A new osprey couple at a South Cumbrian nature reserve have laid their first eggs.
The male, named Blue 476, and the female, named Blue 717, first came together in a second nest at Foulshaw Moss nature reserve, near Grange-over-Sands, in late April.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust, who own the reserve, said Blue 476 is a local lad, having hatched at a private site in the Lake District in 2021, while Blue 717 is believed to be from Fife and hatched in 2022.
The pair have laid two eggs so far, but the Trust said it is a little late in the season and as the pair are young and inexperienced parents, the eggs may not get to the point of hatching, but the Trust remains hopeful.
Ospreys share incubation duties, which last around five to six weeks, or around 37 days on average.
In the meantime, the birds spend their time improving their nest, fending off intruders and fishing.
If all goes well, the new eggs of the long-term resident Ospreys – Blue 35 and White YW – are expected to hatch first around May 23.
As there are two nests and two Osprey couples on site, there has been some interaction between the new couple and the long-term residents.
In late April the new male Blue 476 paid a visit to the original nest where male Blue 35 was relaxing – but Blue 35 quickly saw Blue 476 off.
While the second nest on the reserve doesn’t have live cameras to view Blue 476’s activities just yet, the Trust has installed a second viewing hide on the eastern side of the reserve.
People are welcome to visit the reserve to view the ospreys, but the Trust said people should be aware of a few things before visiting.
Osprey nests are vulnerable to disturbance and the nest is quite close to the reserve’s boardwalk.
The new hide has been built for visitors to use to safely view the nest and people are asked to use it respectfully and take other visitors into account.
While a Trust volunteer should be on site with a telescope and live feed for visitors to watch the Ospreys – the nests are far away from the hides, so make sure you bring binoculars.
While there are currently no live cameras set up on the new nest, the Trust said it does have some camera footage, which it will share at a later date.
The reserve’s long-term osprey residents are believed to fly to West Africa or Europe during the winter before returning to Foulshaw Moss in the summer for nesting season.
All chicks are ringed by Cumbria Wildlife Trust before they fledge the nest so as they grow, their progress can be tracked as they nest and raise chicks of their own.
Sadly not all chicks make it, one chick died in 2016 and in 2020 and 2019 and in 2024, an egg failed to hatch.
But one of the site’s first chick’s born in 2014 has been breeding since 2014 – meaning ospreys have used Foulshaw Moss as a breeding site for over a decade.
Foulshaw Moss car park is also small and gets full quickly. Bike racks are available and the reserve can be accessed via public transport.
If the car park is full, people are asked to return at a later time or date. The access road to the reserve is narrow an doesn’t have passing places.
Blue 35 and her White YW can also be watched on the Trust’s Foulshaw osprey web camera, which is funded by public donations.
