Excitement is brewing at Rutland Water as the breeding pair at the Manton Bay nest wait for their eggs to hatch.

The Rutland Osprey Project has been running since 1996, and this year the team are readying themselves for another successful clutch of eggs from returning Osprey, Maya. 

The preservation of Ospreys in the UK began much earlier though, when, in 1954, a pair of ospreys believed to be of Scandinavian origin, kick-started the slow recovery of the population of ospreys in the UK, having successfully raised chicks close to Loch Garten, Aviemore. 

However, it was predicted it could take over 100 years for ospreys to naturally repopulate central England.

In 1996, a translocation project began, which involved moving osprey chicks from nests in Scotland and releasing them at Rutland Water with the aim to create a self-sustaining breeding population of ospreys in central England.

Thanks to this pioneering project started by Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust in partnership with Anglian Water, ospreys have made a triumphant return to England.

Now, residents can see Ospreys in Rutland from April, once they have undertaken their yearly flight back from West Africa. 

The Rutland Osprey Project now have Live Webcams set up so that curious locals can find out more and track to progress of the active nests in the area. View the webcams here.

Maya and her mate, who can be seen on these webcams, have been breeding in the same nest since 2015 and have successfully raised over 20 chicks during that time. 

It looks as through more chicks are set to be added to their tally this week, as movement is sensed on the nest.

The team shared: "Not long to go now - we are watching and waiting for the first egg to hatch!"

Follow on the Live Youtube channel for more updates.