Ospreys

Landa, the female osprey, has returned from Africa and is now reunited with Roy.
We sometimes believe that animals don´t have feelings but, after a long period of separation, Roy reacted to Landa´s arrival as any other lover would. He was clearly overjoyed.

At 20:20 in the evening, when birds of prey go to roost quietly in a tree, Roy suddenly became very excited. He flew high up into the sky and began swooping up and down, chirping incessantly. He did not care about the risk of nocturnal predators. He was simply ecstatic! Landa had returned!

After surviving her wintering period in Africa, where fishing nets are the cause of many osprey deaths, Landa has managed to cross the desert and reach the peninsula. She has successfully avoided all the threats of electric pylons, wind turbines and hunters with guns.

Now she is back here with Roy, the big question is whether there will soon be osprey chicks in the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve for the first time in centuries.

There are many factors which will influence the pairs breeding success. Some of these factors are natural. For instance, the female is in her third year of life and the percentage of successful breeding in young individuals is lower.

Other influencing factors are associated with humans. Many human activities pose a serious threat to the ospreys. There are disturbances such as the launching of rockets, bangers and fireworks at local festivals and other events. These are detrimental to the ospreys and wildlife in general.

The ospreys will also have to deal with disturbances from motor boats and other river traffic. For instance, people on paddle boards often come close to the nest without realizing that they are actually causing the ospreys harm.

These are just some examples of the adversities that Roy and Landa will have to overcome if they are going to be the first ospreys to breed on the Cantabrian coast for many, many years.

If we can share our space with nature, we may soon see osprey chicks Urdaibai.