Osprey Maya lays egg at Rutland Water over Easter weekend

An osprey that returns to Rutland Water each spring has laid her first egg of the season - appropriately over the Easter weekend.

Maya is the Rutland Osprey Project's most successful breeding bird, having had 37 young ospreys fledge from her nests. She and her partner, called 33, have been breeding together since 2015.

Their happy event was captured on a ‘nest cam’ just before 2pm on Saturday (March 30).

The project, which has been running since 1996, aims to re-establish an osprey population in England, having been wiped out by humans.

Ospreys migrate to warmer climates in winter and Maya and 33 have only recently flown in from Africa.

This year Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust has two live streaming webcams showing different angles of the nest, both of which incorporate sound.