Group celebrates first osprey egg of the year

The egg was laid shortly before 18:00 BST on 2 April

Conservationists in Rutland have celebrated the arrival of the first osprey egg of the year.

Regular resident Maya laid her egg in a nest at Manton Bay, part of Rutland Water, at about 18:00 BST on Wednesday.

It comes weeks after the birds of prey began returning to the site.

Rutland Osprey Project described the delivery as "egg-citing news".

"We are absolutely thrilled to see an egg on the Manton Bay nest and all of us here are so pleased for our osprey," the group said in a statement.

The Rutland Osprey Project, run by Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, said it would see if Maya laid any more eggs, which it said "usually happens at three-day intervals".

It is then roughly 35 to 42 days between an egg being laid and it hatching.

Ospreys often spend the winter in West African countries such as Senegal and The Gambia before returning to the UK in spring.

Maya has nested at Manton Bay since 2015 with a male osprey, with the pair raising 20 chicks since.