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The Osprey is a large, fish-eating bird of prey. Distinctively marked in deep brown and white, with a piercing yellow eye and powerful hooked bill, the Osprey snatches its prey in spectacular swoops above lakes and wetlands around the world – it is one of the most widespread of all birds. Persecuted mercilessly in Britain, it became extinct in the 1890s before returning to the famous Loch Garten in Scotland in the 1950s. The return of the bird has been slow, but reintroduction programmes elsewhere – notably at Rutland Water – have been successful, and this remarkable raptor is an increasingly common sight in our skies.
This Poyser monograph is dedicated to this fine species and includes more than 150 colour photographs. The Osprey looks at the distribution, foraging ecology, migration, breeding behaviour and population dynamics of this spectacular bird, with emphasis placed on conservation efforts both in Britain and in the species' African haunts, which have been discovered only very recently thanks to advances in satellite tagging technology.
Preface
1. A Citizen of the World
2. Hunting
3. Dispersal and settlement patterns
4. Nesting and Courtship
5. Incubation and chick-rearing
6. Migration
7. Wintering Behaviour
8. Our relationship with the Osprey
9. Longevity and Survival
Appendix 1. Osprey breeding attempts in the Rutland Water area 2001–2022
Appendix 2. Selected Osprey viewing sites in the UK
References
Acknowledgements
Index
Dr Tim Mackrill is a nature conservationist working with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation on various species recovery projects, including the reintroduction of Ospreys and White-tailed Eagles in England. He completed a PhD on Osprey migration at the University of Leicester and managed the Rutland Osprey Project for more than ten years. He is also the founder of the Osprey Leadership Foundation, a charity that works with young people in different countries on the Osprey’s migratory flyway to inspire and enable the next generation of conservation leaders.
"The book looks at every aspect of the birds’ lives, including hunting, dispersal, nesting, migration and survival. [...] Not only is this book well constructed and engagingly written, but it is also very timely."
– Keith Betton, British Wildlife 36(1), October 2024
"[...] As Roy Dennis – the godfather of modern Osprey conservation in Britain – says in his Foreword, few are better placed to write a Poyser monograph on the species; and he's right. This book, through its nine chapters, delivers both up-to-date science on the subject and an interesting, readable account of this globally distributed species. [...] This book offers a superb, modern overview of a magnificent species, and is a fine addition to the Poyser collection."
– Stephen Menzie, British Birds 117, September 2024
