Police notice 101 warning people
it is a criminal offence to disturb nesting Ospreys.
How are they protected?
All wild birds in the UK are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended). Even common species like pigeons or blackbirds are protected.
Some rarer species, or those that are vulnerable to disturbance or persecution receive further protection.
The Osprey fits into both these categories of need and hence is a Schedue 1A listed bird protected throughout the year.
List of Offences - Schedule 1 Birds
It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly: kill, injure or take a wild bird; take, damage, destroy or interfere with a nest of any wild bird whilst it is in use or being built (or at any time for a nest habitually used by any bird listed in Schedule 1A PDF document ; obstruct or prevent any wild bird from using its nest; take or destroy an egg of any wild bird; disturb any wild bird listed on Schedule 1 PDF document whilst it is building a nest or is in, on, or near a nest containing eggs or young, or whilst lekking; disturb the dependent young of any wild bird listed on Schedule 1 document; harass any wild bird listed on Schedule 1A document. It is also an offence to possess or control a live or dead wild bird, an egg of a wild bird (or any such derivatives), or to knowingly cause or permit any of the above acts to be carried out.
Protected Birds Schedule 1:
Avocet | Bee-eater | Bittern | Bittern, little | Bluethroat |
Brambling | Bunting, cirl | Bunting, Lapland | Bunting, snow | Buzzard, honey |
Capercaillie (Scotland only) | Chough | Corncrake | Crake, spotted | Crossbills (all species) |
Divers (all species) | Dotterel | Duck, long-tailed | Eagle, golden | Eagle, white-tailed |
Falcon, gyr | Fieldfare | Firecrest | Garganey | Godwit, black-tailed |
Goshawk | Grebe, black-necked | Grebe, Slavonian | Greenshank | Gull, little |
Gull, Mediterranean | Harriers (all species) | Heron, purple | Hobby | Hoopoe |
Kingfisher | Kite, red | Merlin | Oriole, golden | Osprey |
Owl, barn | Owl, snowy | Peregrine | Petrel, Leach's | Phalarope, red-necked |
Plover, Kentish | Plover, little ringed | Quail, common | Redstart, black | Redwing |
Rosefinch, scarlet | Ruff | Sandpiper, green | Sandpiper, purple; | Sandpiper, wood |
Scaup | Scoter, common | Scoter, velvet | Serin | Shorelark |
Shrike, red-backed | Spoonbill | Stilt, black-winged | Stint, Temminck's | Stone-curlew |
Swan, Bewick's | Swan, whooper | Tern, black | Tern, little | Tern, roseate |
Tit, bearded | Tit, crested | Treecreeper, short-toed | Warbler, Cetti's | Warbler, Dartford |
Warbler, marsh | Warbler, Savi's | Whimbrel | Woodlark | Wryneck |