Rutland Osprey Webcam – See Manton Bay Chicks Hatch

The Rutland Osprey Webcam looks down onto the Manton Bay osprey nest at Rutland Water Nature Reserve in Rutland, England, home to Maya and 33(11), a pair that has bred here together since 2015. On the close-up camera the great stick nest fills most of the screen, its branches spotted with yellow lichen, with the open water of the bay behind it. A wide-angle camera pulls back to show the nest standing out in the bay, the shore curving away to the left and trees along the far bank. Two more cameras watch a second nest on Lagoon 4. From mid-March the cameras follow the birds’ return, the eggs, the chicks and their first flights. From September until March the nests stand empty while the ospreys winter in West Africa.

About the Rutland Water Ospreys

Rutland Water is a reservoir, made by damming the Gwash valley near Empingham between 1971 and 1975 and first flooded in 1976. Its 10.86 square kilometers (4.19 square miles) of water make it the largest artificial reservoir in the United Kingdom by surface area, at about 85 meters (279 feet) above sea level. Anglian Water manages the reservoir, and the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust looks after 393 hectares (971 acres) at the western end, including Manton Bay, as Rutland Water Nature Reserve.

The ospreys came back with help. In 1996 the Rutland Osprey Project began moving osprey chicks from nests in Scotland, and 65 young birds were released at the reserve between 1996 and 2001. The first chick was raised in 2001 by the male 03(97) and a female from Scotland, and the Trust now counts 300 young ospreys fledged from nests in the Rutland Water area. The Trust runs the project in partnership with Anglian Water, and the Manton Bay nest has been in use since 2007.

The birds set the calendar. The Trust’s key dates for 2025 show 33(11) back on 13 March and Maya on 17 March, four eggs laid between 2 and 11 April, and four chicks hatched between 9 and 17 May. The chicks were ringed on 18 June and flew for the first time between 2 and 8 July. The young were last seen in the bay between 20 August and 5 September, Maya on 5 September and 33(11) on 9 September. They winter in Senegal and The Gambia, more than 4,800 kilometers (3,000 miles) away, and the young make that first journey without their parents, a route traced on our bird migration map.

The second nest is on Lagoon 4, also inside the reserve, where a male ringed 359 and a female ringed 3H9 investigated it in 2025. Its wide-angle camera shows the nest on a wooden platform raised on a post in shallow water, with a low grassy bank and more lagoon water beyond. The close-up looks into the flat bowl of the nest, where white ties hold the outer sticks in place.

Weather and Climate at Rutland Water

January highs average about 7°C (45°F) at Manton Bay, with lows around 2°C (36°F). Winter is the empty season on the nest cameras, and the bay belongs to other birds: the Trust lists wigeon, goldeneye and teal among the wintering wildfowl, and small flocks of waterbirds can show up near the shore in the wide-angle view. Spring warms slowly, from highs of about 10°C (50°F) in March, when the ospreys return, to about 16°C (61°F) in May, when the chicks hatch.

July and August are the warmest months, with highs of about 21°C (70°F) and lows near 13°C (55°F), and the weeks when the young ospreys fledge. When the water level drops in late summer, the exposed mud draws wading birds. Autumn cools from highs of about 19°C (66°F) in September to 10°C (50°F) in November, and by then the nests are usually empty. Rain falls in every month, with no real dry season.

Things to Do Near Rutland Water

To see the Manton Bay ospreys in person, head for the Lyndon Visitor Centre on Lyndon Road near Manton. In 2026 it opens daily from 9am to 5pm between 2 March and 30 September, and the Waderscrape and Shallow Water hides, a 15 to 20 minute walk along the path, give the best views of the nest. The day permit also covers the Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre at Egleton. In winter the center is closed, though the reserve gates stay open to permit holders, and kingfishers, otters and willow tits are among the other wildlife the Trust lists at Lyndon.

The Trust calls a guided trip aboard the Rutland Belle, the pleasure cruiser that carries people around the lake, one of the most exciting ways to see the ospreys. A track of 37 kilometers (23 miles) circles the reservoir for cyclists and walkers, or 27 kilometers (17 miles) if you leave out the Hambleton peninsula in the middle of the water. An embankment built around Normanton Church, a deconsecrated and Grade II listed building owned by Anglian Water, keeps it standing at the water’s edge. Oakham, the nearest town, is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) north-west of Manton Bay.

Beğenebileceğiniz Benzer Web Kameraları

For more nests and birds of prey, these cameras make a good next stop.

• Alyth Balık Kartalı Web Kamerası
• Aylesbury Peregrine Webcam
• Norveç Balık Kartalı Web Kamerası

Sıkça Sorulan Sorular

Where is the Manton Bay osprey nest?

Out in the water of Manton Bay, at the western end of Rutland Water in Rutland, in the East Midlands of England. The bay lies about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) south-east of Oakham and about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Leicester. The Lagoon 4 nest is in the same nature reserve.

What can you see on the Rutland Osprey Webcam?

Four views: a close-up and a wide angle of the Manton Bay nest, and the same pair of views of the Lagoon 4 nest on its platform in a shallow lagoon. Between March and September they can show ospreys arriving, sitting on eggs, feeding chicks and the young taking their first flights.

Why is the Rutland Osprey Webcam nest empty?

Because the ospreys are in Africa. They leave in late August and September and spend the winter in Senegal and The Gambia, so the nests are empty from about September until the adults come back in March. The cameras keep streaming the empty nests through the winter.

When do the ospreys return to Rutland Water?

Usually in March. In 2025, 33(11) returned to the Manton Bay nest on 13 March and Maya on 17 March, and the Trust recorded Maya’s return on 12 March in 2024.

Who are Maya and 33(11)?

The Manton Bay breeding pair, together since 2015. 33(11) is the male, named by the code on his leg ring, and he first came back to Rutland as a two-year-old in 2013. In 2025 Maya laid four eggs and all four chicks hatched.

What is the weather like at Rutland Water?

Mild and changeable, with January highs of about 7°C (45°F), July and August highs of about 21°C (70°F) and rain in every month.

Source: Rutland Osprey Project, Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust