Ospreys return to breed in Switzerland after 112 years
Wednesday 12th August 2026 on 13:30 in
Switzerland
A pair of ospreys has nested in Switzerland for the first time since 1914, SRF reported. The pair produced three chicks in spring in the Three Lakes region, although the nest’s exact location is being kept secret to protect the birds’ privacy.
The successful breeding marks the first result of an osprey reintroduction project launched 11 years ago by the western Swiss bird protection association Nos Oiseaux. The chicks hatched in May, but the news was withheld until now to avoid disturbing the nest.
Ospreys disappeared from Switzerland’s breeding bird population after poachers and egg collectors targeted the species. The birds have a wingspan of up to 170 centimetres and usually nest near bodies of water.
Between 2015 and 2020, Nos Oiseaux imported 66 chicks, mainly from Norway and Germany. The birds were raised in aviaries near Sugiez in the canton of Fribourg without direct contact with people before making their first flights. The method relies on the birds’ instinct to return to the region where they first flew once they reach adulthood at about three or four years old.
The male in the breeding pair was one of the relocated chicks. Released in 2020, he was identified by a numbered blue ring, according to Denis Landenbergue, a member of the project’s steering group. The unringed female’s origins are unknown.
The pair was first spotted in the region in summer 2025, when the female was not yet sexually mature. After spending the winter separately in Africa, the two birds returned and occupied a nest discovered in 2025. The nest is on one of 30 platforms built by the association’s volunteers.
Breeding success on the first attempt is considered unusual, particularly after a cold and rainy spring. The two female chicks, Somone and Khnifiss, and the male, Diawling, survived.
The young ospreys are expected to begin their migration to Africa by the end of August. Statistics show that 80 percent of young migratory birds die, but if the three birds survive, they could return to the Three Lakes region in two years.