Ospreys: unprecedented show in Urdaibai

With the released of specimens of the Osprey Recovery Project that it is carrying out by the Urdaibai Bird Center and the Regional Government of Bizkaia, together with Environment Department of Basque Government, we attend to an unprecedented show in Urdaibai: young Ospreys flying around the marshes, making acrobatic flights in the air and diving frequently into the water while they are preparing their long journey to their wintering areas.

At the beginning of July, a team of volunteers and specialised staff, under the license of Scottish Government, picked up these specimens from the Highlands of Scotland. They flew by plane from Aberdeen to Madrid, via London, and from there to Urdaibai were transported by road, assisted by staff of the Urdaibai Bird Center. During the trip to Madrid, the Ospreys were taken care and fed personally by Roy Dennis, consultant of the project and Aitor Galarza, the Director. In London they had the excellent collaboration of the staff of the Animals Reception Centre of the airport, an organization of the town hall of London.

When they were already in Urdaibai, they remained in a hacking tower for 4-5 weeks. Once they got the appropriate age, they were released in order to integrate them into the nature. For this, the doors of the hacking tower were open during the night, so they leave the tower when they felt able to do it during the day. Once they were free, the Ospreys were fed in feeders, fulfilling the staff of the Urdaibai Bird Center like this, the function that in nature would be carried out by parents.  Most of the Ospreys carry a small transmitter attached to the plumage that allows their localization while they remain in Urdaibai. Besides, some of them have also a satellite monitoring device which will be very useful to know, among other things, their hunting areas, flyways and wintering areas. Some of them have been supported by different entities. On the one hand, Urretxindorra school in Muxika and Montorre school in Gautegiz Arteaga have taken the Ospreys called "Urretxindorra" and "Montorre", and on the other hand, Valvospain business group, dedicated to design and manufacture products of industrial valves, have supported the Osprey called "Urdaibai".

As of today, some of the specimens have already left Urdaibai, and predictably, the other ones will leave in few days to go to their wintering areas, probably in some countries of the tropical Africa. Those few that overcome the dangers of their first migratory journey, will remain there at least two consecutive winters and, in case of survive, they will come back to breed from their third year of life. Meanwhile, the staff of the Urdaibai Bird Center, as part of the recovery project, is installing posts and artificial platforms in the marshes and forests of Urdaibai to make easier the settlement of the specimens that will return, in order to increase the probability that the Osprey breeds again in the north of the Iberian peninsula in few years.

Shortly we could enjoy a section in our website, where you can display the amazing migratory journeys of those Ospreys in Urdaibai.