Ospreys are one of Scotland's most famous birds of prey, with powerful eyes and huge talons that can catch a fish out of the sea or a loch with ease.

They're indigenous to Scotland, but for a long time ospreys were virtually extinct here, due to hunters and egg collectors. Euan McIlwraith hears how conservationists like Roy Dennis and his team have worked with wildlife lovers in Scotland over many years to help the ospreys thrive once again.

There are now nearly 300 breeding pairs here, a great success story. But ospreys used to be widespread throughout the UK, not just in Scotland. So once the Scottish ospreys were doing well, Roy tried something called, 'translocation'. This meant taking a few of the young chicks shortly after they were born to a nature reserve in England called Rutland Water, to try and help rebuild the osprey population there too. When young ospreys grow up in a new area like this, they learn that this is their home, and when they migrate they come back to the new place.

The Rutland project has worked really well, and there are now ospreys breeding in England too. Roy's next project involves moving more young ospreys from nests in Scotland, this time to the Basque region in northern Spain. As Euan discovers, people in this area already know the ospreys, as they migrate over this area on their way to Africa and back. He finds out more from four osprey lovers at the Urdaibai Bird Centre there, including two local schoolchildren.

Photo courtesy of Scottish Natural Heritage/Lorne Gill Show less