Kielder osprey chicks ringed and weighed - Photos

14/07/2009 11:58:14 First close-up images of Kielder's historic osprey chicks

July 2009. The first osprey chicks to be born in Northumberland for at least two hundred years are fighting fit and getting ready to fledge. A team of experts from the Forestry Commission paid an early morning visit to the remote nest in 62,000-hectare Kielder Forest to ring the youngsters and take down their vital statistics.

Artificial nest platform
The historic mission involved tree climbing wildlife ranger Paul Pickett, from Kielder, who scaled a tree to reach the nest, built on an artificial platform erected last year. He carefully lowered the birds down to the ground in bags to enable rings to be fitted by ornithologist Martin Davison, aided by ecologist Tom Dearnley.

Three foot wingspan
Placid throughout and with the mother circling overhead, the chicks weighed in at around 1700 grammes each, with their feathers now almost fully developed. Their wingspan was measured at three feet (that of fully grown male is five feet) and, if everything goes well, they will fledge in a couple of weeks. They were reported to be in excellent condition.

Elisabeth Rowark, Director of the Kielder Partnership, said: "Things have gone brilliantly so far and it's incredibly reassuring to learn that the birds are in such fantastic health. Hopefully they will soon earn their wings and then visitors to Kielder Water & Forest Park can look forward to seeing them being taught to fish by mum and dad on northern Europe's biggest man-made lake."

The chicks have a 3 foot wingspan, but it will grow to 5 feet when they are adults. Credit Forestry Commission

Sexes unknown
So far it's not been possible to sex the chicks, other than noting that all three were slightly different in size (male ospreys are smaller than females). By ringing the birds it will be possible to keep tabs on their fortunes in future years.

Tom Dearnley, from the Forestry Commission, added: "You probably have to go back to the early 1700s for the last ospreys to be born in Northumberland. They were also absent from England as a breeding bird for the entire 20th century. The ringing only took twenty minutes or so and the mother soon perched herself on a nearby branch when the chicks were put back on the nest. Their development has been rapid thanks to the exemplary care of the adult birds, who are almost certainly first time parents."

Rings fitted to the chicks include one with a unique number on the left leg and another white coloured tag on the right with large letters indicating the bird's identity. The colour denotes the birds were born in England and will help in identify them in future years using binoculars.

Amanda Miller, RSPB Area Conservation Manager North East England, said: "Kielder Forest is only the second location in England where ospreys have naturally re-colonised, following the first successful nest in the Lake District established in 2001. We are thrilled by the success of the young ospreys. Hopefully they will continue the steady revival of one of our most iconic birds of prey."