World Osprey Week WOW! 23-29 March 2015
Ospreys are amazing! With a wingspan of 1.5 metres they are one of our largest birds of prey. They are the only British bird of prey to eat only fish. Ospreys can live for more than 20 years. Most European migrate to Africa for the winter. Ospreys that breed in North America migrate to South America for the winter. It takes an Osprey two to three weeks to fly 3000 miles when they migrate in Spring and Autumn – that’s around 200 miles a day. They can travel at speeds of over 50 miles per hour. They arrive back at their nests at the end of March to breed and raise young before returning to Africa for the Winter. In the UK there are over 250 breeding pairs in Scotland, seven in England (five at Rutland Water and others in Northumberland and Cumbria) and three in Wales. Ospreys are found throughout much of Europe and also North America.
Ospreys in the UK They were extinct in the UK by the late 1920s as a result of persecution by man – but started returning in the 1950s. The first nest was at Loch Garten. In 1969, a pair first returned to the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve, when they were only the fifth known pair in Scotland. 64 Scottish Ospreys were released at Rutland Water between 1996 and 2001 in order to establish a population in central England for the first time in over 150 years. This was the first project of its kind in Europe – and has now been replicated in Spain and Italy. 76 young Ospreys have fledged from nests in the Rutland Water area since 2001. Ospreys from Rutland Water have also recently helped Ospreys re-colonise Wales. They have nested on the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust’s Cors Dyfi Reserve since 2011. In 2010, an Osprey named Lady of the Loch began her twentieth breeding season at the Loch of the Lowes. There’s even been a song written about her! Fly Lady Fly can be downloaded from iTunes.
What is World Osprey Week (WOW)? WOW is an exciting opportunity for schools to: Follow Ospreys on their spring migration Learn about these incredible birds Make links with other schools around the world
Which Ospreys will we be tracking? We’ll be following satellite-tagged Ospreys from: England Scotland Finland Corsica United States
Following the Ospreys on migration The WOW website includes an interactive Google map to track the birds on migration http://www.ospreys.org.uk/wow-interactive-schools-map/
Following the Ospreys on migration Daily blogs during WOW to help teachers and students interpret the migrations. Introductions to all the satellite-tagged birds.
School resources All schools have free access to a range of schools resources, including lesson plans and ideas www.ospreys.org.uk/free-school-resources/ Registration is very simple www.ospreys.org.uk/wp-login.php?action=register Once registered schools have full, free access to the resources – for primary and secondary schools.
Free school resources
Setting-up your school page Once registered for the WOW website all schools can set-up their own page by completing a simple online form www.ospreys.org.uk/osprey-flyways-school-form/ All schools will be included on the interactive map and their page posted on the WOW website www.ospreys.org.uk/osprey-flyways-project/osprey-flyways-project-schools/
www.ospreys.org.uk/osprey-flyways-project/osprey-flyways-project-schools/
Contacting other schools Each individual school page includes the contact details of a teacher at that school, enabling schools to make links with each other.
We hope you enjoy your WOW experience! www.ospreys.org.uk