Ah I must have just missed you too @winspit1881.bsky.social! Great photo of the cormorants, they were much further out when I went past!

Thank you Martin, that's such lovely feedback to hear!

6/6 #BOUsci24 #SESH6
Here Ospreys (and White-tailed Eagles) have had huge socioeconomic impacts, bringing income to local businesses, becoming engrained in local culture and providing mental health benefits to those watching the live webcams. Credit: @alisoncopland.bsky.social

5/6 #BOUsci24 #SESH6
CJ7 eventually paired up with translocated male 022 and in 2022 they became the first breeding ospreys in Southern England since 1847. In just three years of breeding they have reared 9 chicks, demonstrating the high availability of food in the local landscape.

4/6 #BOUsci24 #SESH6
One crucial individual to the emerging population has been a female from Rutland Water called CJ7, who was attracted to settle in the area merely by the presence of released young, long before any potential adult mates were resident in the area. Credit: @winspit1881.bsky.social

3/6 #BOUsci24 #SESH6
Seven individuals (and one wild fledged young) have so far returned to the UK, demonstrating the expected pattern of emigration by females bolstering neighbouring populations, and strong philopatry amongst males building the emerging local population.

2/6 #BOUsci24 #SESH6
Translocations have been implemented in many places to speed up range recovery, including in Poole Harbour, UK between 2017-2021 when a total of 38 juveniles sourced from the healthy Scottish population were released by @harbourbirds.bsky.social & Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation.

6/6 #BOUsci24 #POSTER2
If proven successful, this methodology could be used to not only to accelerate further range recovery elsewhere but also to reinforce declining populations around the British Isles whilst helping to improve their genetic diversity.

5/6 #BOUsci24 #POSTER2
So @harbourbirds.bsky.social supported by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation & Natural England propose a reintroduction to Purbeck using a new ‘wild-take’ translocation methodology, which favours genetic diversity, natural behaviours, and minimises costs & time requirements.

4/6 #BOUsci24 #POSTER2
However spatial expansion of the Cornish population is slowed by low rates of dispersal and a lack of contiguous high-quality habitat along the South coast. It’s therefore projected to take between 34-80+ years for natural recolonisation to occur.

3/6 #BOUsci24 #POSTER2
The closest extant population in Cornwall has been growing exponentially since a chance recolonisation event in 2001, and could act as a potential source of dispersing individuals for recolonisation of the Dorset coast in the future.

2/6 #BOUsci24 #POSTER2
Chough are now a protected species, and a return to more traditional management practices on the Purbeck coast by landowners such as the National Trust and their tenant farmers means that there is now extensive Chough foraging habitat available in Dorset once again.