In 2017 in partnership with Birds of Poole Harbour, we delivered a reintroduction of Ospreys to Southern England by means of a successful translocation from the Scottish population. In 2026, two successful breeding pairs resulting from the project fledged young, and record number of young Ospreys returned from their first spring migration.

For the third year running, resident Poole Harbour pair CJ7 and 022 fledged four healthy chicks, thought to be three females and one male. The pair began breeding in 2022, and have become incredibly successful as a breeding pair rearing young each year.

Below: CJ7 with her 4 chicks 6T6, 6T7, 6T8 and 6T9 – image by Birds of Poole Harbour).

A second successful pair also fledged 3 chicks, breeding for the second time in 2026. 1H1 is a female that fledged from a nest in the Rutland Water population, and 374 is one of the males translocated to Dorset from Scotland in 2021. The pair first came together in 2025, and fledged two chicks. This year, they fledged three chicks, we believe to all be male: 7T0, 7T1 and 7T2. The location of this second nest is kept confidential in best interest of keeping the pair undisturbed throughout the breeding season.

Four male Ospreys that hatched originally from the CJ7 and 022 in Dorset, returned to the UK for the first time, successfully completing their first migration. They were 5H3 (three years old), 5R0 (2 years old), 5R1 (2 years old) and 5H6 (2 years old). Although these males were too young to breed this year, they did spend time investigating potential nest sites, and even spent some time with female Osprey 6J8, who arrived in Poole Harbour in the summer. She is a 2 year old who fledged from the Tweed Valley in Scotland.

Below: female Osprey 6J8 photographed from a Birds of Poole Harbour Osprey cruise, image by Harry McBride