Prolific osprey lays first egg of 2024 season at Rutland Water

Maya is the most successful breeding osprey from Rutland Water, producing 37 chicks to date

The first osprey egg of the year has been laid at a reservoir in Rutland.

The egg was laid at Rutland Water by prolific breeder Maya, who completed her migration from her wintering grounds in Africa on 12 March.

It was laid at about 14:00 GMT on Saturday, according to the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.

The egg was laid as part of a breeding programme, which hatched its 250th chick in 2023.

Rutland Water Nature Reserve was the first place in England where ospreys bred in 150 years when Scottish chicks were introduced as part of the Rutland Osprey Project in 1996 and in 2001.

Since the birds were introduced, hundreds have been raised in Rutland - with some returning to breed there time after time

The project, which is run by Anglian Water and the wildlife trust, is hopeful chicks will return to breed at the site two to three years after hatching.

Birds fly to African countries such as The Gambia to spend their first year or two as an adolescent, before returning home to Rutland Water to find a nest site, the trust said.

Joe Davis, head of reserve management at the trust, said: "Rutland's ospreys are really flourishing.

"This innovative project has shown us that with proactive conservation work, we can really turn around the fortunes of our endangered species."