Iolo opens new osprey centre

TV naturalist Iolo Williams does the honours as viewing centre opens to the public

24th April, 2009

Visitors to a Wildlife Trust reserve in mid Wales this weekend will be able to get a birds' eye view of Wales' newest breeding osprey pair.

A new visitor centre at Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust's Cors Dyfi reserve, near Machynlleth, will be officially opened on Saturday, April 25, at 3pm, by naturalist and broadcaster Iolo Williams.

Sophisticated equipment installed as part of the Trust's Dyfi Osprey Project means live images of the birds will be beamed into the centre. During the winter months, the Trust placed two high-definition cameras and a microphone on the nest, to relay pictures and sound back to two large plasma screens at the centre.

The birds - one of only two pairs currently breeding in Wales - are nesting at the Cors Dyfi reserve, near Machynlleth, Powys.
Within two hours of meeting, the ospreys were seen fishing together and mating. The artificial nesting platform, which sits on top of a telegraph pole, was constructed by the Wildlife Trust two years ago. It was dotted with white paint to resemble bird droppings, to make it look more authentic. The male arrived at the nest just over a week ago, and the female moved in on Saturday.

Project manager Emyr Evans said: "This is a significant milestone in the fortunes of Welsh birds of prey. The osprey was hunted to extinction in the UK and after centuries of persecution only returned to breed in remote parts of Scotland in the 1950s.
"Wales has some fantastic osprey habitat and now with two pairs breeding, it is hoped that the population will grow and that, in years to come, there will be ospreys breeding in every county in Wales."

Two other ospreys recently returned to the Glaslyn Valley near Porthmadog, Gwynedd, and produced their first egg of the season.
The Cors Dyfi visitor centre is expected to attract hundreds of visitors over the coming weeks. Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust is grateful to Network Rail and Scottish Power for supporting and assisting the Dyfi Osprey Project.

Story by RSWT

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Image Credit: Emyr Evans

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