Scottish birds flying in to breed in Spain

A FLOCK of Scottish birds has been released in Spain in a bid to boost the country’s osprey population.

The 12 birds were released at the Urdaibai estuary, in the Basque Country, which is used by ospreys migrating between Scotland and West Africa in spring and autumn.

Scottish National Heritage granted the Spanish authorities a special license to take the birds last year.

The birds are said to be adapting well to their new surroundings.

The second release follows the successful reintroduction of ospreys to Andalucía a few years ago, which involved birds taken from Scotland, Germany and Finland.

The first pair to breed were identified as a Scottish female and a German male. There are now 13 breeding pairs of ospreys in Andalucia.