The Lake District Osprey Project team has completed a successful health check and ringing of this season’s young osprey chicks at the nest, near Keswick.

In a skilled and delicate operation, a pair of expert climbers made their ascent up to the nest that sits in a tree near Bassenthwaite Lake.

They then carefully lowered the birds to the ground where experienced members of the Lake District Osprey Project team, fully licensed for this work, took over.

Keswick Osprey 2009 - Pic Ospreywatch

The trio of ospreys were weighed, measured, photographed and then each bird was given two rings— one for each leg.

The metal ‘British Trust for Ornithology’ (BTO) rings have been placed on the ospreys’ left legs and will provide vital information on the future of the young birds.  If one of the ospreys is found, the ring is unique to the individual bird and asks people to Inform BTO Nat Hist Museum London SW7’.  The ring numbers for this year are ‘1378116 –118’.

A colour ring has also been placed on the ospreys’ right legs, which is white with black numbers.  The colour ring numbers for this year are ‘08, 09, 10’.

Special attention was given to measuring the length of the birds’ wings and tail, and leg width.  Their weights range from 1430gms to 1630gms, suggesting that combined with the other measurements taken that the osprey chicks are all females this year.

Pete Davies from the Lake District Osprey Project, said: “The rings have big letters on them which means that people will be able to read them through telescopes and know exactly which birds they are.

“Ringing the birds gives us a huge amount of information when they are seen again, how old they are, where they stop on the way over to West Africa and if and when they come back to the Lake District we will know exactly who they are.”

The good news for the Bassenthwaite ospreys and thousands of avid fans is that the birds were given a clean bill of health and were returned swiftly and safely to the nest.

Since hatching around 40 days ago, the chicks have grown up on a diet of fresh fish and warm sunshine. The male bird has brought between five and six fish a day to the nest for the female and the chicks.

The ringing of the birds was a cause for celebration for all of the staff and volunteers who have worked so hard to protect the nest around the clock to ensure the eggs hatched safely. This makes 19 osprey chicks that have been raised at Bassenthwaite since 2001.

Osprey live video stream from the nest

The next time the young ospreys leave the nest is when they will take their first flights, which the Project team hope will be later this month.

Thanks to the BBC Cumbria team, live stream video from the osprey nest is currently available for public viewing at www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria.  People will be able to look out for the osprey chicks’ new rings and colour rings to see if you they can spot the identification numbers.

It is also still possible to see the birds in the nest on a giant videowall at the Visitor Centre on the Forestry Commission estate at Whinlatter Forest, near Braithwaite.  Live pictures from cameras overlooking and inside the nest are beamed to the screen and can also be viewed on the Project’s website www.ospreywatch.co.uk and the BBC Cumbria website at www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria.

Visitors can get great views of the birds from a Viewpoint in Dodd Wood, only 400 metres away from the nest.  The Viewpoint is open all daylight hours, with staff on hand with telescopes from 10am-5pm daily, as part of the RSPB’s ‘Dates with Nature’ Project www.rspb.org.uk/datewithnature

It is now easier than ever before to visit Dodd Wood and Whinlatter thanks to the Osprey Bus which was launched in 2008.  The liveried bus service named after the spectacular birds of prey operates around Bassenthwaite Lake at weekends, Bank Holidays and school holidays.

Since ospreys first nested in 2001, more than half a million visitors have watched the birds nesting and rearing young from the viewpoints provided by the Lake District Osprey Project.

Bassenthwaite Lake, a key habitat for the ospreys, is a National Nature Reserve and a Special Area of Conservation owned and managed by the Lake District National Park Authority.

The Lake District Osprey Project is a partnership between The Forestry Commission, the RSPB and the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA).