Ospreys @ Kielder Update

Jubilation!  

A young pair of adult ospreys in Kielder Water & Forest Park has successfully hatched Jubilee chicks.
The female on the second of two nests in the 62,000 hectare (155,000 acre) Northumbrian wilderness had been incubating three eggs and the first two hatched on Monday and Tuesday adding to the Golden Jubilee feel good factor.  Last year this same pair reared two ospreys for the first time in Kielder.

The news is yet another step forward for this magnificent species which was once extinct in England
Forestry Commission staff were able to watch the first birth on high definition cameras at Kielder Castle Visitor Centre. 

Breeding ospreys returned to the North East for the first time in at least 200 years in 2009 and since then three chicks have fledged each year. 

Nature fans can watch the action unfold on CCTV at Kielder Castle and also at Leaplish, where the Kielder Osprey Watch 2012 is being operated by volunteers on weekends and Tuesdays and Wednesdays.   

You can follow the fortunes of both nests at  http://kielderospreys.wordpress.com/, Get regular Twitter updates @KielderOspreys, Record your own osprey sightings at the VisitKielder Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/kielder
Kielder Osprey Watch 2012 is being organised by the Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust, the RSPB and Northumberland Wildlife Trust.  The partners are working hard to ensure that the ospreys are here to stay by maintaining a high quality habitat in Kielder Water & Forest Park and safeguarding and monitoring the nest site.  To find out more go to http://www.visitkielder.com/

Eagle Watch On Mull

Eagle Watch brings fantastic boost to Mull’s tourism industry  

Mull’s Eagle Watch has just pulled off a double whammy in tourism awards!

As well as winning a top notch 4-star wildlife experience award from Visit Scotland the team behind the successful centre have also scooped a silver grade Green Tourism Award at their first attempt.

Sue Dewar, one of the hide rangers said: “This is fantastic for us and really sets Mull Eagle Watch up there with Scotland’s finest nature tourism destinations. It’s been a real team effort all round – so the Green Tourism Award is a great achievement, especially as it’s our first ever attempt! We got a very good feedback report from the people behind the Green Tourism Business Scheme and it’s given us a couple of pointers for things we could do a little more work on and maybe get the gold award next time.

“We were pretty close to getting the 5-star award from Visit Scotland, too, so you can be sure that we won’t be resting on our laurels. We’re already looking to next year – a 5-star and gold award would put us well and truly on the visitor map!”


Mull Eagle Watch is a partnership involving Strathclyde Police, Scottish Natural Heritage, Mull and Iona Community Trust, RSPB and Forestry Commission Scotland.
Now situated at Glen Seilisdeir (say Shellister), Mull Eagle Watch is one of the best places in Europe to enjoy unique and spectacular views of white-tailed sea eagles. Visitors can also spot golden eagles, hen harriers, buzzards and red deer.

More popular than ever, the two trips to the hide each day (10am and 1pm) have all been fully booked so far this season, so if you’re planning to enjoy this amazing experience, book well in advance.

For more information about the hide – and how to book – visit www.forestry.gov.uk/mullseaeagles

Eco Event - Big Green Week June 2012

If you live near Bristol then you might be interested in Big Green Week whch runs from the 9th to the 17th June and includes lost of events, speakers and activities relating to all things green.

Head to the festival website for more details and to download a 'what's on' programme:
http://biggreenweek.com/

Nature In June

Wildlife & Nature In June
This month look out for:

Animals:
*Roe deer are born this month
*Common seals are giving birth this month
*Fox cubs are out and about

Birds In June*Sea bird colonies - great time to visit with lots going on
* Birds and baby birds are about everywhere!
* Bittern - probably the best time to try to spot these birds as they are out and about, busy gathering food for their chicks

Flora In June
*Moorland heather is in bloom from now until August
*Elderflowers
*Foxgloves
*Ragged Robin
*Poppies
*Wild Cornflowers
*Orchids

Find nature, eco and wildlife watching events and activites on the Wild & Green Escapes website

Osprey Chicks For Tweed Valley

First osprey chick in Scotland hatched in Tweed valley

The Tweed Valley ospreys have hatched what is believed to be the first osprey chick in Scotland.
The first egg was laid around the 9th of April and a second one soon after.  It is not clear if there are other eggs because the nest is piled so high with twigs and branches. 

The osprey family can be viewed on high definition cameras at Forestry Commission Scotland’s Glentress Forest and at Kailzie Gardens, both close to Peebles.


As part of the Tweed Valley Osprey Project, the chick will be ringed so that its movements can be monitored over its lifetime.

Glentress Forest’s wildwatch room is situated within the new Peel visitor centre development and is part of the wider Tweed Valley Ospreys Project.  The project is a partnership between Forestry Commission Scotland, Kailzie Gardens and RSPB Scotland.  

The project not only offers close circuit TV footage of ospreys at Glentress Forest and Kailzie Gardens, but also of other birds too. For more information on the Tweed Valley Osprey Watch project log on to www.forestry.gov.uk/tweedvalleyospreys.

Call To Help With Red Kites

Public encouraged to help monitor Grizedale Forest’s red kites

Wildlife lovers are being asked to keep an eye out for red kite chicks, released as part of a Forestry Commission-led reintroduction programme in Cumbria’s Grizedale Forest.

A dedicated Facebook page has been created to help people report sightings, get updates on the birds’ progress and to share photographs.

A dispersal map has been produced by Forestry Commission wildlife rangers at Grizedale. It shows that most of the red kites that were released in the first two years of the reintroduction programme have been spotted in the North West – particularly Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Lancashire. However, other birds have travelled into Scotland and as far south as London and over the English Channel.

Iain Yoxall, the Forestry Commission wildlife ranger who has led the red kite reintroduction programme in Grizedale, said: “The birds appear to be faring as well as we expected and are adapting to life in the wild.
The birds from our first release, in 2010, should start looking for nesting sites in the South Lakes area between April and July this year. Although we do not expect any successful mating attempts this year we should see displays of courtship behaviour such as hunting for nest sites in woodland, pairing up and building nests.

"We would really like the public to help us monitor the progress of the red kites. The more information we can get back from people the bigger the picture we will have on how the kites are faring. We would like people to let us know if they see any of our birds, which are marked with distinctive tags, by using our new Facebook page or by sending us an email.”

All of the birds released in Grizedale carry an orange tag on their left wing. The red kites released in 2010 have a blue tag on their right wing, and last year’s birds carry a white tag on their right wing.
People can report sightings of the Grizedale birds by visiting the newly created Red Kites Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/GrizedaleRedKites or by emailing red.kite@forestry.gsi.gov.uk


For more information about the Forestry Commission in the Lake District please visit http://www.visitlakelandforests.co.uk/.

Inland Beach Wins Top Award

Inland beach wins award for third year running

One of Scotland’s best kept secrets – a beach that is 300m above sea level - has won a prestigious national award for the third year running!

Loch Morlich in the heart of Glenmore Forest Park in the Cairngorms is managed by Forestry Commission Scotland and is the first and only fresh water loch to ever have received the Rural Beach Award in Keep Scotland Beautiful’s (KSB) Seaside Award campaign.

Graeme Prest, the commission’s manager of the Inverness Ross and Skye District, said: “Having recently moved up to Inverness to take on this role I was expecting a few pleasant surprises…but never dreamed that a beach award would be one of them! Glenmore contains some of the best preserved areas of ancient Caledonian Pine Forest in the country and also offers great opportunities for outdoor activities like walking, cycling, orienteering and bird-watching, but it must be one of the few Commission sites where you can also go sailing!"


2) Loch Morlich is only 10km west of Aviemore. For more information visit  http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/recreation.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/ScotlandHighlandGlenmoreForestParkGlenmore