Warm welcome home!

IT’S the look that says it all - the first osprey to arrive back at its Northumberland nest seems to be thinking: “I’ve left behind sun, sand and 30C temperatures – for this.”

Osprey White EB was faced with snow and biting cold when she landed at Kielder after her 6,000km flight from her wintering quarters in Senegal.

She was the first of eight ospreys expected to occupy the four nests at Kielder and is now waiting for her mate of last year, Yellow 37.

“The ospreys are late back this year, possibly because of weather conditions,” said Joanna Dailey, Kielder osprey expert.

“White EB has come back to snow and biting wind and she has just been sitting on the nest in the cold conditions. She will just have to get on with it.”

This year will be the tenth that ospreys have bred at Kielder and the third year for white EB.

Last year saw the 50th osprey to fledge in Northumberland among the nine chicks which were raised.

The youngsters were all given names beginning with A, after Northumberland places.

Archer, the 50th youngster called after Archer Cleugh, a natural feature at Kielder, was fitted with a satellite tag and revealed she migrated to Senegal but after contact was lost in October she is thought to have perished.

The other tagged bird, Aln, has been tracked to Maurentania, north of Senegal. The others were called Amble, Ayle, Acton, Ancroft, Acomb, Alwinton and Aydon.

This year’s chicks will be named after Northumbrian locations beginning with B.

The Kielder Osprey Project is a partnership between Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust, Forestry Commission, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Northumbrian Water and Calvert Trust Kielder

Nest cameras have been provided by the Forestry Commission.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust is seeking volunteers to help with the Kielder Osprey Watch project, at Northumbrian Water’s Kielder Waterside site this summer.

• For more details, visit www.nwt.org.uk/ ospreys.