The Rutland Osprey Project team is anxiously waiting to discover if Maya and her mate will become the proud parents of the project's 150th chick.

Provided all goes to plan, the third chick of Maya's clutch to hatch will be the 150th since the first ospreys were reintroduced by the project in 1997.

The hatchling will be of double note - not only marking the project's considerable success, but also a poignant reminder that the osprey was extinct in central England for 150 years.

Maya and partner '33' have been a successful breeding pair at Rutland Water's Lyndon Nature Reserve, home to Rutland Osprey Project, since 2015.

This year the birds are taking it turns to incubate a clutch of four eggs.

Osprey Project Officer Marie Dipple told Oakham Nub News: "While 25 ospreys have returned - all those we were expecting back - Maya was the first and we expect her eggs to hatch first.

"Maya laid her first egg on April 2 and the last on April 11 and, with incubation taking between five and seven weeks, we are hoping the first will hatch in the middle of May.

"We cannot wait to see the eggs hatch, its such an exciting time and we feel like proud parents as we've been monitoring them as the birds arrived and laid their eggs.

"It's going to be a bit tense in Osprey HQ when the hatching date looms closer.

"It will be a really big occasion as it shows just how well the project is going.

"It is also a poignant one - as the osprey was extinct in England for 150 years."

Maya has raised a total of 21 chicks since she first bred at Lyndon Nature Reserve in 2010. Three of those chicks now return to breed.

Bird-lovers can watch Maya and her mate's nest around the clock via the project's webcam.

Visit the Rutland Osprey Project website by clicking the red button below.

Photos courtesy of Rutland Osprey Project: Maya (without ring on her leg) and mate '33' on the Lyndon Nature Reserve nest.