Some of you may not know what an osprey is, or what makes it special. The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a large, fish-eating bird of prey, which has been making a comeback in the UK.  It has dark brown upperparts and contrasting white underparts that can appear mottled in females. Their heads are white with a dark brown through their eyes. Their wings during flight show strong barring and distinctively dark brown, angled ‘wrists’, and can be mistaken for a gull at a distance.  

A migratory bird, it is present in the UK in spring and summer, typically March-August.  It is only relatively recently that we have able to see ospreys in our Northumberland skies. Ospreys were driven to extinction in England by 1840, through egg collecting and persecution. They held on slightly longer in Scotland, until 1916.  

Ospreys remained functionally extinct in Britain until 1954, when they re-colonised naturally (most likely from Scandinavia) at Loch Garten, Abernethy Forest Reserve, Scotland. Ospreys are naturally very site-faithful and expansion from Loch Garten was initially slow. By 1976 the population had reached only 14 pairs.  

For many years, Kielder was a regular stopping point for ospreys migrating to and from their breeding grounds in Scotland. However in 2006, a young male was seen to be summering in the local area, prompting Forestry England to establish three nesting platforms at various suitable points) within the Kielder Forest area. These were constructed out of timber struts and wire netting, and were covered with brash to simulate existing nests, however no osprey nesting attempt was made. 

In 2008, one of the platforms was moved and additionally splattered with white paint to simulate osprey droppings from recent use. Subsequently, a young osprey pair did create a trial nest but did not attempt to breed. In 2009 the fourth platform was occupied by an unringed pair of ospreys who raised three chicks. These were the first ospreys to breed in Northumberland for around 200 years!  

A number of organisations quickly organised the very first Osprey Watch – a very informal set up where a couple of enthusiastic volunteers manned a telescope in a layby from a vantage point. From these humble beginnings, with a huge amount of support and good will from organisations such as Forestry England, Northumbrian Water, Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust, Calvert Kielder and Wild Intrigue, we now have a much more developed offer!  

Osprey Watch was moved to Kielder Waterside (formerly Leaplish) and based in a cabin behind the pub, with a view of Nest 1A. This was a useful base for many years, but the nest was very distant. Discussions had been had for several years amongst all the partner organisations about whether a new platform location could be found that would provide a closer view. After careful planning, Forestry England were able to erect a new platform over the water from Tower Knowe.  

Fortunately, we were able to secure some funding with Northumbrian Water to build a new, bespoke Osprey Watch cabin at Tower Knowe, facing across to the new platform. Thankfully, the new nest was soon adopted by a pair, and is known as Nest 7. We have been able install a 4k camera on the nest which streams directly to the cabin, and will also be broadcast online.  

This development has been fantastic for Osprey Watch and please do spread the word and encourage your friends and family to visit. The watch will run at Tower Knowe between 11-4.30 on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays until mid April where our team of friendly and very knowledgeable volunteers will be happy to greet you and show you these magnificent birds.  

Ospreys are a highly visible species, and a fantastic story of nature recovery. We are rightly proud that Kielder has become a stronghold for the species in the North of England. 

You can keep up to date with everything Kielder osprey related at the project blog: www.kielderospreys.wordpress.com 

Top 10 facts: 

• Ospreys are found on all continents except Antarctica. 

• Ospreys are migratory, arriving in late March and April and leaving again, usually for West Africa, in August and September, travelling an average of 5000-6000 km each way. 

• Ospreys are fast fliers and during migration, they can travel an average of 320 km a day at 40 km/h. 

• Ospreys became extinct as a breeding bird in England in 1840 and in Scotland in 1916. This was primarily due to heavy persecution by Victorian egg and skin collectors.  Although things are slowly improving for ospreys they are still considered rare. 

• Egg collecting remains one of the biggest threats faced by ospreys today. 

• Ospreys re-colonised naturally, breeding for the first time in Scotland in 1954 at Loch Garten, Abernethy Forest Reserve, and in England in 2001 at Bassenthwaite in the Lake District. 

• When fishing, ospreys carry their catch so that the fish faces forwards like a torpedo, minimising air resistance.  They have a reversible outer toe to enable them to do this. 

• Adults can catch fish weighing up to 1 kg. 

• They are largely monogamous and strongly faithful both to nest and mate. One female osprey in Scotland has been using the same nest for over 20 years. 

• On average, an osprey nest is 120-150 cm wide and 50-200 cm deep.