Since October 2005 it has been headed by project officer Tim Mackrill. He had already worked on the osprey project as a 15-year-old volunteer in 1997 and later as a field officer.

Tim said: "I've always been interested in raptors and so when the Rutland project started up, naturally I wanted to get involved.

"It was a real privilege to be given the chance to work with these fantastic birds at such a young age. The project was the first of its kind in Europe and so it was great to be involved in such ground-breaking work."

Tim is supported by Rutland Water reserve manager Tim Appleton and senior warden Martyn Aspinall as well as a seven-strong team of wildlife consultants, scientists and information officers.

Tim said: "We have a team of over 100 people who contribute their time and enthusiasm during the summer. Many of these volunteers live locally and come on a regular weekly basis while others come from further afield and stay near the reserve for a week or so."

The volunteers get involved with locating the breeding birds, monitoring nest sites, leading guided walks and providing information to visitors.

OSPREY FACTS:
Adult ospreys have a white head with a speckled crown and black eye-stripe

They first breed between three and five years old

Females usually lay three eggs

The incubation period is 35-42 days and the fledgling period is 53 days

They almost exclusively eat live fish which are caught by plunge-diving feet first

Ospreys do most of their fishing first thing in the morning and between 5 and 7pm

The fish they most commonly eat are roach and trout

Ospreys can see fish in the water from a height of between 200 and 300 feet

Their eyesight is 16 times better than a human's vision

They can catch a fish weighing up to 2lb

They have a five foot wing span

Only 40 per cent of birds survive to breeding age because of the long migration distances they travel

The journey to west Africa is about 3,000 miles and takes a month