Historic ospreys ringed in Northumberland wilderness

Ringing the birds is vitally important. It has to be done at this stage because the chicks will soon fly from the nest. FC

July 2010. Three rare ospreys have been ringed at Kielder Water & Forest Park to help experts keep tabs on their fortunes. The birds are the off-spring of a pioneering osprey couple who last year raised the first osprey family in North East England for at least 200 years in the 155,000 acre wilderness.

Kielder is only the second location in England where ospreys have naturally recolonised after being persecuted to extinction in the 19th century.

Weights and measures
The ospreys were lowered from their nest by a tree climbing Forestry Commission ranger and were also weighed and had their wings measured. Despite the creatures' large size they were docile and took their first experience of life at ground level in their stride. Once back in the nest mum soon returned and chicks are reported to be in excellent health.

CCTV
The chicks' progress has been monitored on live CCTV being beamed to Kielder Castle Visitor Centre from a nest camera. They have put on weight incredibly quickly thanks to the wonderful parenting skills of the parents Chicks have been fed with trout plucked from Northumbrian Water's Kielder reservoir by a hard working Dad. They will need their strength because in a couple of months they will begin an epic 5,000 mile migration to Africa.

Ringing
Martin Davison, Forestry Commission ornithologist, who carried out the delicate procedure, said: "Ringing the birds is vitally important. It has to be done at this stage because the chicks will soon fly from the nest. Rings carry vital information like where and when the birds were born, and to some extent they can be read over a distance using a telescope. It's really our best chance of finding out how they fair in the big wide world."