Osprey alert at Kielder

Rangers in Kielder Water & Forest Park are scanning the skies for the return of ospreys which last year nested in Northumberland for the first time in at least 200 years.

The Kielder Partnership says it’s likely that the iconic birds will return to nest once again in the 62,000 hectare (155,000 acre) Northumberland wilderness, after the pair successfully reared three strapping youngsters on an artificial platform erected for the purpose by the Forestry Commission.

The male is likely to be the first on the scene in late March after migrating back from sub-Saharan Africa, where he will have spent the winter in warmer climes. But despite being a born survivor and having made the long haul trip at least a couple of times before, nothing can be taken for granted, said Tom Dearnley, ecologist with the Forestry Commission.

“The epic 5,000 mile journey these birds make is quite breathtaking, but also daunting and there are many risks which have to be negotiated. But fingers’ crossed they will make it back and the male will soon be scouting out the nest site in Kielder Water & Forest Park. The female generally follows a few days later and providing things go to plan, they’ll re-ignite their romance with an aerial courtship display and settle down to rear young. It would be fantastic to see more English born ospreys fledge from Kielder Water & Forest Park to continue the recolonisation of former haunts.”

With England’s largest Forestry Commission woodland and northern Europe’s biggest man-made lake, managed by Northumbrian Water, Kielder Water & Forest Park is ideal territory for ospreys, which feed on fish and build their nests, or eyries, high in the tree tops. The Kielder Partnership is planning a viewing area in conjunction with the RSPB and Northumberland Wildlife Trust, and hope to gain close-up CCTV footage.
But ospreys are not the only stars on show in Kielder Water & Forest Park this spring!

The Kielder Partnership is staging a spectacular series of events as part Wild about Kielder season, starting on Saturday 6 March 2010 with a chance to see magnificent goshawks performing their breathtaking aerial courtship display. Setting out at 9am, the walk is repeated on Saturday 20 March 2010. Booking essential on 01434 220242. Other outings lined up include deer safaris, a dawn chorus walk, bat and owl nights and a chance to spy a badger. Booking is also required for these events on 01434 250209 and full listings can be found at www.visitkielder.com <http://www.visitkielder.com/> The season culminates with a wonderful Family Wildlife Day at Leaplish Waterside Park on Sunday 6 June 2010.

Richard Gilchrist, chief recreation ranger with the Forestry Commission, said: “Kielder Water & Forest Park offers unrivalled opportunities to see some of the nation’s best loved wildlife. This is a fantastic chance to join experts and see owls, bats, deer and goshawks in all their glory set against a dramatic wilderness.”

Kielder Water & Forest Park was recently voted the most tranquil place in England by the Campaign to Protect Rural England

Des res for Ospreys: Preparing to give last year’s nesting area a spring clean (top right) and the osprey chicks (above left) that made history.

Stars in your eyes

Starry, starry night

Starry, starry night

Galloway Forest Park is now officially the first Dark Sky Park in the United Kingdom.

And although it’s a hop, skip and jump away from the north east of England we thought you would want to share in the celebrations and have a look at what most people are missing because of light pollution.

The prestigious award, announced by the International Dark Sky

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The challenges facing bioidiversity

The Annual Tom Dunn Lecture, one of the key events in the North East’s wildlife calendar, is to take place in Durham Town Hall in Market Square, on November 10.

The guest speaker is Dr Anne Borland, Reader in Molecular Plant Physiology at the School of Biology at Newcastle University and Director of Moorbank Botanic Garden.

Her lecture ‘A perfect storm’  takes the theme of the many threats facing biodiversity on a local and global scale and asks

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TV presenter backs bid to help threatened woodland birds

A County Durham couple have stepped forward to help the region’s threatened woodland birds.

Janice and Michael Baker, whose son Matt Baker presents BBC TV’s Countryfile, have shown that a love of the environment runs deep in the family by pledging to improve an 8 hectare (20 acre) ancient wood on their organic sheep farm near Tow Law for species like Pied Flycatcher and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

Matt Baker, from BBC TV’s Countryfile, in woods on his <font face=

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Getting closer to nature

Visitors to the region’s newest museum are getting closer to a wide range of Northumbrian nature with the help of a £20,000 grant from a local developer.

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums has used the funding from the Banks Group, via its Banks Community Fund, to pay for electronic interactive equipment in four learning areas which are built to resemble wildlife observation hides.

The hides are now in use at the Natural Northumbria Gallery at the recently-opened Great North Museum:Hancock – and they

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Bird lovers choose Kate for president

Kate Humble

Kate Humble

Television presenter Kate Humble has been elected as the new president of the RSPB.

The organisation is confident Kate’s infectious enthusiasm for wildlife and wild places will inspire millions of people to get closer to nature.

She is only the second female President since the RSPB was founded in 1889 – the

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Birds that bathe make a cleaner getaway

Four European Starlings including juveniles taking a garden fountain in Phoenix Garden, London, UK. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

Four European Starlings including juveniles bathing in a garden fountain. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

Newcastle University scientists investigating why starlings bathe so often have discovered it alters their escape behaviour.

And clean birds make the most accurate

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Durham coastline's diving delights

Common lobster.

Common lobster.

Divers exploring beneath the waves off Durham’s Heritage Coast have uncovered a great environmental success story.

Once one of the most polluted stretches of coastline in the UK, a Seasearch survey reveals it is now host to a colourful variety of marine life.

Divers encountered a varied undersea landscape of kelp forests, sandy sea bed and sponge-encrusted rocky reefs reclaimed by nature from the county’s industrial past that

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Weardale woodland plans are great for wildlife

Woodlands on the Weardale Estate, between Stanhope and Alston, are set for a back to nature make-over.

Woodlands on the Weardale Estate, between Stanhope and Alston, are set for a back to nature make-over.

The Forestry Commission is supporting a `back to nature’ plan in Weardale which will see thousands of native trees take root and

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Project aims to help rare butterfly

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene). Photo: James Lindsey at Ecology of Commanster - Click photo to enlarge.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene). Photo: James Lindsey at Ecology of Commanster – Click photo to enlarge.

Durham Wildlife Trust and Northumbrian Water have launched a new project to protect rare species in the face of climate change, starting with County Durham‘s rarest butterfly.

At

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Free bird feed

 

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