Two osprey checks have disappeared from a nest at a South Cumbrian nature reserve.
Earlier this month it was revealed that for the first time, there were two pairs of ospreys breeding at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve near Witherslack.
However, Cumbria Wildlife Trust said today, Thursday June 26, that the second nest was now down to one chick.
Volunteers think that one chick on the second nest was accidentally carried away by the male, but it is not clear what happened to the second chick, which was the biggest.
It died on the nest and the trust said: “The weather could have played a part, or it may have had a physical issue that we couldn’t see on the cameras.”
It is the first time that the second pair of ospreys, Blue 476 and Blue 717, have nested at Foulshaw Moss.
The three chicks on nest one – chicks of the established pair of ospreys, Blue 35 and White YW – are all doing well, the trust said and can be seen on the osprey webcam here.
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.
The car park at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve is quite small and gets full quickly.
People are asked to visit using public transport if they can.
More information is available at https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/foulshaw-moss. There are also bike racks available.
If people arrive in a car and find that the car park is full, they are asked to return at a later time or date.
