Mary Greenwood, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, discusses a surveillance solution from Axis that has transformed the monitoring of ospreys while creating a thriving online community.
Can you provide some background about Foulshaw Moss’ osprey conservation project?
Cumbria Wildlife Trust operates more than 40 nature reserves across the county of Cumbria, England. As a charity, a key aim of the Trust is to broaden the awareness and knowledge of wildlife in the county. The osprey is one of the most widely distributed birds of prey in the world, yet it is considered a rare bird in the UK with approximately only 250 breeding pairs in the entire country. Numbers are slowly increasing, thanks to sites such as ours at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve which provides a safe place for the birds to nest and roost. We built an artificial platform with the beginnings of a nest and were lucky enough to attract a breeding pair which now return every year.
How did the idea to film the birds come about?
At first, we simply wanted to add a webcam near the nest so that we could monitor the birds coming and going. When we decided to provide a live feed to our website we were amazed at the interest from the general public, later evidenced through soaring viewing figures. We realised that we would need to use a far more robust solution that would be capable of capturing superb high-definition video 24 hours a day, regardless of weather conditions. The network surveillance cameras from Axis Communications were the natural choice and together with the generosity of funders and individuals donating, live streaming from the nest was made possible.
Why did you choose Axis and can you explain the relationship?
We have been using network cameras from Axis Communications across our sites for the past seven years, mainly in a security capacity. We were pleasantly surprised when the technology proved to be ideal for documenting close-up footage of the birds in action too. The image quality is absolutely superb, allowing us to capture stunning video and stills of these iconic birds in all their glorious detail. Of course, there is an element of security here too, as the cameras also help to protect the nest from anybody who may want to disturb the birds or attempt to cause criminal damage to the site.
Can you elaborate on the online following you have built as a result of the osprey camera?
The ospreys fly home each spring to spend time at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve and raise their chicks before migrating once again as summer ends. We have built up a significant community of connected enthusiasts who watch our cameras and regularly engage with us through our online chat function. The emergence of new chicks each year can be as emotional for regular viewers as it is for us. The osprey pair has now fledged 18 chicks from the nest which is a significant success for wildlife conservation. Sometimes viewers actually spot new behaviour patterns and tell us what they’ve seen, and even alert us to when the birds are returning to the nest. To be able to document these wonderful birds and their journey, and share that with followers around the globe is a fantastic achievement made possible by Axis’ technology.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your work with the ospreys?
The pandemic has had very little negative impact on this particular project due to the fact that the cameras can be remotely activated and do not require any physical maintenance. What we have seen is a significant uptake in the number of people watching our camera livestream, gaining us 687,000 unique views in the last year, which is an increase of 78% compared to 2019 before the pandemic began. People have contacted us to say that watching the ospreys has really helped them to connect with nature and given them something positive to focus on and improve their wellbeing. It’s heart-warming to think that we have made a difference to people’s lives in ways that we couldn’t have imagined when we initially decided to record the activities of the birds.
What’s next for the project?
The Axis solution has enabled us to engage with large numbers of the general public, helping to raise the profile of the site, our organisation and the importance of the work that we do. It also acts as an important educational resource. As well as allowing people to learn about the natural world from the comfort of their home, many local schools also follow our ospreys online through the summer, inspiring children to learn about the natural world and become our conservationists of the future. With this in mind, we are continuing with our popular livestream and looking forward to using a P3807-PVE network camera kindly donated by Axis. This will enable us to capture a full 180-degree view from the birds’ nest to the roosting tree. We look forward to seeing the spectacular video we’ll be able to capture when the birds return in the spring, and to continuing to work closely with Axis on this exciting project.