Returning Poole Harbour ospreys lay second egg

A second egg has been spotted in the nest of two ospreys that have been breeding near the Dorset coast.

Female CJ7 and male 022 were part of a reintroduction programme and have been returning to the nest site near Wareham since 2022.

CJ7 was seen with a speckled egg between her feet on the nest webcam on Tuesday afternoon and a second appeared on Friday morning.

The pair are the first ospreys to breed on England's south coast in 180 years.

Charity Birds of Poole Harbour said the first egg appeared at 12:56 GMT on Tuesday, with the second laid at 08:48 on Friday.

The pair have bred at the nest site at Careys Secret Garden for three consecutive years, rearing three young in 2023, four in 2024 and a further four in 2025.

The pair returned to the same nest on 26 and 27 March.

Birds of Poole Harbour and Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation began the reintroduction programme in 2017 with the aim of establishing a breeding population on the south coast.

Up to 14 osprey chicks are re-located from Scotland and released in the Poole Harbour area each year.

The juveniles usually leave between in August or September, travelling to West Africa where they remain for a few years, before returning to Dorset when they are ready to breed.