Rutland Water celebrates 250th Osprey chick fledging

Rutland Water is celebrating its 250th fledged Osprey chick after a re-introduction project that started nearly 30 years ago.

Between 1996 and 2001, 64 juveniles were collected from nests in Highland and Moray in Scotland to be released at Rutland Water.

"Hope to the UK’s state of nature"

In 1999 the first of these translocated chicks was seen.

One of these, known as ‘Mr Rutland’ raised 32 chicks, with 15 offspring from those chicks, including the long-term breeding male at the Manton Bay nest, 33 (11).

His recent breeding partner Maya, has had 37 chicks since arriving at Rutland, surpassing the number raised by ‘Mr Rutland’, resulting in an exceptional legacy from the Rutland Osprey Project.

Rutland Water say the 250th chick marks "an astonishing achievement for the reintroduction program" and shows "projects like this can be successful and can help repair the natural balance within wildlife populations, giving hope to the UK’s state of nature."

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