SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES

LAKES OSPREYS MAKE MAIDEN FLIGHTS

TWO of the three osprey chicks hatched this year in the famous nest near Bassenthwaite Lake in Cumbria have successfully taken their first flights, the Lake District Osprey Project said today (Tuesday 22 July 2008).

The two eldest chicks, which are both females, made their maiden flights on Monday.  The first youngster took the plunge at midday and her sister followed later in the afternoon.  The third and youngest chick – a male – is now home alone, but is teetering on the edge of the nest and ready to take his first flight at any time.

Although the two girls have now left the nest, they haven’t gone far away from ‘home’.  The adult male osprey is bringing regular fish suppers to the nest, and the young birds are regularly popping back for a quick snack.

The adult ospreys and their chicks have become a star tourist attraction in Cumbria, and so far this year around 50,000 people from around the world have visited the viewpoints run by The Lake District Osprey Project (LDOP)

The LDOP is a partnership between The Forestry Commission, the RSPB and the Lake District National Park Authority.

Welcoming the news, Graeme Prest of the Lake District Osprey Project, said:  “We are delighted that the first two ospreys chicks have made their first flight.  With impeccable timing, the ospreys took flight just as the summer holidays started, and to watch the osprey family flying over Bassenthwaite Lake will be an unforgettable sight for visitors to the Lakes.”

Visitors can see the ospreys from public viewpoints at Dodd Wood near Keswick and at the Forestry Commission’s Whinlatter Visitor Centre.

There are two viewpoints at Dodd Wood, near Keswick where Osprey project staff set up telescopes for visitors to watch the action between 10am and 5pm daily at the lower viewpoint (which has panoramic views over Bassenthwaite Lake) and between 10am and 4.30pm at the upper viewpoint, which has the best views of the nest.

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.

For the latest updates on the ospreys and information on how to see the birds visit www.ospreywatch.co.uk.

This year the osprey parents have kept the project team guessing as to what was going on in the lakeside nest.  In previous years’ a ‘big brother’ style nest camera has given the team close-up images of life in the nest.  But, this year the ospreys unexpectedly moved to a new breeding site on the east side of the lake and the team no longer had views of life in the nest.

Since ospreys first nested in 2001, more than half a million visitors have watched the birds nesting and rearing young from the viewpoints provided by the Lake District Osprey Project.  The LDOP and a team of dedicated volunteers carry out a round-the-clock guard on the nest to protect it from potential egg theft or disturbance.

The Bassenthwaite ospreys re-colonised England naturally as part of a population expansion from Scotland, where numbers have been increasing since the first pair returned to the Highlands in the 1950s.  It was the first time that ospreys had nested in the Lake District for at least 150 years.

www.forestry.gov.uk

www.rspb.org.uk

www.lake-district.gov.uk

ends

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Graeme Prest, Lake District Osprey Project on 0774 7762916
David Hirst, Lake District Osprey Project on 0191 2334321 and 07885 834889

Additional notes:

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

2.      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.  An upper 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 lower viewpoint first, where staff from the Lake District Osprey Project can provide directions to the new site.  Osprey project staff 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 Lakes osprey viewpoint is part of a UK-wide network of RSPB Aren’t Birds Brilliant! sites.  A camera pointing at the new nest site, beams live pictures to the giant videowall at the Forestry Commission Whinlatter Visitor Centre, near Braithwaite.

3.      It is now easier than ever before to visit Dodd Wood and Whinlatter thanks to a new Osprey Bus.  The liveried bus service named after the spectacular birds of prey operates around Bassenthwaite Lake at weekends, Bank Holidays and school holidays.

4.      Ospreys returned to the Lakes without human intervention and colonised as part of a population expansion in Scotland.  The project team helped them by providing some ready-made nests, but otherwise these are entirely wild birds.  The Bassenthwaite ospreys first nested in 2001, it was the first time that ospreys had nested in the Lake District for at least 150 years.

5.      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

This email was received from the INTERNET and scanned by the Government Secure Intranet anti-virus service supplied by Cable&Wireless in partnership with MessageLabs. (CCTM Certificate Number 2007/11/0032.) In case of problems, please call your organisation’s IT Helpdesk.
Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded for legal purposes.