Difference between revisions of "Bassenthwaite Lake" - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 18:24, 6 April 2014

Photo by HelenB
View of southern end of Bassenthwaite Lake from the Upper Viewpoint, May 2009.
Click on image to see a larger version

England, Cumbria

Overview

Bassenthwaite Lake is a National Nature Reserve, in the Lake District, located in the county of Cumbria in northwest England. It is owned and managed by the Lake District National Park Authority. The area became famous in 2001, when a pair of wild Ospreys nested there, this being the first time in over 150 years that Ospreys had bred in the Lake District. Since then there have been breeding Ospreys every summer and hundreds of people have visited the viewpoints and visitor centre, to see these wonderful birds of prey.

Photo by HelenB
View of Bassenthwaite Lake looking from the lay-by on the B5292 up to Whinlatter Pass, April 2012. The Ospreys built a new nest in 2011, in the flat marshy area on the south side of the lake ~ the area on the middle right of the photo

2014 Ospreywatch News

The Lake District Osprey Project at Dodd Wood opens for the 2014 season, on 1st April 2014 and will close on about the end of August 2014. Access to the viewpoints will remain open at the end of the season, but there will be no volunteers or optics available.
All 3 previously used nests have been refurbished in order to attract whichever ospreys come back this year.
3rd and 4th April: 2 Ospreys have visited the marsh nest, one with no rings, the other thought to be Blue XY from Scotland.

Birds

Notable Species

Osprey, Red Kite (28 April, 2010), Barnacle Goose (These are most probably birds from a resident flock on nearby Derwentwater), Eurasian Oystercatcher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Tawny Owl, Common Dipper, Common Redstart, European Pied Flycatcher, Eurasian Treecreeper.

Photo by HelenB
Southern end of Bassenthwaite Lake from the Lower Viewpoint, May 09. In 2011, the Ospreys built a new nest in a marshy area there

Rarities

Red Kite ~ a total of 60 young Red Kites were released in Grizedale Forest, near Windermere, in the summers of 2010, 2011 and 2012. This is the 9th reintroduction and part of the final phase of Red Kite reintroductions in different parts of the UK. It is very likely that these wing-tagged kites will be seen over Bassenthwaite Lake as they explore the Lake District.

Check-list

Birds you can see here include:

Great Crested Grebe, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Goosander, Osprey, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Common Pheasant, Water Rail, Common Moorhen, Common Coot, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipe, Eurasian Curlew, Common Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Woodpigeon, Tawny Owl, Common Swift, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Northern House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Eurasian Wren, Dunnock, European Robin, Common Redstart, Eurasian Blackbird, Song Thrush, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Wood Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, European Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Nuthatch, Eurasian Treecreeper, Eurasian Magpie, Eurasian Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Common Raven, Eurasian Jay, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Common Crossbill, Eurasian Bullfinch

Photo by HelenB
Whinlatter Visitor Centre, located in Whinlatter Forest Park, on the B5292, west of Bassenthwaite Lake, April 2012

Other Wildlife

Red Squirrel, Badger, Roe Deer, Otter, Pipistrelle bat, Weasel, Stoat

Site Information

History and Use

In 2001 it was announced that a pair of Ospreys had nested in the woods above Bassenthwaite Lake. This was the first time in 150 years that a wild pair of the birds had bred in the Lake District. The Forestry Commission and the Lake District National Park Authority had provided a nesting platform in the hope that the Ospreys, they had been seeing during the summer for the last few years, would stay and breed there. Once the eggs were laid, wardens kept a 24 hour watch on the nest to protect the birds from any disturbance, such as illegal egg collecting. The RSPB is also involved in extra support for the Lake District Osprey Project.

Areas of Interest

Osprey viewing from Dodd Wood viewpoints
Whinlatter Visitor Centre in Whinlatter Forest Park, where there is a live video feed from the nest to a big screen. NB. Whinlatter is also a major mountain biking centre.
Forest walks, provided by the Forestry Commission, starting from the Dodd Wood car park.
Ivy Crag Wood - a small remnant of oak woodland on the slopes of Dodd below Skiddaw
Powterhow Wood, with a hide (blind), on the south west edge of Bassenthwaite Lake. Access from the car park at Powter How, via a nice walk through the woods, where you might see Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Wood Warblers, and Great Spotted Woodpeckers. There's a tunnel under the A66, so no road crossings involved. Or you can park in the A66 layby at Blackstock Point, and take a walk along the lake side to get there. Location shown by arrow on map referenced in External Links, below.^[2]
Dubwath Silver Meadows, a new wetland nature reserve about 17 acres in size, located at the north west end of Bassenthwaite Lake. 1.6 mile circuit of path and boardwalk, plus hides built in Celtic style.^[3]

Access and Facilities

The viewpoints will be open and staffed from Easter 2013 (30th March). You may still visit the viewpoints outside of the Osprey season, for beautiful views of Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwentwater.
Osprey watching viewpoints are in Dodd Wood, on the east side of the lake. It is 3 miles north of Keswick off the A591, follow signposts to Dodd Wood from the A66. The car park is opposite the entrance to Mirehouse.
The Lower Viewpoint - open from 10am to 5pm daily and staffed by volunteers. Excellent views of the Ospreys fishing over the lake. There are feeders out for the local birds, and Red Squirrels sometimes stop by, too.
The Upper Viewpoint - open from 10.30am to 5pm daily. It is about half a mile, a 30 minutes walk, up a steep incline, to this higher viewpoint. There are telescopes for viewing the nest which is down on the marsh about a mile away.
There is no charge to use the viewpoint, but Pay & Display Parking Tariff is as follows: £1.70 up to 1.5 hours; £2.70 up to 2 hours; £4.80 up to 4 hours; £6.30 for all day; £9.50 for minibuses; FREE for disabled badge holders (2013 rates). Please note that NO CHANGE IS GIVEN.
There are public toilets at the car park.
The Old Sawmill Tearoom at Dodd Wood is open through the Osprey season and beyond, closing at the end of October.
The Whinlatter Visitor Centre is located west of Braithwaite, on the B5292 between Braithwaite and Cockermouth - Grid Ref NY208245. It is open all year, and the Osprey Exhibition will be open from 10am until 5pm during the period that the ospreys are nesting. Parking charges same as Dodd Wood.
There is no longer an Osprey Bus service, due to lack of funding, but a PDF brochure showing a useful map of the area is still available online - see external links.^[4]

Contact Details

Whinlatter Visitor Centre phone: 017687 78469

Gallery

Click on images to see a larger version:

Photo by HelenB
Osprey information display at Whinlatter Visitor Centre, April 2012
Photo by HelenB
Osprey webcam display, Whinlatter Visitor Centre, April 2012
Photo by HelenB
Osprey chick no. 11 died in West Africa, but its remains were found. Photo on display at Whinlatter Visitor Centre, April 2012
Photo by HelenB
Osprey sculpture at Whinlatter Visitor Centre, April 2012
Photo by HelenB
Bassenthwaite Lake looking north, May 09
Photo by HelenB
Approaching the Upper Osprey Viewpoint, May 09
Photo by HelenB
Osprey nest (centre) is only 400m from viewpoint. Derwentwater in the background, May 09
Photo by charlierocky
The pair of Ospreys using the second nest for a second year, April 2009
Photo by HelenB
Osprey nest, May 09.
Photo by Mad_BMS
Bassenthwaite Lake, looking towards Skiddaw, May 05
Photo by oncebittern
Male Osprey fishing on Bassenthwaite Lake, June 2010
Photo by charlierocky
Common Dipper, photographed near Keswick

Content and images originally posted by HelenB

External Links

Search for photos of Bassenthwaite Lake in the gallery

Search for videos of Bassenthwaite Lake on BirdForum TV

Retrieved from ‘https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/index.php?title=Bassenthwaite_Lake&oldid=198380’

Categories:

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 Bassenthwaite Lake is a National Nature Reserve, in the Lake District, located in the county of [[Cumbria]] in northwest [[England]].  It is owned and managed by the Lake District National Park Authority.  The area became famous in 2001, when a pair of wild [[Osprey|Ospreys]] nested there, this being the first time in over 150 years that Ospreys had bred in the Lake District. Since then there have been breeding Ospreys every summer and hundreds of people have visited the viewpoints and visitor centre, to see these wonderful birds of prey.
 [[Image:Bass Lake from Whinlatter.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Photo by {{user|HelenB|HelenB}}<br/>View of Bassenthwaite Lake looking from the lay-by on the B5292 up to Whinlatter Pass, April 2012. The Ospreys built a new nest in 2011, in the flat marshy area on the south side of the lake ~ the area on the middle right of the photo]]
-===2013 Ospreywatch News===
-*The Lake District Osprey Project at '''Dodd Wood''' opens for the 2013 season, at '''Easter ~ 29th March, 2013''' and will close on '''Sunday, 1st September 2013'''. Access to the viewpoints will remain open at the end of the season, but there will be no volunteers or optics available.
-*All 3 previously used nests have been fitted with cameras. Hopefully the incoming pair will return to the nest on Dodd Wood, which is only 400 metres from the Upper Viewpoint.
-*'''4th April:''' an Osprey has been seen on the marsh nest twice this week, but it cannot be confirmed definitely that it is "Mrs". No sign of YV yet.
-*'''15th April:''' There is now a pair of Ospreys and they have been seen mating, so there may be eggs soon. They are located on the Marsh Nest. Neither bird is ringed, so YV has not returned to Bassenthwaite this year.
-*'''24th April:''' Terrible weather has downed power and phone lines, so no camera feed at the moment. The young male is bringing in lots of fish, more than the female can eat! She should be coming into good breeding condition and hopefully the first egg will be laid soon.
-*'''26th April:''' Exciting news - a new female arrived on 25th April and chased off the resident female. She has been seen mating with the resident male. This new bird is ringed - white KL on the left leg, which indicates she is a Scottish Osprey, ringed as an adult.
-*'''28th April:''' More news on the new female - she was ringed in June 2009, near Inverness, Scotland, and has been wintering in Senegal, having been seen there in 2011 and 2012. She's 4 years old and thought not to have bred before. It's not clear whether she has paired up with the resident male, or whether both the resident pair were chased off, as she had a male partner when she arrived.
-*'''8th May:''' The female, KL, has laid her first egg and is already incubating, while her mate catches fish for her. Incubation usually takes 35-40 days, so let's hope the Lake District gets a better summer than last year!
-[[Image:Marsh nest Bass Ospreys 2013.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Photo by {{user|oncebittern|oncebittern}}<br />The Marsh Nest, with the first 2013 pair mating on an adjacent branch, April 2013<br/>Photo taken with a telephoto lens from one of the viewpoints]]
-*'''23rd May:''' After some problems, the webcam is up and running again. You can view the regularly updated photos here: [http://www.ospreywatch.co.uk/wordpress/?page_id=246]. The team think that there are 2 eggs, possibly 3, from the behaviour of the birds, but it has not been possible to see into the nest cup to verify this. Incubation is now at 17 days, and the first chick is expected to hatch from 10th June onwards, as incubation takes 35-40 days.
-*'''30th May:''' The Ospreys are now about 2/3 of the way through their incubation, so hatching could be in about 10 days time onwards.
-*'''14th June:''' The female Osprey has been very restless over the last couple of days and now appears to be offering small pieces of fish to something in the deep cup of the nest, so it looks like the first chick has hatched.
-*'''29th June:''' The Osprey team have announced that there are 2 chicks being fed. Both are growing well and beginning to lose their fluffy feathers. The male is doing a really good job and bringing in lots of fish.
-*'''16th July:''' The chicks are almost 5 weeks old and soon they will have a health check, be ringed and then have satellite transmitters attached, so that their south bound migration can be followed.
-*'''22nd July:''' The chicks were ringed today. White 14, probably male and white 15, probably female, were also fitted with satellite transmitters. See the [http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151685403686839&set=a.65591931838.69663.50580496838&type=1&theater Facebook feed] for a photo.
-*'''29th July:''' It's one week since the young Ospreys were ringed and now they are doing a lot of flapping to build up the wing muscles necessary to take them on their long journey to the wintering grounds in West Africa. They will be leaving sometime about the end of August. Click here for a [http://www.ospreywatch.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/2013.07.29flapping.jpg photo]
-*'''15th August:''' The young ones have now fledged, the male on 6th August and the female 2 days later. The satellite transmitters are working OK and they have been tracked around the local area. They will probably leave on their first migration at the end of August and then we can track them all the way to West Africa.
-*'''30th August:''' KL, the female Osprey, has not been seen since last Monday, so it is presumed she has left on her migration to West Africa.
-*'''9th Sept:''' Both of the young Ospreys are still at Bassenthwaite, due to the late start to the nesting season this year. Their satellite transmitters show that they are around the nest, but also exploring more over the lake. The viewpoints can still be accessed, but they are no longer being staffed, so there are no scopes for viewing or volunteers to answer questions.
-*'''12th Sept:''' No. 14 left on his migration on Tuesday, 10th September. At 10am he was logged over Derwentwater, then he continued south reaching the Severn Valley by mid-afternoon. He continued south heading out over the English Channel at Purbeck, and spent his first night just northwest of Cherbourg. On Thursday, 12th Sept he was flying over Brittany and the last signal was received from the northern coast of the Bay of Biscay at about 3pm. [http://www.ospreywatch.co.uk/wordpress/?attachment_id=561 See his progress on the satellite map here].
-*'''17th Sept:''' The young female, No 15, left on her first migration on Saturday, 14th Sept, at about 10am, heading south over Derwentwater and Coniston, and then at 2pm, she was recorded southwest of Preston in Lancashire. The young male, No 14, is making good progress through France and by the 14th Sept, he was southeast of Bordeaux, heading for the Pyrenees.
-*'''18th Sept:''' The male, no 14, is now in North Africa, having travelled down through France, crossing the central part of the Pyrenees, then hugging the east coast of Spain, before crossing the Mediterranean from the Cartagena area and landing in North Africa, near Oran in Algeria. The female, no 15, is now in France. Since the last update at Preston, Lancs, she followed the M6 and then the M5 south as far as Worcester. From there she took a southeasterly course towards Brighton and crossed the Channel, making landfall near Dieppe. She then flew over Paris and stopped to roost on the southeast outskirts of the city.
-*'''28th Sept:''' Both our young Ospreys are now in Africa. No. 14 has now crossed the Sahara and has entered the Niger River system. He is about 600 miles east of the Gambian coast. No. 15, the female, crossed over to Africa on Tuesday, east of Gibraltar and roosted that night in Morocco. [http://www.ospreywatch.co.uk/wordpress/?p=578 27th Sept. news and maps from Osprey Watch]
-*'''6th Oct:''' No 14 has continued south and was in the Ivory Coast, having passed through Guinea and was heading east, his last position being 5 miles from the Ghana border. This is much further south and east than the usual areas of Senegal and Mauritania, where our Ospreys usually spend the winter. No 15 has continued south across the Sahara Desert and has moved into Mali, parallelling the route of her brother, but a bit further east! It will be interesting to see if she keeps going in the same direction.
-*'''Sad news - 14th Oct:''' The young female Osprey, no 15, has perished in a remote part of the Sahara Desert. She had flown over a thousand miles, in about 6 days, south from the Atlas Mountains, where she would have had her last chance to catch any fish. She died of natural causes, on 4th October in a remote part of northern Mali. No 14, is doing fine in Ivory Coast, near the border with Ghana.
-*'''21st Oct:''' Our young male appears to have settled in the Ivory Coast, at a lake near Abengourou. He must be finding plenty of fish there. See the map on the [http://www.facebook.com/ospreywatch Facebook feed]
-*'''17th Nov:''' Our male Osprey has moved on. Within Ivory Coast, he flew south and then turned east when he reached the coast, passing into Ghana and he is now on the edge of the Volta Delta, near Ghana's capital, Accra.
-*'''20th Dec:''' In early December no. 14 moved again! This time he left the Volta Delta in Ghana and flew east to the island of Bioko a few miles off the coast of Cameroon and Nigeria.  It is actually part of Equatorial Guinea and just north of the equator.
+===2014 Ospreywatch News===
+*The Lake District Osprey Project at '''Dodd Wood''' opens for the 2014 season, on '''1st April 2014''' and will close on about '''the end of August 2014'''. Access to the viewpoints will remain open at the end of the season, but there will be no volunteers or optics available.
+*All 3 previously used nests have been refurbished in order to attract whichever ospreys come back this year.
+*'''3rd and 4th April:''' 2 Ospreys have visited the marsh nest, one with no rings, the other thought to be Blue XY from Scotland.
 ==Birds==
 ===Notable Species===