Ospreys at Bolton Estate are first to breed in Yorkshire for centuries

  • Footage shows the ospreys at a nesting site on the Bolton Estate in North Yorkshire

A pair of ospreys have successfully bred in Yorkshire for the first time in hundreds of years.

The birds were once common across Europe but were driven to extinction in Britain in the 1800s.

They have not been recorded as breeding in Yorkshire since records began but now a pair have produced two chicks at a nesting site on the Bolton Estate in North Yorkshire.

One of the breeding ospreys Credit: Mike Thornley

Experts from the United Nations-backed Flight of the Osprey Expedition have been visiting the site.

The expedition, which follows the ospreys' migration, is an epic 10,000km conservation journey from Scotland to Ghana, spanning 14 countries.

It brings together UN agencies, scientists, governments and communities to address the effects of climate change as well as human threats to the species.

Ospreys in nest Credit: Mike Thornley

Sarah Dench, from The Flight of the Osprey Expedition said: "I am incredibly honoured to be able to visit the very first Osprey breeding pair in Yorkshire.

"Our expedition is designed to shine a light on some of the fantastic efforts individuals and organisations are making to address the challenges faced by Ospreys and other migratory birds.

"In the long run we hope humans can do so much to help Ospreys and a wide range of other birds and animals whose lives, like our own, depend on healthy, unpolluted land and oceans."