Rutland was "filled with joy" over the weekend as the first osprey chicks of the year hatched at Manton Bay.

Rutland Water Nature Reserve welcomed the first chick on Saturday morning (May 11) and will be providing regular updates on the check and mother Maya.

It is hoped a second egg will hatch in the coming days.

"Rutland was filled with joy this weekend as the skies glowed with the fantastic aurora displays and the first osprey chick of the year hatched," Rutland Water Nature Reserve said in a post on social media.

"Rutland Water Nature Reserve welcomed its first osprey chick this year at Manton Bay amid the spectacular aurora displays over the skies during the weekend.

"The first glimpse of the little chick can be seen on the Rutland Osprey Project, where regular updates are posted of their progress, including this wonderful image of the chick being fed by the mother Maya."

Maya and her mate have been breeding in the same nest since 2015 and have successfully raised over 20 chicks during that time. 

(Image credit: Rutland Osprey Project)

The Rutland Osprey Project has been running since 1996.

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.

Now more chicks are being added to that tally.