Spectacular fish-eating birds of prey, ospreys have a wingspan of nearly five feet. Their white head and undersides, contrast with the rich brown upper parts.

Ospreys were driven to extinction in Britain through intense persecution, particularly egg and specimen collectors. Ospreys were last recorded breeding in England in 1840 in Gloucester shire and the last UK breeding pair was destroyed in Scotland in 1916.

Ospreys were extinct as a breeding species in the UK between 1916 and 1954, when they re colonised Scotland from a nest at Loch Garten, now an RSPB reserve. Breeding success was low until 1959 when intensive wardening increased the security given to the birds.

Ospreys are amazing birds of prey. There return to the UK and more recently return to breeding in Cumbria are great conservation success stories.

For more information on how to see many other wild birds why not visit the RSPB's Aren't Birds Brilliant website

Ospreys spend the winter in Africa. Migrant birds on their way to and from Scotland turn up at many reservoirs, lakes and estuaries around the UK in spring and autumn.

Ospreys are found on all continents, except Antarctica. Male and female ospreys look similar, but - as with most birds of prey - the female is bigger. Young birds are a little paler, and more spotted above. Ospreys don't usually return to Britain in the year after they hatch: they stay in Africa for two or three years. When they do return to Europe, they often come back to the area where they hatched, which is why they spread so slowly. The female osprey does most of the incubation with the male giving her approximately 30 minute breaks in the morning and evening Most

Scottish ospreys nest in trees, but elsewhere in the world, they nest on pylons, on cliffs, or even on the shore where there are no predators of eggs. Artificial nests and platforms have been built to encourage ospreys into suitable areas in Scotland - about one-third of all Scottish ospreys use these.

Following a vandalistic attack with a chainsaw on the osprey nest tree at Loch Garten in 1986, the RSPB rebuilt the tree. They included a base for an artificial nest, and the returning ospreys built on top of that. The illegal theft of eggs has hampered the ospreys' recovery, with around half a dozen clutches taken every year.