The osprey is a fish-eating bird of prey with a five-foot wingspan. There was no record of osprey nests in England since the 1830s, until a pair arrived in the Lake District in 2001.
Since then the birds have spent the winter in Africa and returned in the spring to nest and rear their chicks. The ospreys usually arrive around April, and stay until early September when they migrate back to Africa.
Osprey Watch has interesting news, pictures and tracking information about the birds.
The return of the ospreys was the result of several years work with our partners: the Forestry Commission and the RSPB. We erected artificial nest platforms at Dodd Wood near Bassenthwaite Lake, now a National Nature Reserve, and the ospreys chose to nest on one of them.
This project is delivered in partnership with the charity Lake District Foundation. They work with visitors and tourism-related businesses to fundraise for local conservation projects and to promote environmentally sustainable tourism.
