Kielder Forest's first osprey chicks of the year hatch
The first osprey chicks of the year have hatched at one of their most important sites in England.Five chicks hatched at Kielder Forest, in Northumberland, earlier this week despite what were described as "less than ideal" conditions with wind and rain.This year saw the ospreys' earliest recorded return to the national park from sub-Saharan Africa with a sighting on 21 March - three days ahead of the previous first arrivals.It led to hopes of an improved breeding season after 12 chicks failed to fledge last year.
The park is awaiting possible further hatchings this weekend.In a Facebook post announcing the new arrivals, it said: "Conditions have been less than ideal here, with wind and rain causing a few wobbles but we're hopeful for a few more hatching over the weekend."There have been some excellent parenting skills on show and, with a steady diet of Kielder's rainbow trout, the chicks will grow quickly."Once found throughout the UK, wild ospreys were persecuted and the species became extinct in England in 1847 and in Scotland in 1916.However, in 2009 ospreys were born for the first time in Northumberland in more than 200 years, with more than 120 successfully fledging since then.There are now approximately 350 breeding pairs in the UK, mostly in Scotland, but numbers in England and Wales have been slowly increasing.
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