Following the return of the ospreys to Kielder from late March, there are now 19 eggs in at least 6 nests. And, whilst everybody is complaining about the current wintry weather, spare a thought for the extremely wet females, who are having to do nearly all the incubation in bad weather - a far cry from the hot weather which most will be used to.

For the third season in a row, there are four eggs in Nest 1A, which is unusual and will need good weather at hatching time for four chicks to hatch and survive.

Nest 7’s third egg arrived, as expected, on 27^th April. In 2020 the pair bred together for the first time, and one egg of the three failed to hatch. Needless to say, fingers are crossed for this year.

Better still, from Friday 28^th May and just in time for the May Bank Holiday weekend, visitors enjoying the grounds of Kielder Castle will be able to watch all the live action from Nest 7 from a screen at The Sea Diner catering unit.

Speaking about the ospreys and their eggs, Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Living Landscape Project Manager, Katy Barke, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome back the ospreys and watch the population at Kielder go from strength to strength, let’s hope for another successful year for these beautiful birds.”

Breeding pairs of ospreys have nested in Kielder between March and September since 2009, with activity on the nests tending to be mainly throughout May to August as the chicks hatch, are fed and then learn to fly and practice hunting. They have become a beautiful part of the Northumberland wildlife scene and a big hit with the public who are able to watch their lives unfold via locally-streamed nest cams.

Following the decision in 2017 to start an alphabetized naming scheme for ospreys that hatch at Kielder, the 2021 chicks will all be named after parts of Northumberland beginning with the letter E.

To find out more about the Kielder ospreys, visit Osprey Volunteer Joanna Dailey’s excellent blog: kielderospreys.wpcomstaging.com.

Visitors to Tower Knowe may notice a new cabin being installed beside the Wafflemeister café. The cabin will be a new Osprey Watch and wildlife information facility. It is part of the first improvement project, delivered as part of Northumbrian Water Group’s exciting new bespoke performance commitment that aims to enhance areas of water environment where it is accessible to customers.

Delivered in partnership, the package includes access improvements, investment in Osprey Watch, nest protection and the new observation facilities.

Kielder Osprey Watch is a partnership between Northumbrian Water, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Forestry England, Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust and Calvert Kielder.