Difference between revisions of "Bassenthwaite Lake" - BirdForum Opus

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

2015 Ospreywatch News

The Lake District Osprey Project at Dodd Wood and the Whinlatter Visitor Centre open for the 2015 season, on 1st April 2015. No sightings of the Ospreys yet, though.
7th April: KL, the female Osprey, arrived today, right on time - same date as last year! The male also arrived today!
20th April: KL lays her first egg. Eggs are usually laid at 2 day intervals.
23rd April: KL laid her second egg at 11 a.m.
26th April: Egg no. 3 was laid at 12:39 p.m. today.
5th May: The LDOP have posted some great news about Osprey chick no. 14, which hatched at Bassenthwaite in 2013. He is on his way home from the island of Bioko (south of Nigeria), and after flying north across the Sahara Desert, he is now on the northern coast of Tunisia. For more details see the LDOP website
27th May: First chick hatched in the early morning and received its first feed of trout from KL mid-morning.
29th May: Some more news about the 2013 Osprey - White 14, who is heading north on his first migration from Africa. He crossed the Mediterranean in early May and has now reached Sweden, having flown via Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany and Denmark. Maybe one of his ancestors was a Scandinavian Osprey.
1st June: Another update has been posted on the LDOP Facebook page. Apparently, the egg which hatched on Sunday, 31st May, was actually the 3rd egg. The 2nd egg had begun to 'pip' on Friday (29th May), but the chick was unable to complete the hatching. The egg has now disappeared - either removed by the parents or buried in the nest. The weather has also been nasty - high winds and torrential rain, but KL is brooding her 2 little ones.

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 1st April to 31st August, 2015. 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
The Old Sawmill Tearoom at Dodd Wood, August 2013
Photo by HelenB
Bassenthwaite Lake looking northwest, July 2010
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

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

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 * '''27th May''': First chick hatched in the early morning and received its first feed of trout from KL mid-morning.
 * '''29th May''': Some more news about the 2013 Osprey - White 14, who is heading north on his first migration from Africa. He crossed the Mediterranean in early May and has now reached Sweden, having flown via Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany and Denmark. Maybe one of his ancestors was a Scandinavian Osprey.
-* '''1st June''': Another update has been posted on the LDOP Facebook page. Apparently, the egg which hatched on Sunday, 31st May, was actually the 3rd egg. The 2nd egg had begun to 'pip' on Friday (29th May), but the chick was unable to complete the hatching. The egg has now disappeared - either removed by the parents or buried in the nest. The weather is also bad - high winds and torrential rain, but KL is brooding her 2 little ones.
+* '''1st June''': Another update has been posted on the [http://www.facebook.com/ospreywatch LDOP Facebook page]. Apparently, the egg which hatched on Sunday, 31st May, was actually the 3rd egg. The 2nd egg had begun to 'pip' on Friday (29th May), but the chick was unable to complete the hatching. The egg has now disappeared - either removed by the parents or buried in the nest. The weather has also been nasty - high winds and torrential rain, but KL is brooding her 2 little ones.
 ==Birds==