Osprey season summary 2025

It was a wonderful season, with the ospreys at the Masurian Lake.

As usual, the male arrived first on 23rd March, and a day later, the female joined him.

The birds quickly began working on the nest and started courting, which led to the laying of eggs around 8th April. During this time, the male had little to do other than provide fish for his partner and

occasionally switch places with her in the nest.

All the eggs hatched between the 18th of May, and from that moment on, the males' responsibilities and work gradually increased. He had to provide the family with fish, protect the territory, and ensure the safety of the young.

Feeding the chicks was solely the female's task, and without her, the male wouldn't be able to raise the offspring.

As the young ospreys grew, the female started hunting more frequently and bringing fish to the nest. Especially from the first week of July, when the two young ones had already begun to exercise their wings and needed more and more energy to prepare to leave the nest.

A family of ospreys with two chicks can consume almost 170 kg of fish during the breeding season.

This year, our ospreys successfully raised both chicks, which left the nest around 7th July. After some initial flights, the young birds gradually ventured further, relying entirely on their parents for food.

This period was a fruitful time for photographers, with both parents working hard to feed the two hungry birds, who were dedicating a lot of energy to practising flying and learning to hunt independently.

The number of hunting appearances in front of the hide gradually increased, reaching a record of 8 arrivals in a single day at the beginning of August.

The female started to arrive regularly, and at times, the birds would queue up for a fish, while one of them hunted and the other watched nearby.

The female was the first to leave Masuria around mid-August. One youngster followed her over a week later. The second was more reluctant and accompanied the father for one more week. The male, as usual, was the last to leave the territory, departing on 5th September, the same time as last year.

Dates with Nature

In addition to ospreys, it was possible to have photographic encounters with two families of cranes, raccoon dogs (both adults and youngsters during the day and night), a lesser-spotted eagle, when someone was lucky, a beautiful dark marsh harrier, badgers, and the mysterious marten during the night.

We hope that all the birds will safely reach their wintering grounds in Africa and return after more than 7 months, delighting us with their presence and spectacular hunts.

Farewell for now, Ospreys - See you next season!