The young ospreys that will fly free this year in Urdaibai have arrived from Scotland.

This is the second year of the "Recovery Plan of the Osprey in Urdaibai" and yesterday started a new phase with the arrival of the Ospreys donated by the Scottish Government.

A technical team of Urdaibai Bird Center  has traveled to Scotland the first week of July to meet with the "Highland Foundation for Wildlife" personal and take care of these new examples.

Technical staff banding an osprey in its arrival

The young ospreys arrived last night in perfect condition and its have been ringed and weighed. The long journey from the Scottish Highlands has passed without incident. Now, in his new habitat in Urdaibai mash, birds rest in the acclimatization area. The technical team of Urdaibai Bird Center expect weeks of hard work to bring up the 11 chickens. The reward of this work will be to release them to fly freely in the Reserve. Then Ospreys must migrate thousands of kilometers to reach African lands.

Urdaibai Bird Center has organized a talk with Aitor Galarza, the director of the project. He has explained details about this new breeding phase. After the talk all attendees were able to know the acclimation area.

Aitor Galarza talking about the project

The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is one of the most spectacular bird that you can see in Urdaibai. It is considered a "Flag Species", which is a powerful tool of seduction, helpful to encourage environmental conservation, education and ecotourism. The Aranzadi Science Society with Urdaibai Bird Center has developed this project and coordinates it with the collaboration of The Provincial Government of Bizkaia and The Basque Government. 

Two Ospreys in the acclimatizing area.

The recovery plan is being carried out by a team of technicians of the Provincial Government of Bizkaia, the Urdaibai Bird Center and external staff with extensive experience in this type of multidisciplinary team processes.