Today was our last full day in the Lake District. After visiting Dodds Wood on Tuesday searching for red squirrels we decided to come back here as it was such a lovely area and in the hope of perhaps seeing some osprey.
On the way to Dodds Wood we stopped off at a village which is well known in the Lake District, this was Grasmere. Here was had a look round, enjoyed the surrounding hills and, of course, brought some Grasmere gingerbread. Below are some photos that I took around Grasmere.
We then carried on to Dodds Wood, which isn’t far from Keswick. Once there, we made our way up to the first Osprey viewing point. We came here on Tuesday but today there was a lot more people, volunteers and spotting scopes set up. We didn’t see any red squirrels this time but we did see some osprey and the nest they have here which is by Bassenthwaite Lake. We then made our way up to the second Osprey Viewpoint which was another 30 minute, uphill walk away but once there it was worth it as the views were wonderful! There were spotting scopes set up here too and we managed to get a better view of the Ospreys nest. The visitors and volunteers there were all looking out to see if they could spot one of the pair about. It was brilliant to see an Osprey as this was the first time I’d ever seen one. It was very far away and I wasn’t able to get a very good photo. The bird which I first got to see also had a fish which it had caught. Both birds then became more present and one sat by the nest. There are camera pointing at the nest and you can see screenshots which are updated every few seconds online. I felt very privileged to seen an osprey as they are a rare sight in the UK. Since my trip, I have been following the Ospreys progress and a few days after I made this visit the first egg hatched. You can read more about the Lake District Osprey Project here – http://www.ospreywatch.co.uk/wordpress/
Ever wondered how big an Ospreys nest is?
Here’s an unusual position swallows nest, it was in the roof of a petrol station!
Here I have circled where the Ospreys nest was, it was very far away so quite different to photograph it and the birds.
Here’s a photo that I took through one of the spotting scopes, it isn’t the best quality but you can just work out the bird at the bottom.
Georgia Locock 