Poole Harbour in Dorset is the site for a rather special conservation project aiming to create a breeding population of Ospreys by translocating chicks from Scotland.

Charlie Moores was on hand to witness the arrival of fourteen Osprey chicks, and talked with Paul Morton (Birds Of Poole Harbour), Tim Mackrill (Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation), and Brittany Maxted (manager of the Poole Harbour Osprey Project) about the birds, how it felt handling such a ‘precious cargo’, and how the team avoid the chicks imprinting on them rather than on the local area.

“…Ospreys belong in the Harbour and it’s such a thrill to be at the start of a project that’s helping to bring them back here…”

Dr Tim Mackrill and Paul Morton | Poole Harbour Ospreys 2018
July 2018

Thanks also to project partners Wildlife Windows, a Poole-based nature tech company. Photo: Tim Mackrill with one of the Osprey chicks (copyright Ruth Peacey)