The start of October marks the end of the Osprey season for 2025 – and what a year it’s been. This year we had eleven successful breeding pairs, 31 chicks fledged, the tragic loss of 3R6, reaching 10,000 subscribers on the Rutland Osprey YouTube Channel, and of course hitting the fantastic milestone of 300 Osprey chicks ringed since the project began.

The Osprey season started on 13th March this year, with the dramatic return of 25(10), a female that breeds elsewhere within the greater Rutland area, arriving onto the Manton Bay nest. This is not the first time she has made a stop off at Manton Bay, and it wasn’t long until she was joined by 33(11), the resident male at Manton Bay. 33(11) and 25(10) had a few days on the nest together and spent that time causing quite a stir. Eventually, their dalliance was put to an end and Maya made her much-anticipated return on 17^th March, very quickly seeing off 25(10) so that Maya could reclaim the Manton Bay nest. After this, 25(10) did return to her usual nesting site and did raise chicks this year with her breeding partner.

At Manton Bay, there wasn’t a long wait of nest-building and courtship behaviours before the first egg was laid on 2^nd April. We were then delighted to see a second egg on 5^th April, a third on 8^th April, and even a fourth on 11^th April. 

Maya took on most of the incubation duties and 33(11) took to bringing in fish for her as April progressed to May. The next exciting milestone came on 9^th May with the hatching of the first chick. The first few days are crucial for the first chick as it gives them a chance to claim sole rights to any fish 33(11) brings back, and therefore a good head start in their growth. The eldest chick was joined by its first sibling on 11^th May, the third chick hatched on 14^th May, and the final chick hatched on 17^th May. 

33(11) was kept very busy after this point, bringing in enough fish to feed these four extra very hungry mouths. But, with such an experienced set of parents, the four chicks grew quickly, and it wasn’t long until they were showing their pin feathers and waddling around the nest. From this point, we were closely monitoring the progress of the chicks as they got bigger and stronger. 

The next major event in the season was the day the Manton Bay chicks were ringed. This occurred early in the morning of 18^th June and from this point on it was no longer just chicks one, two, three and four, but 3R5 (female), 3R7 (female), 3R6 (male) and 3R8 (male). 

Ringing the Osprey chicks is an important part of the Rutland Osprey Project as it enables the Ospreys to be monitored throughout their lifetimes, which in turn gives us a vital information of which birds are pair with one another, which birds are breeding in what locations and, when the time comes, which Ospreys return back to their summer breeding grounds after migration.

A sure sign that the chicks were getting stronger was the first stages of helicoptering – this is the rapid flapping of their wings an Osprey does to build up strength before they fledge. As the eldest chick helicoptered with more and more confidence, by 2^nd July, 3R5 took her first flight – she’d fledged! 3R7 wasn’t far behind her, fledging on 3^rd July, and 3R6 also fledged on 3^rd July, just a few hours later.

Unfortunately, this brings us to the real low point of the season: the passing of 3R6. During a windy, wet night, 3R6 was seen taking off from the nest on 6^th July and later seen swimming towards the shoreline. Due to the time of night and that 3R8 hadn’t fledged, the decision was made that it would not be possible to investigate at this point. Going down to the nest would risk flushing 3R8 before he was strong enough to fly and therefore would endanger him. Therefore, at first light Dr Tim Mackrill went down to the shoreline and unfortunately found 3R6 deceased with a wound on his left pectoral muscle. 

Results from the post-mortem ruled out foul play and 3R6’s death was a result of a fledging accident. Therefore, he would likely have died very quickly after the wound occurred, indicating that even if we had gone down to the shoreline on that evening, we would have found 3R6 dead. We are extremely grateful to both Oakham Veterinary Practice and the University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science for their assistance, and to everyone who sent their support over this difficult time. Fledging is a hazardous period for young Ospreys, and this event was a difficult reminder of all the perils young Ospreys face as they grow.

Better news wasn’t long after, with 3R8 fledging from the nest on 8^th July. From this point, we had periods, for the first time since April, where there nothing on the Live Camera but an empty nest. Though, when 33(11) was spotted heading back towards the nest with a fish, the three juveniles were never far behind. 

By mid-August we were waiting for the bittersweet departure of our first juvenile. This came on 20^th August, the day that 3R5 was last spotted in the area. Ten days later, her sister, 3R7, was last seen. This left 3R8 as the final juvenile to leave, departing on 5^th September, the same day that Maya was last spotted in the area. 33(11) stuck around for a few days longer, but on 9^th September, he too left for his winter migration down to West Africa.

Beyond the Manton Bay nest chicks from this year, we had sightings of all three of the Manton Bay chicks of Maya and 33(11) from 2023. Females 3H3 and 3H5 made their return doing their brief tours of the UK, and 3H4, their brother, was spotted within the Rutland area. This marked all of the Manton Bay chicks from 2023 as having returned this year after their first migration.

Across the greater Rutland area, there were eleven successful breeding pairs this year, with 31 chicks fledging from across those nests. This is the highest number of fledged chicks to date since the project began. And, to top it off, marked the 300^th chick, 7R4, that has been ringed since the project began. The translocation project began in 1996, working to bring back Ospreys as a self-sustaining breeding population in central England, after they were persecuted to local extinction in the nineteenth century. Since then, 300 chicks have been ringed across the greater Rutland area, showing that successful nature recovery programmes are possible.

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout the years. It is a privilege to share this important conservation work with so many, and it would not be possible without the enthusiasm and generosity of our supporters. 

Although, the Ospreys have left for West Africa now, we are already counting down the days until March 2026 when we will be keeping a keen eye out for the first returners – and therefore the start of the 2026 season!