Nest built to attract breeding ospreys to Hertfordshire

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is hoping to return ospreys to the area

An artificial osprey nest has been built to attract the birds of prey back to Hertfordshire.

The nest, which sits 10m (32.8 ft) above Stocker's Lake in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire was commissioned by Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.

Ospreys are migratory birds, present in the UK in summer and currently can be found in parts of Scotland, Cumbria, the East Midlands and Wales.

It may take years for an Osprey to use the nest, the trust warned.

The feature has been constructed using rhododendron branches and twigs, collected by the local community group Friends of Stocker's Lake.

Ospreys largely went extinct in the UK due to Victorian egg and skin collectors and also pesticide use which thinned their eggshells.

Their numbers were also affected by gamekeepers shooting them to protect fisheries.

It could take years before the nest is used, the trust said

Josh Kalms, the trust's people and wildlife officer, said: "Ospreys are magnificent birds of prey and it is wonderful to think that the species could become part of our local birdlife in future.

"We recognise this could take some years, but it is hoped our artificial nest may be seen by a juvenile or displaced osprey on its southern, autumn, migration to the Congo.

"The following year it may choose to make a new home at Stocker's Lake."

The project was funded by site owners Affinity Water.

Sophie Mortimer, biodiversity manager at Affinity Water, said: "We love that we can use the expertise of our colleagues from the trust to enhance biodiversity on site and create habitat to attract and give home to rare species such as osprey."