for the young ospreys to practice fishing and several of the birds have already been seen diving into the water.

Last Monday we released the final two birds, LS2 and LS4. Like their older compatriots they did not venture far from the release pens for the first few days after release, but they too are quickly growing in confidence and starting to explore further afield. The frequency and range of exploratory flights will increase over the coming days but all of the birds will return to the release site to feed, particularly in the early morning and evening. The team at Poole will continue to provide fresh fish twice daily on artificial nests; thereby replicating the situation at natural nests, where the male continues to feed his offspring until they depart on migration. This is an essential part of the post-release phase; helping to ensure that the young birds are in the best possible condition for when they set-off on their first migration. In some ways this puts the translocated ospreys at an advantage compared to birds at natural nests, because we can ensure that they receive as much fish as possible before they set-off on migration.

Fresh fish is placed on artificial nests twice daily (photo by Simon Kidner)

On Tuesday afternoon last week the juveniles were joined by an unexpected visitor. During a particularly long soaring flight over the harbour LS1 attracted the attention of an adult female osprey. She followed LS1 back to the release site and then landed on one of the T perches in the saltmarsh adjacent to the release pens. We immediately saw that she had a blue colour ring on her right leg and were able to read the inscription: CJ7. A quick phone call to Kayleigh Brookes confirmed our suspicions that this was a two year-old female ringed as a chick at a nest close to Rutland Water in 2015.

CJ7 appeared over the release site on Tuesday afternoon (photo by Simon Kidner)

After circling the marsh CJ7 attempted to land with two juveniles on one of the T perches (photo by Simon Kidner)

CJ7 (right) eventually landed next to one of the juvs, allowing us to read the inscription in her blue ring (photo by Simon Kidner)

CJ7 (left) spent the rest of the day with the juveniles, some of whom began food begging to her

This was the first time that CJ7 had been seen back in the UK since her first migration in September 2015 and so it was exciting to see her. Although clearly nervous at first, she spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with the juveniles. With food begging calls filling the air (normal behaviour for juvenile birds of this age, even when they are not hungry!) we wondered if the young female may even be persuaded to catch a fish for the translocated birds, as adult birds did at both Rutland Water and Urdaibai in the past. Although she didn’t do that, she did roost with them before heading off to another part of the harbour next morning.

On Saturday morning CJ7 returned again and, like her previous visit, perched with the juveniles on the saltmarsh. The presence of other ospreys in the harbour, and particularly food-begging juveniles, may well persuade CJ7 to stay in the area for longer than she might otherwise have done. We know from colour ringing and satellite tracking studies that two year-old ospreys wander widely when they first return to the UK, helping them to map the location of other nesting ospreys. We hoped that the presence of the translocated birds would act as a magnet to other young ospreys and it is very encouraging that it is happening already. Who knows, CJ7 may even return to breed at Poole Harbour in the future. For now it is just great to see the translocated ospreys exploring Poole for the first time.

If you would like to help us to undertaken more proactive projects like this, why not consider becoming one of our Conservation Champions? You can find out more here. We would greatly appreciate your support.

 

Poole Harbour Ospreys released

August 4, 2017

It’s always exciting watching a young osprey flying for the first time, but this week was particularly special with the release of the first Poole Harbour Ospreys. We released six birds on Monday and its been fantastic watching them growing in confidence over the past five days. The undoubted highlight was an incredible soaring flight by LS5 just two days after she had flown for the first time. We plan to release the two youngest birds at the start of next week. The first few weeks of flying are a hazardous time for the young ospreys, but they are being extremely well monitored by the team in Poole – Paul Morton of Birds of Poole Harbour, Jason Fathers (Wildlife Windows) and Brittany Maxted and her team of excellent volunteers. Here are a few photos from the birds’ first few days on the wing.

LS7 was the first bird to fly early on Monday morning. It landed safely on the release pens after a short but very competent flight.

Fresh fish has been put on the release pens and nearby artificial nests twice a day since release and all birds are feeding well. This process will continue until the last bird has migrated – ensuring that they are in the best possible condition for the long journey to West Africa.

The birds have grown in confidence over the past five days and are flying between favourite perches.

The young ospreys are likely to remain in and around Poole Harbour for four to six weeks before migrating. It is during this period that they imprint on the area and recognise it as home.

Translocation to Poole

July 14, 2017

After an incredibly busy four days collecting a total of 20 young ospreys for translocation to the Basque Country and Dorset, Emily Joáchim and I set-off from Roy’s house in Moray with eight of the birds shortly after 4pm on Monday. Each bird was placed in a large cardboard box lined with moss in the back of our hired van in order to keep them as quiet and as stress-free as possible during the long journey to Poole Harbour. Aitor Galarza, meanwhile, was already en route to Spain with the final 12 birds to be translocated to the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve near Bilbao.

The birds were transported in large cardboard boxes lined with moss

Rather than drive the 630 miles to Poole Harbour in one go we decided that it was far better to split the journey into two. Our destination on the first evening therefore was Fradswell in Staffordshire where Barry Dore and Jakkie Tunnicliffe had kindly offered B&B for both us and the birds. Fortunately the roads were clear and we made good progress, arriving at 11:15pm. The overnight stop not only allowed us to check the birds were travelling well but also to feed them that evening and again at 6 am next morning.

The stop in Staffordshire enabled us to check and feed the birds.

Barry and Jakkie with the consignment of eight young ospreys.

After saying goodbye to Barry and Jakkie we were on the road again at 8:45am on Tuesday morning. I had already heard from Paul Morton that excitement was building in Poole and that was very much in evidence when we arrived at our pre-arranged meeting spot at 1:30pm that afternoon. Even heavy rain couldn’t dampened our spirits as we were greeted by Paul, Jason Fathers and others. We checked all was well with the birds and, after a quick photo, call headed straight to the release pens at a site on private land adjacent to the harbour. Having been travelling for almost 24 hours we were keen to get the birds settled as quickly as possible.

Once on site Paul, Jason and I were met by Brittany Maxted and a group of volunteers who will be feeding and caring for the birds over the coming weeks. Roy and I had already decided which birds would be placed in which pen, with siblings together and broods of a similar age. After a quick briefing with the assembled team, we put the birds into the relevant pens along with a good supply of local fish kindly sourced and prepped by local restaurant, Storm. We then retreated to Osprey HQ – Jason’s old caravan where live CCTV images from each pen enabled us to watch the birds settling into their new surrounds without disturbance. Within a few hours several birds had fed and all looked very settled.

The birds settled into their new surrounds very quickly.

Over the past two days Brittany and the team of volunteers have been monitoring the birds very carefully and providing fresh fish three times a day. All are feeding well and several of the more advanced birds are wing flapping and showing a great deal of interest in the view across the water. The birds are likely to remain in the pens for about three weeks before being released in early August.

Brittany and Jol monitoring the birds at Osprey HQ.

We’re pleased that this important project to restore breeding ospreys to the south coast estuaries is underway and delighted to be working with such a great team at Poole – Paul Morton of Birds of Poole Harbour, Jason Fathers of Wildlife Windows and the volunteers led by Brittany Maxted. An exciting five years lie ahead.

Osprey translocations – one completed, one new start

July 10, 2017

We’ve have had an incredibly busy few days here in the Scottish Highlands monitoring osprey nests, ringing the young and collecting ospreys for translocation projects.   In the last month we had some pretty awful weather including downpours in the first week in June; afterwards we found that two broods of young had died from exposure and lack of fish.  Careful monitoring in late June showed me that most pairs were active and had young.

Our team came together on Thursday with Tim and me on fieldwork, our ace tree climbers Ian and Fraser; Emily took on fish preparation and feeding duties, helped by my 8 year old daughter Phoebe, Aitor arrived from Bilbao and Moira held the fort and produced great meals and hospitality. Our first day was Thursday – 7 am to 9:30 pm, 340 miles round trip to Caithness and Sutherland meeting old and new friends,  collecting five young  ospreys,  identifying some old breeding adults from their colour rings and a lovely view of an adder.

Friday was the sort of day I dread – it rained overnight and we experienced on-and-off drizzle and Scotch mist throughout the day. Nevertheless we collected 6 young in east Moray and at two nests the male birds had been having trouble catching enough fish and one chick was well below weight.  So removing a sibling resulted in saving the other.  Once the chicks were in their compartments in my garage, with the other young, they were soon eating fresh trout, courtesy of Rothiemurchus fishery.  Next day we visited Badenoch & Strathspey and nests near my home and our total climbed to 15.

Checking chicks at a nest in Caithness

Sunday saw our last day of visits. One nest was an epic climb for Ian up a great Douglas fir and my tele-photos of the ospreys overhead showed the female was different to 2016. It was white ring PE – my old friend Morven which I caught and satellite tagged in 2008 – she winters on the Mauritania coast and her stop over is in an estuary in North Spain. Now one of her chicks will be released not far away near Bilbao. This is her third different nest – I guess she moved this spring because her old mate did not return until 2nd May and she got fed up waiting!  At our next nest we found that one of young was entangled in baler wrap collected from the field as nest material by the male.  I cut it off – if we had not visited the nest for a ringing it would’ve died.  Not the first time I’ve seen this.

Expert tree climber Ian reaches another nest.

Careful consideration is given before selecting chicks for translocation.

Morven (white/black PE) circling over her nest – one of her chicks will be translocated to the Basque Country.

That gave us twelve chicks for the Basque country project at Urdaibai estuary near Bilbao and as I write Aitor and the young ospreys are at Heathrow en route to Spain. This is the completion of the translocation part of our project; five years and 60 young. It was great to learn of the first pair established at a nest this summer, as well as 6 males in North Spain and another in France. In two hours time the other eight ospreys will be taken by Tim and Emily to Poole Harbour, where Paul and Jason have the new accommodation, hacking cages, all organised. A very exciting new project, with the team in Dorset, to restore breeding ospreys to the south coast estuaries; we can say then that the “mullet hawk” has truly returned.

A brood of three young ospreys. The bird on the right will be translocated to Poole.

It’s a real privilege to work on these projects and as I say, in present-day jargon, our principal stakeholder is the osprey itself – that’s why we take such care of them. And then there is the support and friendship with so many people to make these projects work including Jane, Robert, Duncan, Brian, Derry, Alan, Malcolm, Mike, Pete, Ben, Gabriella, Jason and Paul.

The osprey collection team 2017 (Aitor, Ian, Roy, Moira, Phoebe, Emily and Tim) (photo by Mike Crutch)

Poole Harbour Osprey Project

June 20, 2017

One of the first initiatives that our Foundation was involved with was the Rutland Osprey Project. In July 1996 the first eight six week-old ospreys were translocated to Rutland Water from nests in northern Scotland in the hope of establishing a breeding population of ospreys in central England for the first time in over 150 years. A further 56 birds were moved over the course of the next five summers, with another 11 released in 2005. The project has been a resounding success with 117 young ospreys fledging from nests in the Rutland Water area since 2001. In addition it has resulted in the recolonisation of Wales and led to similar projects in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Switzerland. Now we are extremely excited to be involved in the second English translocation project at Poole Harbour in Dorset.

A young translocated osprey making its first flight at Rutland Water (photo by John Wright)

Poole Harbour is one of the best places to see ospreys on the South Coast. In autumn it is not uncommon for six ospreys to be present in the harbour with migrant birds attracted by the abundance of salt water fish such as mullet. In fact it is no surprise that in Hampshire and Dorset the old local name for osprey is ‘mullet hawk’. We know that ospreys once bred along the whole of the south coast and over the past eight years a concerted effort has been made by to attract passing ospreys to stay and breed at Poole Harbour by building artificial nests. Although there has been some interest by ospreys, most notably this summer when two year-old Rutland male S1(15) and a female have been present in recent weeks, none have stayed to breed. This is not surprising given that male ospreys in particular are highly site faithful, with most settling to breed very close to site they fledged from; Rutland Water males have nested an average of just 11 km from their natal site to date. So whilst it is common for two year-old birds such as S1 to summer south of their natal site, once the urge to breed grows stronger they nearly always head further north.

Two year-old Rutland male S1 on one of the artificial nests at Poole Harbour (photo by John Wright)

Given the breeding biology of the species and the fact that the techniques for the transportation, care and release of young ospreys are now very well understood, we believe that a translocation is the best means of establishing a population on the south coast of England. Poole Harbour is perfectly suited to act as the nucleus of this new population and a firm base from which the population can spread east and west along the coast, as well as further inland. In the short term it is possible that the presence of the translocated birds may tempt others, such as S1, to stay and breed, but there is no doubt that in future years, as osprey colonies in Rutland, Wales and the south coast grow, birds will move between these populations. The Poole Harbour population will also act as an important stepping stone to the expanding population in Orleans Forest in France. We know the Rutland project has completely changed the distribution of ospreys in southern Britain, and the Poole Harbour project is likely to be similarly important.

Poole Harbour will act as an important link between populations of ospreys in England, Wales and France

Scottish Natural Heritage has granted a licence for Roy Dennis to collect and translocate the first eight young ospreys to Poole in July this year. They will be held in large holding pens at a confidential site for two – three weeks to acclimatize to their new home and prepare for their first flights. Once released they will be provided with fresh fish on artificial nests, to replicate normal osprey behaviour, and are likely to remain around Poole Harbour for a further six weeks (the normal post-fledging period) before beginning their long migration to West Africa. During this six week period as the birds grow in confidence on the wing they will imprint on the area and adopt Poole as their new home. We hope that the first translocated birds will return to Poole in 2019. It is planned that a total of 60 birds will be translocated over a five year period. Click on the link below to listen to an interview about the project with Paul Morton of the Birds of Poole Harbour charity.

The project is a partnership between the Foundation, local charity Birds of Poole Harbour, and Poole based-business Wildlife Windows and is part of a wider conservation recovery plan of osprey in Western Europe and the Mediterranean region which was recently commissioned by the Council of Europe and authored by Roy Dennis. This plan was was adopted in November 2016 by all member States of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats of the Council of Europe and it can be viewed here here. We believe that this is an incredibly exciting and important project and we hope the whole of the community in Poole and surrounding areas will enjoy seeing breeding ospreys again on the South Coast. If the experiences in Rutland are anything to go by, there is much to look forward to. We’ll be sure to keep you updated with news over the coming weeks.

If you would support the work of our Foundation and help us to undertake more proactive projects such as the one at Poole then please consider becoming one of our special Conservation Champions.

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