Ospreys are recovering in Britain thanks to “pioneering pairs” who prefer to nest away from the main population, reveals new research. They could be key to increasing the spread of the raptors who became extinct in the British Isles in 1916 before recolonizing in 1954, say conservationists.

Recolonization Study

Researchers looked at a rare long-term dataset covering 54 years of recolonization of ospreys in northern Scotland. They investigated the distribution and density of nests and the resulting patterns of settlement to understand how ospreys spread and what drives spatial recovery.

The study, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, was led by Bournemouth University Ph.D. researcher Brittany Maxted working with the charity Birds of Poole Harbour, and The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation which monitor ospreys in parts of northern Scotland.

Conservation Efforts

Conservationists have described the osprey recovery in Poole Harbour as a “huge success story” with the original Poole Harbour pair returning to breed and producing chicks at the same nest each year since. Translocation projects have also helped ospreys recover in other areas.

Restoring lost species is a key goal for conservationists, but very little is known about the process of recolonization. The research team found that the patterns seen in ospreys are very similar to other types of population expansion which have been much better studied, such as invasive species.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.