First successful breeding of reintroduced ospreys pandion haliaetus in mainland Spain

Abstract

In 2003 a reintroduction program of osprey started in the region of Andalusia, SW Spain, in order to recover the former breeding population in mainland Spain and to improve the situation of the species in the Mediterranean basin. From 2003 to 2009, 129 young ospreys were released by means of hacking. In 2009, the first breeding pair reared successfully three chicks in the Odiel Marshes for the first time in mainland Spain since 1981, when the species become extinct. The first breeding pair constitutes a significant indicator for the evaluation of the project and the beginning of a future population.