AN osprey, which died on its migration flight to Africa after being released back into the wild near Romsey, may have been beaten by atrocious weather conditions.

That was the view of Ashley Smith, chief executive of the Hawk Conservancy near Andover, after the osprey, nicknamed 'Ossie' had been found dead at Ria de Ortigueira in North West Spain.

The bird was found badly-injured with a large shotgun slug in its left wing at Alderbury, near Salisbury, but was taken to the Conservancy and was nursed back to health.

There was an air of hope when it was released near Romsey on September 28 and staff at the Conservancy were celebrating last week when its satellite-linked transmitter revealed it had reached Spain on its was to West Africa.

But the joy turned to sadness on Monday when the Conservancy received an e-mail saying it had been found dead and had been taken to the Santa Cruz Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at Oleiros, A Coruna.

In a statement this week, the Trust said: "It appears that after his long journey from Britain to Spain, his arrival had coincided with a period or severe weather in that area.

"It can only be presumed that the heavy rain over the last few days has hampered his fishing ability and that he was unable to replenish his fat reserves used up after his long flight." Mr Smith said everyone at the Trust was "devastated and deeply saddened" by the news.

He added: "We knew that his chances of a successful migration were only slim as seven out of 10 young ospreys do not survive their first year. But as he had already proved himself as a fighter, recovering from his initial injury, our hopes were high.

"He had proved his fitness by completing one of the hardest stretches of his migration, across the Bay of Biscay, but unfortunately the elements are beyond our control."

But he thanked everyone who had been involved in his care and in supporting the work of the trust and said a great deal had been learned from his stay.

"The experience gained and the contacts we have made with other agencies can only help to increase the success rate of future raptor rehabilitation programmes at the Trust," he said