Artificial nests help attract Ospreys back to the Rock

Artificial nests within the Gibraltar Nature Reserve are being installed to help attract a spectacular fish-eating bird of prey back to the Rock; the Osprey also known as the Fish Eagle.
The project by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Climate change (DEHCC) has seen the nests built in Gibraltar by the Nature Reserve Management Team.
A keen Ornithologist Minister for the Environment Dr John Cortes visited the site to see at first hand where the nests are being installed.
A reintroduction programme is currently underway in Cadiz and scientists from the Department of the Environment have recently joined the regional efforts to increase population numbers in consultation with the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society as well regional experts from Andalucía.
Ospreys were known to nest on Gibraltar’s steep eastside cliffs up until the 1930s when the last breeding pair was recorded.
The installation of artificial nests with decoys is aimed at attracting the interest of passing Ospreys that may be enticed to stay. With other conservation measures carried out within the reserve, this initiative forms part of the Department’s wider efforts to re-wild the Gibraltar Nature Reserve and help bring back an iconic bird of prey.