Osprey Protected Status

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Schedule One Bird

Police notice - 101

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.

Slide showing 4 parts to the Wildlife and Countryside-Act-1981

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