Ospreys at Chambord

The Château de Chambord and its 5,440-hectare forest estate are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of the Natura 2000 network. Among the animals that inhabit the estate, the osprey receives particular attention. To study this remarkable species, the Domaine national de Chambord has installed a camera in one of its nests and fitted some birds with GPS transmitters. These instruments are used for scientific monitoring of the species, as well as for outreach to schools, visitors and the general public.

The osprey, observed at Chambord since 1995, is a migratory bird of prey threatened with extinction and benefits from a National Action Plan (PNA). Since then, all measures have been taken to preserve the species, thanks to the scientific support of numerous partners: the French League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), the DREAL Centre-Val de Loire, the Centre de recherches sur la biologie des populations d’oiseaux (CRBPO), the Institut d’Écologie Appliquée (IEA), the Office national des forêts (ONF), etc.

Follow the daily life of fishing babulzards live

The Osprey project: scientific monitoring

Teams from the Domaine national de Chambord, in collaboration with the Centre de Recherche sur la Biologie des Populations d’Oiseaux and Natura 2000, have launched an exceptional operation to monitor the Osprey species.

The species nests every year at Chambord (Ospreys are philopatric, i.e. they return to nest in the region where they were born) and is monitored by bagging young individuals born at Chambord during the summer. In 2024, a new scientific project will see the installation of an observation camera on top of one of the nests.

This mediation tool will raise visitors’ awareness of the need to protect this species, and inform them of its daily life (arrival in March, nesting, reproduction, bagging of young, departure…).

The Domaine national de Chambord thanks Timothy Haley and the Fonds Lelièvre for the generous support they bring to this project.

The Osprey project: educational and pedagogical aspects

The scientific project is accompanied by an educational component, as a primary school class from one of the region’s schools will be invited to take part in a publishing project run by Éditions Faton and the Domaine national de Chambord.

This project will result in the publication of the3rd illustrated children’s album in the “Les Contes de Chambord” collection, entitled Ninon et les balbuzards. The subject of the album will enable pupils to discover the biodiversity of the Chambord estate, where several outings will be organized.

Children aged 7 to 12 can discover Chambord’s biodiversity when they visit the château, thanks to a new puzzle booklet entitled “Carnet d’explorateur – La nouvelle star de Chambord”, priced at €4. This explorer’s notebook can be supplemented by one of the “Carnet d’énigmes château ou jardin : Cassandre la salamandre”, available together for €6.

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