The really great news is that chick number 25 has now hatched at Site B – the nest on private land that 03 has remained faithful to since 2001.

In the twelve years that 03 has been breeding at Site B, he can’t have endured a colder or wetter incubation than this spring, and we have been hoping that conditions would improve in time for hatching. Having started incubating earlier than ever this year, we knew that the first egg should hatch towards the latter end of this week – and so it has proved.

The fist signs of hatching at Site B came on Tuesday evening when 03, who had been struggling to catch a fish for most of the day, finally returned with a Trout. After eating most of the fish himself he delivered what was left to the nest. This would usually be a cue for him to take over incubation, but instead his mate ate the fish on the side of the nest, with 03 looking on attentively. Volunteers Tom and Ann Price who were monitoring at the time, watched her intently for signs that she may be offering fish down into the nest. Unlike at Manton Bay we don’t have a camera on the Site B nest and so, instead, have to rely on the behaviour of the birds themselves to know when the first chick has hatched; and the only way to be sure is when the female feeds her new arrival for the first time. This time the female finished the fish in a matter of minutes and then settled down to incubate without attempting to offer any fish into the nest. So although there were signs that a chick was close to hatching, it obviously hadn’t happened quite yet.We were  sure, however, that we wouldn’t have to wait long.

 The female was clearly far more restless than usual yesterday - another sign that something was happening –  but we needed 03 to return with a fish to be sure that a youngster had hatched. Like the previous day though, 03 was finding fishing difficult and he was absent for much of the afternoon and early evening as he searched for a fish. Finally, after an absence of more than three hours he returned with a Trout. Like the previous day, the female remained on the nest with the fish and this time she carefully tore up tiny pieces and offered them gently down into the nest cup. Fantastic! The first chick had hatched and, what’s more, the sun was shining.

Female feeding the newly-hatched chick

03 looks on as his mate feeds the new arrival

Although we don’t know how many eggs are in the nest, there is every chance that there will be another two to hatch in the next few days. It will be another week or ten days before we start seeing their tiny heads appearing over the edge of the nest, but for now it great to know that 03 has done it yet again. In his twelfth year of breeding at Site B, chick number 25 has arrived; a truly amazing statistic and one very much befitting of ‘Mr Rutland’.

03 (near bird) looking into the nest at his 25th chick

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5R(04) fishing

This summer we’ll be setting sail on eighteen hour-and-a-half cruises around the reservoir. On each trip we’ll visit the various different parts of the reservoir the birds favour for fishing – at the best time of day to see them in action. Of course sightings of fishing Ospreys can’t be guaranteed but one thing you are assured of is a very warm welcome from the Osprey team and an entertaining and informative evening learning about Rutland Water and its superb wildlife.  That coupled with spectacular views of the reservoir should make it an evening to remember.

The Rutland Belle

We meet for evening cruises at the Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre at Egleton where you will be greeted with a cup of tea and coffee. An introductory talk – normally lasting around 40 minutes – will then give you the full low-down on the project, from the early days of the translocation, to satellite-tracking migration and the more recent breeding successes. We then ask you to drive to Whitwell Harbour where we set-sail for the cruise.

In addition to our evening cruises, we’re also running four dawn cruises, departing from Whitwell Harbour at 6am.   Each of the early cruises is followed by breakfast at the Birdwatching Centre at Egleton.

The first of our cruises is this coming Saturday and there are still places available. To book your seat, click here or phone 01572 737378 and ask for a member of the Osprey team. You won’t regret it!

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There’s not much to report from the nest today. A gusty north-westerly wind has made fishing difficult for 5R and, as I write, he has just left the bay on another fishing trip. Hopefully it will be third time lucky – his two other fishing trips this afternoon has proved unsuccessful.

Away from Manton Bay, I have just received an email from Adolfo Villaverde to say that he hasn’t seen 11(10) at Villaviciosa marshes in Northern Spain for over a week. He has e-mailed a few of his friends along the coast to ask them to keep an eye out for the young male, but it could be that he has continued north. I wonder if he flew direct across the Bay of Biscay? If so, he may well be in Northern France or even Southern England by now.  According to Birdguides, Ospreys have been seen in Essex and West Sussex today. Wouldn’t it be great if one of them was 11(10)? If you live in the south and see a migrating Osprey in the next few days, be sure to check it out for colour rings!

Paul Stammers with 11(10) shortly after ringing him in 2010

It is 670 miles from Villaviciosa to Rutland Water. How long will it take 11(10) to make it home?

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There has been an intruding Osprey over the nest this afternoon, 5R was out fishing so the Manton Bay female had to leave the nest to chase it off. She soon returned to cover the eggs, only about a week to go now until they are due to hatch so keep your eyes on the webcam.

It’s not often we get the opportunity to do an early shift at Waderscrape Hide, but this morning Paul was fortunate enough to get the chance to watch the nest for a few hours this morning.

This is a brief account of Paul’s morning… ‘it was a very cold start at 0600hrs but it is the best time to be out on the Reserve. After having checked on the location of the Ospreys I scanned around the bay and reedbed in front of the hide .The reedbed was full of displaying sedge warblers and reed buntings then a pair of gadwall landed in the pool infront of the hide.
It was fairly quiet on the Osprey front, the female was incubating and the male was sitting in the fallen Poplar tree. 5R then took a fly around and landed on top of the transmitter; lets hope he has not upset the transmissions back to the centre. Then at about 0730hrs a change over, the female had a fly around the bay, took a couple of dips in the water then spent the next 45 minutes preening on the far shore. The male was very happy to be sitting on the eggs.
Excitement as a hobby flew over the reedbed, then Mark Sims came into the hide and said he had just seen Spotted Flycather near Deep Water Hide, that’s a first for the Reserve this year. On my walk back to the centre at about 0915hrs I saw the Spotted flycatcher in the place Mark had earlier told me about. What a great way to end the shift and start another day in the centre.’

Gadwall in front of Waderscrape Hide

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The three young males who have recently arrived back have been keeping themsleves out of any mischief, after 01(09) was seen intruding at both the Manton Bay nest and at Site B yesterday.

The arrival of our three year old birds matches that of Rothiemurchus’s journey back from Senegal, where our team of staff and volunteers saw him in January and who we have followed closely since. Rothiemurchus is currently in the Lake District and it will be interesting to see whether, after spending some time there last summer, he stays in Cumbria or continues on his migration back to Scotland. You can see more about his journey on Roy Dennis’s website. Below is the video of when we tracked him down.

So now that 2009′s birds are back we will wait and see which, out of the twelve 2010 Ospreys will be back next. As you’ll know if you’ve been following the website, we’ve had some exciting news from Northern Spain, where Adolfo Villaverde has seen 11(10) regularly around the Villaviciosa Estuary for the past week. The map below shows his location. But will he make it back first?

11(10)'s current location, Villaviciosa Estuary in Northern Spain

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Misty Morning in Manton Bay 10th May

Manton Bay female enjoying the sunshine 11th May

And with the sunshine another Rutland fledged male Osprey arrived back this morning, 01(09). He returned for the first time on May 20th 2011, but like the other 2 young males who arrived recently he is unlikely to breed as a three year old this year. Hopefully though he will stay in Rutland over the summer and we will see more of him. For an updated Who’s who of Rutland Ospreys click here.

01(09) arrived back in Rutland on 11th May 2012

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5R turning the remaining two eggs

Although we haven’t seen it on camera before, it is not uncommon to find ‘dud’ Osprey eggs among a clutch of three and that is almost certainly the case with this one. From the colouration of the clutch we think it was the first egg to be laid – it was much paler than the other two – and given that Osprey eggs hatch in the order they were laid, first hatching may now be delayed by a day or so. At this stage it is very difficult to know what has gone wrong, but given some of 00(09)’s aggressive intrusions, there is a chance that 5R or his mate inadvertently damaged the egg when they were defending the nest. This video shows the kind of incident that may have lead to things going wrong. Perhaps we’ll be able to find out more when we visit the nest later in the season to ring the remaining chicks?

The situation has parallels with what is happening at Bassenthwaite Lake in the Lake District, where the breeding pair have actually removed one of their clutch from the nest completely. Although the nest cameras add hugely to our knowledge of breeding Ospreys and give us a unique insight into their life, they bring us the bad news as well as the good. Let’s just hope that the two remaining eggs at Manton Bay and in the Lake District both hatch.

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For more information about the West Africa Project click here.

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03(97)

A male translocated to Rutland Water from Scotland in 1997. Returned to Rutland for the first time in 1999 and successfully bred in 2001 at Site B, a nest on private land. The first Osprey to breed in Central England for 150 years. He has produced 24 chicks over the last 10 years with three different females. This year, he arrived on March 19th, exactly the same date as the previous two years. 03 has been breeding with an unringed Scottish female since 2009.

03(97)

08(97)

A male translocated to Rutland Water from Scotland in 1997. He was the first translocated Osprey to return to Rutland in May 1999. Despite attracting at least eight different females to his nest in Manton Bay, he didn’t breed until 2007 when he raised two chicks with 5N(04) (see below). After their nest failed in 2008 the pair moved to a site on private land, Site N, and raised two chicks in 2009 and 2010. Sadly 08 disappeared in May 2011.

08(97) and 5N(04)

09(98)

A male translocated to Rutland Water from Scotland in 1998. He returned to Rutland for the first time in 2000 but he is yet to breed. After 08(97) disappeared in May 2011, he paired up with 5N(04) (see below) and spent the rest of the Summer at Site N. Before the end of the season he was fitted with a satellite transmitter so we have been able to track his Autumn and Spring migrations.

09(98) with his satellite transmitter

AW(06)

AW fledged from Site B in 2006 and he is one of 03(97)’s chicks. He returned to Rutland in 2008 and bred for the first time in 2010, at a site on private land with a Scottish female from Argyll. He has raised six chicks in two years. AW was also fitted with a satellite transmitter last season and we were able to follow his Autumn migration. Unfortunately we stopped receiving data from his transmitter in mid-February.

AW(06)

5R(04)

5R fledged from Site B in 2004 and he is one of 03(97)’s chicks. In 2010, 5R bred in Manton Bay with an unringed Scottish female and this was the first pair in Rutland not to include a translocated bird. In two years this pair have produced six chicks. 5R is the male Osprey you can watch on the webcam since he arrived on March 19, a week earlier than in 2011. His mate returned on April 1st and they are currently incubating three eggs.

5R(04) and unringed Scottish female

5N(04)

5N fledged from Site B in 2004. She is one of 03(97)’s chicks and 5R’s sister from the same year. 5N paired up with 08(97)  in 2007 and she was the first Rutland-fledged chick to breed and has successfully raised six chicks. After 08(97)’s disappearance in May 2011 she paired up with 09(98) and spent the rest of the Summer at her nest, Site N. 5N returned this year on March 25th and has spent her first few days in Manton Bay. She is now settled at Site N with 09(98).

00(09)

00 fledged from Site B in 2009. She is one of 03(97)’s chicks and 5R’s half-sister. She returned to Rutland for the first time on May 4th 2011 and spent very little time in Rutland. This year she returned on March 23rd and spent most of her time with 5R until the Manton Bay female returned on April 1st. Her early arrival suggests that she is ready to breed and is looking for a mate. The video below shows 00 with 5R on the Manton Bay nest after she arrived on March 23rd.

03(09)

03 fledged from Site N in 2009 and he is one of 08(97)’s chicks. He returned for the first time on June 15th 2011. 03 returned in early May and as a three year old, he his unlikely to breed this year.

03(09)

06(09)

06 fledged from a nest on private land in 2009. He returned for the first time on June 11th 2011. 06 returned in early May and as a three year old, he his unlikely to breed this year.

06(09)

01(09)

01 fledged from Site B in 2009. He is one of 03(97)’s chicks, 5R’s half-brother and 00(09)’s brother. He returned for the first time on May 20th 2011. 01 returned in early May and as a three year old, he his unlikely to breed this year.

01(09) arrived back in Rutland on 11th May 2012

03(08) 

03(08) fledged from Site B in 2008 and she is one of 03(97)’s chicks. She is the sister of 5R and 5N from a different year. On April 12th 2011, 03(08) was seen on the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust’s Cors Dyfi reserve in mid-Wales. She stayed there for the whole season and raised three chicks with the resident male and was nicknamed Nora. They were the first Ospreys to breed in the Dyfi valley for 400 years. Since then she has become a celebrity on Springwatch and Autumnwatch. This year she returned to Dyfi on March 24th.

03(08) 'Nora'

In the early years of the Project, 64 Osprey chicks were translocated to Rutland Water from Scotland between 1996 and 2001. From the very beginning,  the Ospreys were identified by their ring numbers because it was easier than giving them all names. Since the first pair bred in 2001, 53 chicks have fledged from nests in Rutland and the ring numbers continue to be the way they are identified. Thinking of 117 names over the years would have been impossible.

Ospreys have been ringed in the UK for more than 50 years so the combinations of colours, letters and numbers are now fairly random because we are starting to run out and we can’t have two rings the same.

This post will be updated as and when other Ospreys return to Rutland. Hopefully it won’t get too confusing… A family tree will be on the way soon!

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03(09)

06(09)

Although it is too late for either 03 and 06 to breed this year – three year-old males rarely do – there is every chance that one of them will pair up with 00(09) before the end of the summer. With AW(06)’s mate also unpaired following his failure to return from the Ivory Coast, we hope that one of the males will settle with her later in the season too. For the time being though they are more likely to make a nuisance of themselves by intruding at the established nest sites. The Who’s Who of Rutland Ospreys has been updated, for more information click here.

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