AN ESSEX farmer is delighted at the arrival of an osprey which took up residence on his farm.

Guy Smith, of St Osyth, said it was the length of time this particular bird stayed on the farm, at St Osyth Marsh, which was remarkable.

“We’ve very occasionally seem glimpses of them on the farm as they are on the move in the spring or autumn but to have one hang around for a week in early May is a first,” he said.

“We have seen a lot of harrier and buzzard activity this year and when I saw it from the sprayer cab first I assumed that this is what it must be but a bit of squinting into telescopes showed it was an osprey.

“It took to sitting on a fence posts in between two field of beans. It has even been seen eating a fish on the post. We have a lot of surface water on the marsh at the moment following the torrential rain in late April and May and I wonder if this is what has attracted the ‘fish-eagle’.”