Well, what an incredible week we have had! The first of the Rutland Ospreys returned on Saturday 12^th March, although their identity didn’t become known until a few days later, when we learned it was one of the breeding males from another of our nest sites, which is located on private land, 8F(12). 8F is a 10 year old male which fledged from the Manton Bay nest in 2012 and his parents are Maya and male 5R(04). This is one of the earliest records that we have of one of the Rutland birds returning!

It is of course fantastic that we had our first Osprey back at the weekend, but we were all waiting in keen anticipation for the return of our star pair, Maya and male 33(11), from the Manton Bay nest. We didn’t have to wait long, because on Tuesday (15^th) morning at 10:21, an unringed Osprey landed on the nest. Maya had returned, which was so exciting for us all! This year will mark Maya’s 13^th season here in Rutland and although we cannot be certain how old she is, we think she is 15. Now the wait is on for the return of her mate 33(11), which I’m sure won’t be too far behind.

Over the past couple of days, Maya has been busy nest scraping, bringing fresh twigs back to the nest and also catching a huge Trout which she enjoyed yesterday on the fallen poplar near to the nest, which is one of her favourite perches.

This year we have two live streaming cameras, which can be viewed by clicking here, so make sure to tune in to keep up with all the action! And don’t forget you can see Maya and some of the Rutland Ospreys for yourselves from the Lyndon Visitor Centre and Nature Reserve, where you will be welcomed by our friendly team.