THEY’RE BACK!

LAKES OSPREYS RE-UNITED THIS AFTERNOON

The ospreys are back at Bassenthwaite Lake, the Lake District Osprey Project confirmed today (Thursday 10 April 2008).

After a winter spent apart in Africa, the male and female ospreys were dramatically reunited back at their Cumbrian nest site this afternoon.

Staff from the Lake District Osprey Project have been eagerly scanning the skies for the returning ospreys over the last few days, but no one was expecting such an emotional start to the season.  It was just after 2 o’clock this afternoon when a female osprey appeared from nowhere and landed on the nest.  Then just minutes later a male bird dramatically dropped out of a rain-filled Cumbrian sky to join her on the nest.  The behaviour of the birds has left the osprey team in no doubt that they are the same birds that nested last year.  Experts are astounded that both birds apparently arrived back simultaneously after their 3,000 mile journey from Africa.

The return of the ospreys raises hopes for an eighth successful nesting season for Lakeland’s famous fish-eating birds of prey.  A pair of ospreys first nested near Bassenthwaite Lake in the Lake District in 2001, the first ospreys to do so for at least 150 years.

It is thought that birds that have arrived back today are the male that first nested in 2001 (known as ‘No Ring’) and the female that he paired up with for the first time last year.  The female from 2001 did not return last year.

Graeme Prest of the Lake District Osprey Project said:  “We’ve had some pretty incredible moments with the ospreys over the years, but this must rate as one of the most dramatic days so far.  One moment the Lake was quiet with no ospreys in sight and then a few minutes later both birds are back on the nest having appeared out of nowhere. 

Here Graeme's interview on BBC radio Cumbria or see the story reported by the BBC

“This will be the eighth year we have seen ospreys in the Lakes but it still gives us a fresh sense of excitement every year and the birds seem to have a new surprise in store for us every time.”

The ospreys’ fans will be able to follow the latest twists and turns in the story in the daily osprey diary at www.ospreywatch.co.uk

At the Forestry Commission’s Whinlatter Visitor Centre, near Braithwaite, an exhibition area is dedicated to the ospreys.  Live pictures from a camera overlooking the nest are beamed to a giant videowall, where visitors can watch all the action as it happens.  The Centre is open daily from 10am to 5pm.  The osprey project diary and images from the nestcam can also be viewed on the Project’s website www.ospreywatch.co.uk and the BBC Cumbria website at www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria

The Osprey Viewpoint at Dodd Wood, near Keswick, is now open, giving spectacular views over Bassenthwaite Lake National Nature Reserve, which is owned and managed by the Lake District National Park Authority.  The Viewpoint is open all daylight hours, with staff on hand with telescopes from 10am-5pm daily, and is part of a UK-wide network of RSPB Aren’t Birds Brilliant! sites.

The ospreys have also timed their return perfectly to coincide with the launch of Osprey Bus – a liveried bus service named after the spectacular birds of prey.  Osprey Bus will operate at weekends, Bank Holidays and school holidays, making it easy for visitors to leave their cars behind and travel on the bus to see the ospreys.

The Lake District Osprey Project is a partnership between The Forestry Commission, the RSPB and the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA).

ends

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Graeme Prest, Lake District Osprey Project/Forestry Commission on 0774 7762916
Nathan Fox, Lake District Osprey Project/Forestry Commission on 07720 700322
David Hirst, Lake District Osprey Project/RSPB on 07885 834889 or 0191 2334321

Additional notes:

1. The Lake District Osprey Project Viewpoint at the Forestry Commission’s Dodd Wood gives open-air viewing of the birds and will be staffed until the end of Wednesday 31 August.  It is located, 3 miles north of Keswick, off the A591 – follow signs to Mirehouse.  The Viewpoint is open all daylight hours.  Between 10 am and 5 pm, the osprey project information team are on hand with telescopes for visitors to use. 

2.      The Forestry Commission’s Whinlatter Visitor Centre near Braithwaite is open all year round and after the ospreys have departed a compilation of highlights from the nest cam footage is shown along with live images from a red squirrel feeder.

3.      Aren't birds brilliant! (ABB) is a series of events run by the RSPB all over the UK.  It gives everyone the chance to get really close to some of the most exciting birds in Britain.  ABB schemes operate away from RSPB reserves, in partnership with other organisations including the Forestry Commission and Lake District National Park Authority.  Some schemes are small while others, such as the Lake District Osprey project, may have contact with thousands of people over a season.  For information about other Aren't birds brilliant! sites, visit www.rspb.org.uk or phone 01767 680551.

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