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RSPB Spotlight Ospreys
The easy-to-read text explores all aspects of the osprey's biology and ecology, including a detailed overview of the adaptations that make it such a skilled and proficient hunter.
The osprey is one of the UK most well-loved and iconic birds, and also a species with a cosmopolitan occurring on every continent except Antarctica. A hunting osprey is one of the great sights of the natural world, and its fishing prowess is admired and revered around the globe. However, its penchant for taking fish from mediaeval trout ponds resulted in a drastic decline in the UK with the species wiped out by human persecution and habitat loss. Thanks to concerted conservation effort, it has made an encouraging comeback in the UK in recent decades giving people across the country the chance to see this majestic hunter in action once again.
There is also a chapter dedicated to osprey migration with a summary of the findings of groundbreaking satellite tracking research. Recent studies have demonstrated the osprey's unique ability to make vast non-stop flights across the ocean, its capacity to exploit thermal updrafts to aid flight across the Sahara Desert and the capability of adult ospreys to return to the same wintering site each year. The book also explores the relationship between humans and ospreys, from the days of Shakespeare to the visionary decision of George Waterston to invite the public to view nesting ospreys at Loch Garten for the first time in the late 1950s and the subsequent rise of osprey tourism and webcams.
The osprey is one of the UK most well-loved and iconic birds, and also a species with a cosmopolitan occurring on every continent except Antarctica. A hunting osprey is one of the great sights of the natural world, and its fishing prowess is admired and revered around the globe. However, its penchant for taking fish from mediaeval trout ponds resulted in a drastic decline in the UK with the species wiped out by human persecution and habitat loss. Thanks to concerted conservation effort, it has made an encouraging comeback in the UK in recent decades giving people across the country the chance to see this majestic hunter in action once again.
There is also a chapter dedicated to osprey migration with a summary of the findings of groundbreaking satellite tracking research. Recent studies have demonstrated the osprey's unique ability to make vast non-stop flights across the ocean, its capacity to exploit thermal updrafts to aid flight across the Sahara Desert and the capability of adult ospreys to return to the same wintering site each year. The book also explores the relationship between humans and ospreys, from the days of Shakespeare to the visionary decision of George Waterston to invite the public to view nesting ospreys at Loch Garten for the first time in the late 1950s and the subsequent rise of osprey tourism and webcams.
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 16, 2019
5 people want to read
About the author
Tim Mackrill
3 books1 followerDr. Tim Mackrill is a nature conservationist working with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation on various species recovery projects, including the reintroduction of Ospreys and White-tailed Eagles in England. He completed a PhD on Osprey migration and managed the Rutland Osprey Project for more than ten years.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 20, 2023
Packed with interesting information, but unfortunately, as all books in this series, the format is a bit too small.
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April 17, 2024
Loved it! Informative and perfect!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews