Many years ago ospreys would have been as common as the buzzard is today, but almost a century ago their population declined.

Osprey information officer Paul Waterhouse said: "Historically ospreys would have been a common sight across England but they became extinct in about 1916 because of habitat destruction, shooting, taxidermy and egg collecting."

But years later the birds made a surprise return to the UK.
A pair returned to Loch Garten and raised a chick in 1954 and the population slowly started to grow.

At the time it was thought recolonising England would take up to 150 years because chicks tend to return to within a small area of their home, so a project was launched to introduce the birds to Rutland.
Between 1996 and 2001, 64 chicks were brought from Scotland to Rutland Water.

Paul said: "The idea was that they would regard Rutland Water as their home rather than Scotland because this is where they would fledge from, so after migration they would return here."

This kind of project was a first for Europe but it proved to be a success when 10 birds returned. In 2001, a chick was hatched and over the years 18 more have been raised in Rutland.

Paul said: "It's absolutely fantastic to have them back here breeding – it was the whole aim of the project. If the population is to grow we need them to return here and breed."

And this is exactly what happened last summer when 08(97) and 5N(04) – both born and bred Rutlanders – raised three chicks at the reservoir, cementing the success of the project and raising high hopes for the future of ospreys in England.