Goshawk chicks hatch in New Forest

14/05/2009 23:21:51 May 2009. The first goshawk chicks of the season have hatched in the New Forest. The first two chicks arrived at the RSPB's New Forest ‘Date With Nature' site.

The RSPB's Naomi White, who has been part of the team monitoring the goshawk nest said: "Right on schedule the goshawk eggs have started hatching. The forecast at the beginning of the week had us biting our nails, as life can be hard for chicks born in terrible weather. We're glued to the nestcam now, waiting for the final two to arrive. Then mum and dad will really have their work cut out."

Secret location
The exact location of the nest is being kept under wraps as goshawks are among many birds of prey that are still under threat from persecution and egg collecting. But experts went undercover several weeks before the breeding season began to fit a camera to the nest so that thousands of people can enjoy up close and personal views of the birds.

The live footage is being shown at the New Forest Reptile Centre and broadcast online for A Date With Nature in the New Forest. Visitors to the site have enjoyed video images of the female bird completing nest building and incubating her eggs for the past few weeks.

And with two chicks hatching they will now be able to the see the adult female returning to the nest with prey and feeding the young before they fledge and leave the nest.

Hundreds of people have visited the centre since the project opened in April with thousands more logging on to watch the drama unfold.

Goshawk, adult female in flight on woodland edge. Credit Chris O'Reilly (rspb-images.com)

500 breeding pairs in the UK
There are only 500 breeding pairs in the UK and they were extinct as a breeding species in Britain at the end of the 1800s. Goshawks are known as ‘phantoms of the forest' because of their ghostly flight and hunting style when they weave through the trees.

The goshawk nest is being filmed by the RSPB, The New Forest National Park Authority, The Forestry Commission and Carnyx Wild using cutting-edge technology.

A Date With Nature in the New Forest runs daily from 10am to 4.30 pm until 1st September. The chicks are expected to fledge between 14th-18th August. Watch the action unfold live at www.newforestgateway.org

There are over 50 Dates With Nature around the UK, to find out more visit www.rspb.org.uk/datewithnature