We’ve been enjoying the beautiful sunny weather here at Lyndon Visitor Centre and with spring firmly approaching, we’re keenly watching the skies and the live Osprey camera for the arrival of Osprey back at Rutland Water Nature Reserve. Before they arrive, however, we thought it is a good opportunity to reflect on last year’s highlights.

The season officially started with Maya’s return to the Manton Bay nest on a rather rainy afternoon on the 12^th of March –

– and 33(11) wasn’t far behind. He arrived less than 24 hours later on the 13^th of March, reuniting the pair for another year.

Maya and 33(11) have been breeding together as a pair on the Manton Bay nest since 2015 so we were very excited to see them.

By the end of the month, the first egg was spotted on the nest on the 30^th of March. Maya laid two more eggs in early April (the second on the 2^nd of April and the third on the 5^th of April). Only one of these eggs went on to hatch and on the 11^th of May we had the Manton Bay chick for 2024!

Being the only one on the nest, this chick had sole claim to the fish that 33(11) and Maya brought back. As a result, it grew quickly, and it wasn’t long before primaries were growing in, and wings were being stretched.

On the 19^th of June we went out to the Manton Bay nest to ring the chick before it fledged. The chick was a male who weighed in at an impressive 1.58 kilograms. We also added rings to the chick to help monitor him over his life, earning him the identifier 1R0.

Growing up fast, 1R0 took his maiden flight at 08:07am on the 3^rd of July. This was an important moment for the season and marked the first time in 95 days that the nest was empty.

Over the next few months 1RO gained more and more confidence with flying. It felt like no time at all before the 29^th of August when we were wishing him a safe flight south for the winter. The nest emptied further when on the 30^th of August Maya left the nest for the final time that year. Finally, 33(11) left on the 2^nd of September which closed out the season at the Manton Bay nest.

And it wasn’t just the Manton Bay nest that was busy last season; last year was another successful year for Ospreys within the wider Rutland area. Across Rutland there were 25 chicks that fledged across 11 successful breeding nests. This brings the total number of chicks since 2001 up to 278.

To find out more about the Rutland Ospreys and the ongoing work we do as part of Rutland Osprey Project take a look at our website:

 Rutland Ospreys Project

You can follow along with the live footage of the Manton Bay nest this year through our Osprey live camera:

Manton Bay nest Live Cam