Osprey chick spotted in nest on Kielder Water

Jun 13 2009 The Journal

OSPREYS nesting in Northumberland for the first time in more than 200 years have hatched at least one chick, it as confirmed last night.

The chick in the nest at Kielder Water and Forest Park was spotted by a Forestry Commission ranger.

It is thought that there may be more than one chick in the nest.

As revealed by The Journal on Thursday, the pair of 5ft wingspan fish-eating eagles are using one of four artificial nesting platforms built by the Forestry Commission.

A pair of ospreys has nested at Bassenthwaite in the Lake District since 2001, producing 19 chicks, and have attracted a total of 500,000 visitors to a special viewpoint, generating £500,000 in direct spending each year.

It is predicted the ospreys will mean at least 10,000 extra visitors to Kielder this summer.

A public viewing point opened yesterday at the Mounces Forestry Commission car park, off the C200 road just west of Leaplish Waterside Park.

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 Northumberland Wildlife Trust to guide visitors and powerful telescopes provided by Northumbrian Water will be available.