The Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group and Bolton Estate report that the Osprey at Bolton have had a successful hatching.
When the Osprey were first spotted, Lord Bolton decided to stock two ponds near where they had been seen with trout.
A nesting platform was built by estate staff in 2022 and the birds bred successfully, producing two chicks – the first recorded breeding of Ospreys in Yorkshire since records began in 1800.
This Spring the same adult pair arrived back here after over-wintering in Africa. Three eggs were laid, incubated and hatched. To date all three chicks are thriving and the parents are bringing fish to the nest at regular intervals.
Bolton Estate has an outstanding track record in conservation projects, from dormouse habitat enhancement to various wader research projects and curlew satellite tagging in partnership with the British Trust for Ornithology and the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The estate also has many other birds of prey.
We congratulate Lord Bolton, headkeeper Ian Sleightholm and all those involved in this outstanding conservation success story.
