This is one of my most recent illustrations, celebrating the magnificent Osprey, which I created for the 2023 Global Bird Fair.

Instead of a traditional drawing, I wanted this to feel like a vintage travel poster, evoking a golden age of air travel. I imagined Ospreys as enormous tamed birds, taking inspiration from Lord of the Rings and Dinotopia.

Ospreys are very large birds of prey found on all of Earth’s continents, except Antarctica. They have wingspans of around 5ft, weigh up to 2kg, and can live for around 20 years. They're expertly adapted to hunting at sea: their nostrils can be closed when diving into the water, and they have reversible outer toes to better grasp onto fish.

Osprey populations in the UK were once in rapid decline. However thanks to The Rutland Osprey Project at Rutland Water, there's now 300 breeding pairs in Scotland and more than 25 pairs in England and Wales, making it one of the UK's greatest conservation success stories.

Find out more about the incredible work at Rutland Water here.