Returning osprey lays first egg of the year

The first egg of the year has appeared in an osprey nest in a wetland nature reserve in South Cumbria.

The birds of prey, which have a huge 5ft wingspan, returned to their nest at Foulshaw Moss, near Witherslack, having spent the winter in West Africa.

Ospreys became extinct in England in 1840 but were reintroduced in the 1990s. They migrate each year to Africa or Europe before returning to breed.

The Cumbrian ospreys are in their third generation, with 12 birds bred in the county since 2000. Volunteers from Cumbria Wildlife Trust said they were watching the nest closely for further developments.

The male bird, dubbed Mr Osprey, was himself born in a nest in Bassenthwaite. Volunteer Alasdair McKee explained why the birds come back to the region year after year.

“It’s so difficult to build an osprey nest," he told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"They’re huge, they’re about 6ft across and 2m wide and they like to have a tree that’s out in the open where they can see all around them - and it has to be near water.

"So once they’ve got a nest - they’re coming back.

"The downside is that every other osprey that flies past thinks ‘oh, I fancy that’. So we’ve had a few scraps already this season, where another has fancied a prime bit of real estate.”

So far, Mr Osprey has successfully fended off any challengers, he told the BBC

Speaking while observing the nest on Tuesday morning, Alasdair said he is hoping the pair will lay three eggs this year.

“Little Shelly, our first egg, has appeared and I am watching the webcam right now, and Mr Osprey has just come off his incubation duties - he’s been doing a bit of sitting on the egg, and now he is doing a little bit of sitting on Mrs Osprey, to put it very politely, so we should be getting another egg tomorrow.”

The ospreys can be viewed via the trust's nest webcam.

Follow BBC Cumbria on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].