Experts stunned after rare ospreys return to area: 'A chance of making further progress'

A bird egg in Wales became a symbol of hope this spring for the recovery of a species that was once considered nearly extinct in the United Kingdom.
Conservationists believed that the egg, found on April 24 in the nest of a rare pair of ospreys in the Usk Valley, was the first one laid in the area for at least 250 years, the BBC reported.
"The fact that this pair have established a nest and laid an egg shows the species has a chance of making further progress," said Andy King, of the local group Usk Valley Ospreys, in the BBC report. King noted that this was "great news for everyone who cares about our wildlife."
Within days, the productive parents added two more eggs to the nest, which is monitored by live webcams and has been protected by a team of 60 volunteers, according to The Guardian.
Reports of ospreys returning to nest in the U.K. and in other places around the world are inspirational for people involved in conservation. As top predators in their habitats, the fish-eating birds of prey can also play key environmental roles in well-functioning natural systems. And scientists take them as indicators of habitat health in coastal areas.
The Usk Valley Ospreys website reports that the birds were common in the U.K. centuries ago. Habitat loss, hunting, and egg theft destroyed local populations to the point that ospreys went extinct as a breeding species by 1847 in Wales and England, and by 1916 in Scotland. They were thought to be extinct as a breeding species in Ireland by the late 1700s, per the BBC.
In 1954, ospreys re-established populations in Scotland. Helped along by conservation efforts, the piscivorous prey birds have since shown signs of recovery in various U.K. regions.
Ospreys started nesting again in northern Wales in 2004, according to the conservation group. The BBC reported that the ospreys that recently produced eggs began building their nest in 2023, which marked a significant southward expansion of the species' nesting range in Wales.
Since then, birders have noticed other ospreys in the area. According to a report commissioned by the Brenig Osprey Project in northern Wales, the birds have the highest protection status under the U.K.'s Wildlife and Countryside Act, making it illegal to disturb them at their nests.
While national laws and local conservation programs have led to increasingly healthy populations of ospreys and other species, ongoing threats to habitats are a reason for continued effort. For example, reports by the World Wildlife Fund in the U.K., as well as by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have noted the impacts of rising global temperatures on migratory birds.
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Meanwhile, the return of nesting ospreys in Wales is encouraging.
"It's lovely to see them, isn't it?" said Louise Milne, one of the volunteers monitoring the Usk Valley ospreys, in the Guardian report. "They are a wonder of the world."
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