200-year wait over as ospreys nest at Kielder

Jun 11 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

Bird's eye view

TO cater for the expected surge in public interest, a viewing point is being set up at Kielder by the RSPB, Kielder Partnership. Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Northumberland National Park.

It will be based at the Mounces Forestry Commission car park, off the C200 road just west of Leaplish Waterside Park, and will be open daily from tomorrow.

To protect the ospreys from disturbance, the vantage point is two miles from the nest and binoculars will be needed.

At weekends volunteers will be on hand from the wildlife trust to guide visitors and powerful telescopes provided by Northumbrian Water will be available.

To avoid congestion at weekends, people are asked to park at Leaplish and take the guided osprey shuttle bus to and from the viewing point.

:: ACCOUNTS from Northumberland in the 18th Century refer to “fish eating hawks” locally.

But there are no records of breeding in the county for over 200 years.

Ospreys were once widely distributed but persecution resulted in the species becoming extinct in England as a breeding bird in 1840 and in Scotland in 1916.

The first birds began to re-colonise Scotland in the 1950s and today they number around 200.