News published October to December 2006

Rebuilding an Osprey Nest

Ever since 03(97) first built his nest in the top of a dying oak tree, bits of the dead branches at the top of the tree have been falling off. Compare the first picture taken in 2001 with the two below taken this year.

2001: notice the branch on the left ?

July 2006: the left perch is much shorter

September 2006: now the right one's gone too

Our concern was not just about the outlying perches that were disappearing. There were also the three central supports for the nest that had become totally rotton. The whole structure would certainly come falling down at some stage in the not too distant future. The tree itself is about 200 years old and the lower trunk still has lots of life with new shoots.
Taking professional advice from tree surgeons, we decided to take radical effective action while the Ospreys were absent. The plan was to remove the dead top of the tree and rebuild the nest on a secure base six to eight feet lower.

But how to reach the top of the tree?

Enter Mark Ashman with his MEWP (thats a Mobile Elevated Working Platform!)	This picture of the tree-top was taken at 90 degrees to the usual angle
Then Gary Jones' chainsaw made short work of removing the rotting branches	*But what about the nest? We wanted to re-use all the nesting material the Ospreys had collected this year*
*Once again a builders bag provides an answer...*	*...and the nest can be lowered to the ground*
*The nest, upside down in the bag*	One of the branches that had supported the nest
This large wooden disk would provide a secure new base	Coach-bolts were used to secure it to the healthy main tree trunk
Large sticks were strapped to the disk, creating a base cup for the nest	The previous nesting material was used to fill the cup, making a flat platform similar to that left by the Ospreys
*The rebuilt nest*	Apart from being more structurally sound, the new nest is much broader than the old one. How will 03 and 05 like it when, hopefully, they return next spring? Roy Dennis's experience in Scotland shows that Ospreys take very readily to nests that have been repaired or strengthened like this. We are most grateful to the two tree surgeons who carried out this reconstruction work.Mark Ashman, a Certified Arborist, based near Melton Mowbray, can be contacted at 01664-454699 or hillforttreecare@ btinternet.com. Garry Jones works for LDB Tree Care, based in Rutland. Over the years he has been involved in much of the high-level work carried out by the project. Garry now has more experience buildlng Osprey nests than anyone else in the UK - and probably more than any Osprey!

Satellite tracking

During the summer, a juvenile Osprey (named Tom) from the population in central France was fitted with a radio transmitter. Its migration is being reported on the website www.balbuzard-migration.fr. The site is entirely in French, though there are satellite images and maps from Google as well as animated flapping Ospreys! (follow the link to "En Direct" and then "carte dynamique ").

Since early September, Tom has been in Portugal, on the banks of the River Tajo near Lisbon. It is very interesting to compare this juvenile Osprey's behaviour with that of U06 who we tracked five years ago. She also arrived in the area north-east of Lisbon in early September and was recorded thereabouts until the following May. Full details are here.

Roy Dennis, who was closely involved with the tracking of Rutland and Scottish Ospreys, is this year tracking the migration of Scottish Marsh Harriers and Honey Buzzards. Fascinating maps, details and comments can be found on the website of the Highland Foundation for Wildlife.

An Osprey in Suffolk in December!

A juvenile Osprey was regularly reported on the Suffolk/Essex border until 9 December. This is the latest ever record of Osprey in Suffolk - the previous record was in 1874. The location was close to the village of Nayland on the River Stour. Details and photograph on the Suffolk BINS website.

Reports of Ospreys staying very late are becoming more frequent but, as far as we know, none have overwintered in the UK yet. For the past few years one has stayed for the winter in Brittany and it may just be a matter of time before southern England sees Ospreys over-wintering too.

Project wins a Green Apple

The Tower of London was the grand setting for this year’s National Green Apple Environment Awards and we are delighted to announce that the Rutland Osprey Project was among the top winners at this year’s ceremony. The Green Apple Awards, organised by the Green Organisation (www.greenorganisation.info ), are now in their twelfth year and established as one of the most prestigious environmental award schemes.

Project Officer, Tim Mackrill, and Anglian Water’s Biodiversity and Heritage Manager, Andy Brown, travelled down to London to accept the ‘Green Champion award’ from Professor David Bellamy.

While presenting the award the judges said:

‘Rutland Water has a nature reserve of international importance for birds, and Anglian Water set a target of establishing Ospreys at the reservoir. These birds had been driven to extinction, but with the help of Scottish colleagues they now have a safe and successful breeding haven’.

The project's work will now be published with a selection of others in Green Heroes, the international work of reference on environmental best practice.