The osprey has landed in Kielder - again!

27th April 2010

Kielder Partnership can reveal that the record breaking male osprey – who last year fathered the first chicks born in Northumberland for over 200 years – has returned to Kielder Water & Forest Park.

Hopes are now high that the female will arrive over the next few days from her winter's journ to sub-Saharan Africa and that more off-spring will soon be born to strengthen the bird of prey's return to former haunts in England.

Malte Iden, Forestry Commission ranger, said:

“The male was spotted on Friday on our new live TV feed which is going straight from the nest to Kielder Castle so visitors can watch as the action unfolds.  We were absolutely thrilled to see him safely back – he’s undertaken a mammoth round trip journey of 10,000 miles since he left Kielder Water & Forest Park in August. So far he’s been doing some tidying up on the nest making sure everything is just right for the arrival of his partner.  She’s obviously quite house proud.”

The Forestry Commission recently used tree climbers to erect two cameras at the nest site built on a platform high in a tree, but until the male actually showed up there was no guarantee he would use the same location. 

But fortunately he wasn't camera shy and has returned to the place where he helped raise three chicks last year, meaning visitors will now be able to get a grandstand view of the historic nest.

Neville Geddes, from the Forestry Commission, added:

“It’s now fingers’crossed that the female makes it back safely. Once she does the two will spark their romance  with an aerial courtship display and settle down to raise a second brood.  Raising an osprey family is a hectic job – not least because they are on a fairly strict timetable. They have until early September to mate, produce chicks and teach the offspring to fish for themselves before going their separate ways and heading south.”

Kielder Water & Forest Park has been on the flight path of ospreys returning to the UK for some years. 

But last year for the first time the bird decided to put down roots and take advantage of a ready made nest site and the plentiful supply of fish from the well stocked Kielder Water, managed by Northumbrian Water.

Providing things go to plan, Kielder Partnership will organise a viewing area with RSPB and Northumberland Wildlife Trust.  Meanwhile, fabulous views of the nest will be streamed live to Kielder Castle from 10am to 4pm every day. 

The footage is also being broadcast in the Dukes Pantry Tea Room at the Castle, allowing wildlife fans a front row seat while enjoying a cuppa.

Kielder Osprey Watch 2010 is organised by Kielder Partnership, RSPB and Northumberland Wildlife Trust. The partners are working hard to ensure that the ospreys are here to stay by maintaining a high quality habitat in Kielder Water & Forest Park and safeguarding and monitoring the nest site. 

Kielder Water & Forest Park was recently voted the most tranquil place in England by the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

Notes to editor

Historically ospreys lived in Northumberland, hunting on the once extensive network of marshes. Accounts written in the 1700s refer to the presence of `fish eating hawks’ locally. However, until last year there were no records of the bird breeding in the county for well over two centuries. The Kielder Water & Forest Park ospreys are thought to originate from the expanding Scottish population.  Ospreys were once distributed widely, but persecution resulted in the species becoming extinct in England as a breeding bird in 1840 and in Scotland in 1916. Some birds re-colonised Scotland in the 1950s and by 2001 there were nearly 160 breeding pairs (today about 200). The same year saw the first successful osprey nests in England for 160 years by re-colonising birds in the Lake District and re-introduced ones at Rutland Water in the East Midlands.

Osprey fact file:

·  Ospreys  are migratory and arrive in late March and April. They leave again for Africa in August and September.

·  The  bird  of prey is an Amber List species because of its historical decline  (due  to  illegal  killing  and  egg theft) and low breeding numbers.

·  Ospreys  normally breed for the first time when they are aged between three and five years old.

·  They  are  largely  monogamous and strongly faithful both to nest and mate.

·  The  nest  is  generally  built on the top of a large tree, usually a conifer.

·  Females lay two or three eggs at one to three day intervals which are incubated for 37 days per egg.

Ospreys divide the nesting duties  between  the  pair.  The female does most of the incubating, brooding and  direct  feeding  of  the  young.  She guards them throughout the nesting  period  and  will share the hunting at later stages when the chicks  are  larger.  The  male is the major provider of fish for the female and chicks. Chicks fledge about seven weeks after hatching.

The  Kielder  Partnership  is  a  public,  voluntary  and  private  sector collaboration  working  to  develop  Kielder  Water  &  Forest  Park  as an inspirational  place  for  leisure,  exploration and fun.  Partners are the Calvert  Trust  Kielder,  Environment  Agency,  Forestry  Commission, Northumberland  County  Council and Northumbrian Water, plus representationfrom  community  groups. Northumberland Wildlife Trust is an associate member.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust is the largest environmental charity in the region working to safeguard native wildlife. One of 47 Wildlife Trusts across the UK, Northumberland Wildlife Trust has campaigned for nature conservation for over 40 years. It aims to inform, educate and involve people of all ages and backgrounds in protecting their environment in favour of wildlife and conservation. Supported by over 13,000 individual and 56 corporate members in the Region, Northumberland Wildlife Trust manages and protects critical species and habitats at over 60 nature reserves throughout Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland.

The  RSPB  speaks  out  for  birds and wildlife, tackling the problems that threaten  our  environment.  We  believe that nature is amazing and we want people  to  help  us  keep  it that way. In 2008, we launched a campaign to highlight  the  fact  that birds of prey continue to be killed, despite the fact that it is illegal and has been for decades. We are calling for an end to  this  unacceptable cruelty, but the campaign can only be effective with widespread  support. To date, over 105,000 people have signed our pledge to stop  the illegal killing of birds of prey. Support the pledge and add your voice  to ours at

http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/birdsofprey/index.asp

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is a registered charity: England and Wales no 207076, Scotland no. SC037654