10 more ospreys translocated to Poole Harbour

Ten more young ospreys have been successfully translocated from Scotland and released at Poole Harbour in Dorset as part of a project to re-establish a breeding population in southern England.

Beginning in 2017, the Poole Harbour Osprey Translocation Project is led by the charity Birds of Poole Harbour, the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and local tech business Wildlife Windows.

[An osprey photographed at Lychett Bay in Poole on 25th August 2021. Photo by Rene Goad]

Ospreys were extirpated in the UK by the early 1900s, largely due to persecution and egg collectors. The species naturally recolonised Scotland in 1954. During the late 1990s, a pioneer translocation project re-established the species at Rutland Water in the Midlands and ospreys have since spread to Northumberland and Wales. Further translocation projects have since taken place in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland and another is planned for Suffolk.

The restoration of a breeding population in Poole Harbour, where they haven’t bred for 180 years, is seen as key to connecting the existing UK and European populations.

For updates on the project please follow the Birds of Poole Harbour website (here) and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation (here).