An osprey which had taken up home at the Brockholes Nature Reserve has died.

Highways England have confirmed they recovered the body of the bird of prey has been recovered after being hit by a truck as the bird swooped into the M6.

Blog Preston has received reports that the bird was disturbed by a man pushing a bike along the hard shoulder of the M6 near the Tickled Trout Junction 31A during Thursday (23 April) evening.

The osprey was sighted on April 16 and had stayed at the nature reserve and been seen regularly circling the River Ribble and the M6.

A spokesman for the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside said: “We have had the sad news that the osprey has been killed and we have spoken to Highways England, they have heard the same report that the bird was hit by a heavy goods vehicle. They believe the body has been recovered.

“All we can really say is that this is devastating news. The osprey was a real character and caused a lot of excitement perching on the bridge and fishing in the Ribble and on our Brockholes nature reserve.

“There were a lot of sightings of the bird in and around the nature reserve, which is an ideal habitat. There was a real chance that this beautiful bird was going to hang around for most of spring and summer and the Wildlife Trust was hopeful that it may have attracted a mate to nest on the reserve in the future.

“We have had osprey sightings at Brockholes but all the birds we have seen have been passing through during migration between Africa and Scotland and Cumbria. This osprey had certainly stayed here a lot longer than usual.

“While we have been in lockdown, seeing the pictures of the bird taken by Darren Leen, at Highways England, and local birders, has raised our spirits and given us a reason to be hopeful that wildlife is doing well.

“Birders are reporting that the bird has been disturbed but that is, obviously, a police matter at the moment and we cannot comment.”

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