Osprey chick from DORSET spotted in The Gambia after migrating 4,000 miles offers hope that the endangered birds could recolonise southern England after a 200-year absence
- A charity has introduced 33 chicks from Scotland to Poole Harbour since 2017
- The sighting is encouraging as many birds don’t survive the flight to West Africa
- It is hoped that they will eventually migrate back to Dorset to form a population
- Ospreys went extinct across much of western Europe in the early 19th Century
An osprey chick has been spotted in The Gambia after it migrated 4,000 miles from Dorset, England where it had been introduced as part of a conservation programme.
The sighting offers hope that the endangered bird of prey could succeed in recolonising southern England after an absence of around 200 years.
It is hoped that the osprey — which became extinct in large swathes of western Europe in the early 19th century — will re-establish a population in Poole Harbour.
To this end, experts have been gradually reintroducing osprey chicks to the harbour for the past three years and monitoring their progress.
It is hoped that the chick seen in West Africa will return to Poole Harbour next spring to assume a mate and breed, thereby helping to establish a sustainable population.
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An osprey chick has been spotted in The Gambia after it migrated 4,000 miles from Dorset, England where it had been introduced as part of a conservation programme. Pictured, two of the birds in the conservation programme, LS7 (left) and CJ7 (right) in Poole Harbour
Members of the Birds of Poole Harbour — the charity overseeing the conservation project — could not contain their delight when they were sent pictures of the so-called ‘chick 019’ by a British birdwatcher who had spotted his tag.
The sighting is encouraging as most ospreys do not survive their first migration — many get caught in adverse weather systems or drown.
It is hoped that the chick will return to Poole Harbour in the spring of 2021 and meet a female partner so that they can eventually breed there.
The conservation programme started in 2017 with eight chicks that were taken from nests in northern Scotland, where there are now sustainable osprey populations.
Since then, another 25 birds have been transported the 500 miles (805 kilometres) south to Poole Harbour.
‘The osprey is a very impressive, large bird of prey and they used to be very common across the whole of Western Europe until they were wiped out 200 years ago because of persecution and disease,’ said Paul Morton, of the Birds of Poole Harbour.
‘A population was re-established in Scotland in the 1950s and now breeding programmes have seen pairs introduced elsewhere in England and Wales, but until now not in southern England.’
‘We started the programme to re-introduce them to southern England in 2017 and fingers crossed we will have ospreys once again breeding here.’
The sighting offers hope that the endangered bird of prey could succeed in recolonising southern England after an absence of around 200 years. Pictured, two of the birds in the conservation programme, LS7 (left) and CJ7 (right) in Poole Harbour
It is hoped that the osprey — which became extinct in large swathes of western Europe in the early 19th century — will re-establish a population in Poole Harbour. Pictured, a previous attempt to encourage ospreys to nest in the area made use of a nest with two plastic birds
Experts have been gradually reintroducing osprey chicks to the harbour for the past three years and monitoring their progress
‘The first migration is very dangerous because of the threat of being shot, drowning when fishing for food and getting caught in a bad weather system,’ Mr Morton explained.
‘So when we heard that this chick had made it to Gambia we were delighted.’
‘He is not due back until the spring of 2021 but it is encouraging news.’
However, there is no guarantee that chick 19 — or any of his peers that similarly made it to West Africa — will return to Poole Harbour, as the lure of their native northern Scotland can prove to be too great.
It is hoped that the chick seen in West Africa will return to Poole Harbour, pictured, next spring to assume a mate and breed, thereby helping to establish a sustainable population
An osprey chick has been spotted in The Gambia after it migrated 4,000 miles from Dorset, England where it had been introduced as part of a conservation programme
It is hoped that the chick will return to Poole Harbour, pictured, in the spring of 2021 and meet a female partner so that they can eventually breed there
It is hoped that the chick will return to Poole Harbour, pictured, in the spring of 2021 and meet a female partner so that they can eventually breed there
