Ospreys have returned to a South Cumbrian nature reserve.
It’s been a week of dramatic comings and goings at the osprey nest at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve, near Witherslack.
The male White YW returned on Monday, March 24. Soon after, a female appeared on the nest, but it wasn’t his mate – she had no leg ring so couldn’t be identified.
After several days of nest-building and being brought fish by the male, the newcomer was finally seen off in dramatic fashion by Blue 35, who returned to the nest on Saturday March 29.
Blue 35 and White YW first nested here in 2013 and a year later raised their first chicks.
Paul Waterhouse, reserves officer for Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: “The ospreys kept us on tenterhooks again this year, as we watched the drama unfold on our live osprey cam: would our long-standing breeding pair be reunited, or had Blue 35 been usurped by this new unknown female?
“We’re delighted to say the established breeding pair are now together on the nest. We’ve enjoyed welcoming back White YW and Blue 35 for 13 years running now, and hope that this year will once again be a good breeding season for them.
“They’re a phenomenally successful pair of ospreys, who have so far raised 29 chicks at Foulshaw Moss. We hope this year they’ll reach the landmark number of 30 chicks!
“This pair are getting towards the end of their breeding lives so we don’t know what the season holds in store for them, but fingers crossed we’ll see chicks fledging this summer.
“And don’t forget, we have our live osprey cam up and running again, so you can keep a close eye on the nest throughout the breeding season.”
Paul said that there were other exciting developments afoot at the nature reserve: “Last year, a number of ospreys came to scout out a second osprey nest on the eastern side of the reserve and in recent days, another male has returned to this new nest.
“So it’s possible there may be two breeding pairs at Foulshaw Moss! While they’re territorial, the two nests aren’t too close together so we don’t anticipate that being a problem.”
Paul said that the second nest is quite close to the boardwalk and is vulnerable to disturbance, so asks visitors to be aware of this when they visit. Cumbria Wildlife Trust has built a hide nearby to view the new nest from and asks everyone to use this hide respectfully, taking other visitors’ experiences into account.
Blue 35 and White YW first came to Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve after it was transformed by a large-scale habitat restoration programme.
Over a decade or so, the 900-acre site, which had been drained and used for commercial forestry and farming, was returned to the healthy wetland you see now, which is teeming with wildlife.
Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve, off the A590 near Witherslack, is open daily, for free.
