A PAIR of Ospreys have laid an egg at a secret nest site in the Poole Harbour area, making it the first nesting attempt in southern Britain in nearly 200 years.

The bird of prey was once widespread across Western Europe, but was routinely persecuted until they became extinct in the early 1800s.

The nesting attempt is the result of an Osprey reintroduction project which began in 2017, carried out by the charities Birds of Poole Harbour and Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation in an effort to restore a population.

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The pair, known as CJ7 and 022, first met last spring having made their migration back to Poole Harbour from their wintering grounds in West Africa.

The couple spent the summer of 2021 pair bonding and establishing nesting territories, indicating that they were keen on breeding here in the future.

Both left Poole Harbour in early September 2021 before returning this spring, resulting in them settling in a nest and laying an egg.

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It’s hoped that CJ7 could lay two more eggs over the next week, which will then see a 35-40 day incubation period begin. If all goes to plan, the team hopes for a hatching date of around late May.

Paul Morton said: "To know there’s now an Osprey egg in a Poole Harbour nest is just amazing. This is the culmination of seven years hard work. Projects like this are always going to take time, but it’s such a great feeling to know that the birds have reached this important milestone, and to see CJ7 incubating her first egg is stunning.

"Breeding success is certainly not guaranteed, however, everything we’re seeing at the moment is looking really positive, and hopefully by late May we’ll begin to see them feeding their newly hatched fledglings."

Anticipating this historic moment, Birds of Poole Harbour installed a livestream camera on a favoured nest platform over the winter. The public can now tune in and watch the story unfold on the Birds of Poole Harbour website and YouTube channel.