Have Ospreys ever nested in Extremadura ? Well recently, no, and in a the not too distant past, it seems not, although there are some references that suggest a possibility. Two references were found by Javier Ortega. The first, although very doubtful, was in 1977, supplied by the Terrasse brothers in an article on the distribution of Ospreys in the Western Mediterranean. In a paragraph on reproduction in mainland Spain it indicated no certain proof, but to quote Jesus Garzon, it said that Ospreys nested in the province of Cadiz, and Garzón himself saw a stuffed Osprey, which the hunter claimed to have killed close to the nest, which was located in a tree on a river in Extremadura (Terrase and Terrase, 1977). The second, and a less doubtful report, comes from Willy Suetens, an Extremadura loving Belgian naturalist and a founder of ADENEX. In his book on European raptors, he notes that in 1987 there was courting behaviour in Extremadura: with a pair in a nest containing two chicks near a reservoir in the western region. He also claims that the nest was not occupied in 1988. 25 years have passed since then so it is difficult to confirm.
Sources:
- Terrasse, Jean-Francois & Terrasse, Michel. 1977. Le Balbuzard
pecheur Pandion haliaetus (L.) en Méditerraneé occidental.
Distribution, essai de recensement, reproduction, avenir. Nos Oiseaux,
34:111-127.
- Suetens, Willy. 1989. Les rapaces d’Europe. Pág. 195. Editions du Perron.
