Rare Fourth Osprey Chick Hatches in Southern England

After 180 years without ospreys breeding on England's south coast, one determined pair just proved they're making up for lost time.

Female osprey CJ7 and her partner 022 successfully hatched their fourth and final egg of the season on Friday morning at their nest near Poole Harbour in Dorset. Laying four eggs is quite rare for ospreys, making this achievement even more special for conservationists watching the family thrive.

The proud parents wasted no time getting breakfast started. All four fuzzy chicks were seen on the charity's webcams Friday morning as their mother carefully fed them pieces of fresh fish.

This marks the third consecutive year CJ7 and 022 have raised four healthy chicks at their nest site in Careys Secret Garden. They reared three young in 2023, then four in both 2024 and now 2025, giving them an impressive parenting record of 11 chicks total.

Their success story started with an ambitious reintroduction program launched in 2017 by Birds of Poole Harbour and Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation. Between 2017 and 2021, up to 14 osprey chicks were relocated from Scotland each year and released around Poole Harbour with hopes they'd return to breed.

The gamble paid off beautifully. CJ7 and 022 became the first ospreys to breed on England's south coast since the species disappeared from the region nearly two centuries ago.

The Ripple Effect

This growing osprey family represents more than just cute chicks learning to eat fish. Their presence signals a restored ecosystem where these magnificent birds of prey can thrive again after generations of absence.

The young ospreys will leave their Dorset home between August and September, embarking on an incredible journey to West Africa. They'll spend a few years there before their internal compass pulls them back to the south coast when they're ready to start families of their own.

Each returning osprey strengthens the breeding population and brings hope that future generations will never know a southern England without these soaring hunters gracing the skies above Poole Harbour.