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Late August to early October are the best times to see ospreys on the Dart.


returning to a suitable feeding spot – oſten the bare branches of a nearby pine tree. On the Dart they largely catch mullet and bass. Te UK’s ospreys travel up


to 5000km on their Autumn migrations. Females typically begin their migration first, leaving the nest and their offspring shortly aſter they have fledged. Te male remains and continues to fish for the young until they can feed themselves. Eventually he also leaves, and the young are leſt on their own. It remains a mystery how young ospreys know what route to take but research shows that they always begin their journey by heading off in a south- westerly direction. Historically, only very small


numbers of migrating ospreys were seen on the Devon estuaries. On the Dart between 1900 – 1970 just four were recorded. For birdwatchers the largely privately owned land around the river has made monitoring difficult. It wasn’t until 1973 when wildlife


presenter Tony Soper started to run wildlife cruises on his boat Scomber, that ospreys began to be regularly recorded – mostly on the upper reaches of the Dart Estuary. As an enthusiastic young


birdwatcher on one of Tony’s cruises, I vividly remember him describing a sighting of an osprey diving into the water a few days earlier and hoping to see a repeat performance during our own


cruise. Sadly it didn’t happen, but he was kind enough to tell us when and where on the Dart were the best places to go. His advice was spot on. Aſter


cycling four miles from my home in Paignton with some friends and waiting four hours, we were eventually rewarded by the sight of an osprey rounding the heavily wooded river bend pursued by a gang of squealing herring gulls. It was awe inspiring. However we were treated to


more – the osprey swept its wings back, threw its feet forward and plunged into the water. I cannot remember if it caught a fish or not, but the thrill of seeing that osprey remains with me to this day. Now it’s not uncommon to see


ospreys on the Dart and nearby estuaries such as the Exe and at Kingsbridge in late August and September. In Spring, adult birds tend to head north much more quickly – flying up to 430km in a day. But in the Autumn, adults and later young birds tend to stop off to refuel, sometimes for up to a week or more as they move south. Tis makes areas of the Dart such as the river off Dittisham and Stoke Gabriel great places to go and look for ‘Te River Hawk’. In the footsteps of Tony Soper,


Mike runs Osprey Dart cruises each year during August and


Above: The osprey’s diet is almost exclusively fish and on the Dart estuary mullet and bass are its favoured prey.


September aboard Te African Queen with skipper Alan Hemsley. Although seeing an osprey can never be guaranteed, aſter three years of these cruises, they are running at a 100% success rate with two and even three different birds being seen. Tere is of course plenty of other wildlife to look at too! For more information see Mike’s website: www.mikelangman.co.uk/guided-cruises


Above: In 1973 wildlife presenter Tony Soper started to run wildlife cruises on his boat Scomber


Among its many


lifestyle adaptations, a forward-


facing toe on each foot can be reversed


increasing the chance of grasping and holding onto a slippery fish.


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