It has been many weeks since I reported on the Lake District ospreys. The good news was that the pair of ospreys had been successful in rearing two chicks and I returned this week knowing that they had fledged. I wanted to see them before they left on their long migration to West Africa. I did have some nice views of the two juveniles as they fed and flew around from the nest site. The parents were still around and were bringing back fish for their youngsters.I wish them a safe journey to Africa.
I have shown below some of my better efforts at photographing the two juveniles on the nest and taking off and landing with fish which will have been left by one of the adult birds. The fish that one of them is carrying is a flounder and will have been caught from the estuary of the nearby River Leven. I have also included some other wildlife seen in the area.
It was nice to see a selection of butterflies which so far this year seem to have been in short supply. I also came across a basking adder and a young robin which both posed nicely for me. Hope you enjoy the images and I look forward to the ospreys returning next Spring. More and more ospreys are setting up home in this part of the Lake District and I am aware that more platform nests have been constructed to encourage the birds to stay.
The future looks good for these magnificent birds to establish a healthy population and to go on and extend their range into other parts of Northern England. Thanks for looking in.
Brian Rafferty
I am based in Preston. Lancashire. This central location enables me to travel easily to a wide variety of habitats in the North of England. I tend these days not to travel very far as I find that there is plenty to see not very far from home. On my own doorstep are a wonderful variety of habitats - natural woodlands, open fells and hill country, unspoilt river valleys and I have easy access to the delights of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks. As you will see from my bird images much time is spent at the wonderful coastal sites forming part of Morecambe Bay and the Ribble Estuary e.g. Marshside and Leighton Moss. In recent years Digital Photography has taken over from Video and as time has moved on I have acquired more and more equipment - as you do!!
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