How amazing would it be if some roughly thrown together sticks, a splash of paint and a polystyrene model could help further reverse the fortunes of some of our most charismatic birds of prey?
Well that’s exactly what we’ve been hoping to achieve with our latest experiment in Dorset. And it’s caught the attention of BBC Breakfast as well as the Independent, the Daily Mail and others.
In case you missed the story, we are attempting to encourage real ospreys to nest at our Arne nature reserve and wider Poole Harbour by putting some life-sized polystyrene ospreys in man–made nests.
We’re leaving no stone unturned with the added ‘decoration’ of some white paint to imitate that they can feel relaxed enough to do everything at the site...
Ospreys regularly visit Arne in the spring and autumn on their way back to their wintering grounds south of the Sahara.
Thousands of visitors enjoy incredible views of them perching on posts and in trees in Dorset, but if they stop to breed people soon be able to witness the adults hunting, feeding and raising their families.
The low cost experiment is aimed at encouraging young male ospreys that are less than three years old and older females that may have lost their partners to stay at the site.
Experts believe that by placing plastic versions in the trees, the real ospreys, which are extremely faithful to their previous nest site, might be tempted to go one step further and raise a family there.
And after harnessing up, much shimmying up trees and carefully balancing and securing the models, everyone must now wait with baited breath to see if the model birds will fool the visiting birds into thinking that ospreys have bred on the site before.