and finally milestone news to end the week:
Resurgent ospreys notch up a century in Kielder - Northumberland Wildlife Trust
The one hundredth osprey chick has successfully taken to the air in Kielder Water & Forest Park!
The milestone was reached when a chick called Fourlaws summoned up the courage to leave its nest and earn its wings in the 63,000 hectare (155,000 acre) Northumberland beauty spot.
Breeding ospreys returned to Northumberland in 2009 for the first time in over two centuries when a single nest produced three chicks. Since then their success has delighted conservationists as Kielder becomes a key location for nature recovery, acting as a bridgehead for ospreys to continue re-colonising England.
Experts have been eagerly anticipating reaching the historic fledging century mark for weeks and thanks to cameras monitoring nests they had a front row seat. The chick had been beating its wings and leaping into the air in recent days, a sure sign that the first flight was imminent. This year osprey couples occupied eight nests in the forest park, six of which produced offspring.
Tom Dearnley, Ecologist with Forestry England, said: “To have 100 chicks successfully fledge in just thirteen years and by a bird that had been absent for so long is amazing. This is the restoration of a population, a reservoir of animals which can spread outwards creating a huge boost to biodiversity. It’s full repayment for the effort invested in building nesting platforms in the years before their arrival and the work of the whole team involved in ospreys at Kielder."
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Posted On: 29/07/2022