Its Latin name is Pandion haliaetus and belongs to the Pandionidae (Osprey) family.

It lives mainly in Scotland and there are nesting sites with public viewing facilities at Loch Garten, Speyside and Loch of Lowes, Perth although it recently began breeding at Bassenthwaite, Cumbria in England and there is a public viewpoint at Rutland Water and there is also a pair in Wales. Ospreys can be seen at almost any large body of freshwater during the migration periods in spring and autumn. The birds arrive back from Africa in late March and April and leaves again in August and September. There are 148 breeding pairs in the UK. The total European breeding population is about 5,000 pairs.

Ospreys are very distinctive birds. Their mainly white or slightly mottled under-parts with black wrist patches rule out most other birds except perhaps an extremely pale buzzard species. Ospreys have a unique shape with their long narrow wings always kinked at the wrist to make an ‘M’ shape and arched when seen head-on. At a distance it could be mistaken for a large gull. The legs and feet are grey/green in colour and have thorny protuberances so that they can hang onto the slippery fish.

Ospreys have a body length of 60cm, a wingspan of 150cm and weigh 1.8kg.

They have a distinctive habit of hovering over water then plunging feet first to catch a fish. The bird is also able to close its nostrils to stop water getting up its nose during a dive.

Ospreys have a call that sounds like chewk-chewk-chewk or cheep-cheep-cheep.

Habitat

Ospreys are found in a variety of freshwater, brackish and marine environments. The most important habitat requirement is the presence of good supplies of medium-sized fish near the surface of clear unpolluted water. Several birds will sometimes congregate at good feeding sites.

In Scotland, ospreys nest in trees, usually near lochs and rivers. In other parts of their range they will also nest on sea cliffs and on the ground. The Osprey breeds in conifers near lochs, rivers and the coast.

Ospreys feed exclusively on fish, mostly trout and pike in Scotland. The bird will fly above the water’s surface to find fish, sometimes gliding and soaring up to 70 metres high.

Behaviour

The male usually arrives at the nesting site first, in early April, and the female follows a few days later, then nest building and mating take place. The first egg is laid in about the third week of April, and incubation begins immediately. Even though chicks hatch a few days apart, aggression and dominance by the older chick is rare.

The nest is large and made of branches and twigs. Some pairs use the same nest for 20 years, adding to it every year. Nests, or eyries, are usually built at the top of a large tree, mainly conifers but deciduous trees are used. In some areas they nest on cliff tops, coastal rocks, buoys and electricity pylons.

Eggs are laid at intervals of a few days until the clutch of three is complete. They are incubated for approximately 37 days. The young take some seven to eight weeks to fledge. If food is short, at least the oldest chick will get enough and survive. Nest failures are most commonly caused by adverse weather conditions, food shortage, inexperience of birds nesting for the first time, and occasionally by egg collectors robbing the nest. 

Immature ospreys may pair up and build nests when they are only two years old, they don’t normally breed until they are three to five years old. Ospreys are monogamous and stay faithful to both mate and nest. Both parents look after the nest. The female does most of the incubating, brooding and feeding the young. She guards them during the nesting period and will share the hunting when the chicks are larger. The male is the main provider of fish for the female and young.

Ospreys live on average for eight years but the oldest known wild osprey was 32 years old.