LAKE DISTRICT OSPREYS GO DIGITAL

 

Fans of the Lake District ospreys can now download some impressive digital images of the birds in flight and on their new nest near Bassenthwaite Lake.

The Lake District Osprey Project has made the pictures available to download free of charge as desktop wallpaper on its popular website - www.ospreywatch.co.uk.

The new images of the ospreys were captured by wildlife photographers, Ann and Steve Toon, who took the exclusive snaps at the new public viewpoint overlooking the nest at the Forestry Commission's Dodd Wood near Keswick.

Nathan Fox of the Lake District Osprey Project said: 

“People often tell us that they would like to get pictures of the ospreys, so these exciting images will no doubt provide a popular new addition to the Lake District Osprey Project website.  Not only can people download the images free of charge, but there’s also access to the latest news, a daily diary on the birds, the live osprey nest webcam and details of how to visit the site.”

Over the Bank Holiday weekend around 1,800 people visited the Whinlatter Visitor Centre and the osprey viewpoints set up by the Project team at Dodd Wood, witnessing a series of dramatic combats between the ospreys and some neighboring buzzards.

The ospreys’ unexpected move to the new nest site has meant that visitors are now able to get better views of the birds than ever before.  The new viewpoint has been set up about half a mile further on up the hill from the original viewpoint.  Visitors are advised to go to the original viewpoint first, where staff from the Lake District Osprey Project can provide directions to the new site.  

Osprey project staff have set up telescopes for visitors to watch the action between 10am and 5pm daily at the lower viewpoint and between 10am and 4.30pm at the upper viewpoint. 

The Lake District Osprey Project team has also installed a camera pointing at the new nest, which beams live pictures to the giant videowall at Whinlatter Visitor Centre, near Braithwaite.  

Visitors can find out more information about the ospreys in the Visitor Centre’s osprey exhibition.  Volunteers are also on hand to answer questions about the birds.

For the latest updates on the ospreys and information on how to see the birds visit www.ospreywatch.co.uk.  Images from the camera can be viewed on the project website and at www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria.

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

www.forestry.gov.uk

www.rspb.org.uk

www.lake-district.gov.uk

Ends

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
David Hirst, Lake District Osprey Project on 07885 834889 or 0191 2334321
Paul Gardner or Jon Perkins, Lake District Osprey Project on 015394-42436

Notes to editors:

1.      Images attached of the new Lake District Osprey Desktop Wallpaper images. Higher resolution versions are available by calling 015394-42436.  Please credit Steve and Ann Toon. 

2.      The new Lake District Osprey Desktop Wallpaper images can be downloaded from: http://www.ospreywatch.co.uk/images.htm

3.      Bassenthwaite Lake is a National Nature Reserve and a Special Area of Conservation owned and managed by the Lake District National Park Authority.

4.      The Bassenthwaite ospreys re-colonised England naturally in 2001 as part of a population expansion in Scotland, following the return of ospreys there in the 1950s after an absence of more than 50 years.  It was the first time that ospreys had nested in the Lake District for at least 150 years.

5.      The Lake District Osprey Viewpoint at the Forestry Commission’s Dodd Wood is located, 3 miles north of Keswick, off the A591 – follow signs to Mirehouse.  The Viewpoint is open all daylight hours with the osprey crew available from 10am-5pm, and is part of a UK-wide network of RSPB Aren’t Birds Brilliant! sites

6.      The RSPB has launched a campaign to stamp out the illegal killing of the UK’s birds of prey, which research shows are still being illegally killed in large numbers in parts of the UK despite receiving full legal protection.  For more information click on www.rspb.org.uk/birdsofprey

 

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