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In 2001, ospreys bred successfully at Bassenthwaite Lake in the Lake District — the first confirmed osprey breeding in England for one hundred and fifty years. A pair of migratory ospreys, returning to Britain from West Africa where they had spent the winter, found a suitable nest site on the eastern shore of Bassenthwaite and produced chicks that survived to fledge and migrate south.
The significance of this event was considerable. Ospreys were extinct as a breeding species in England from the mid-19th century, victims of persecution by gamekeepers and egg collectors (osprey eggs were among the most prized by Victorian collectors), and had been absent from English skies for generations. The Bassenthwaite pair were the beginning of a recovery.
Ospreys had continued to breed in Scotland — in small numbers, in remote locations — through the 20th century. The Loch Garten pair, which the RSPB made into a conservation landmark by opening a public observation hide in 1958, attracted enormous attention and helped build public support for osprey conservation. Scottish numbers slowly recovered through the latter half of the 20th century.
The first English breeding pairs appeared at Bassenthwaite in 2001, at Kielder Water in Northumberland shortly after, and then progressively at other sites as the population expanded. The Bassenthwaite birds — and their descendants — have become a landmark conservation success story.
The RSPB and Forestry England have operated a public osprey viewing project at Bassenthwaite Lake since the first successful breeding season. Between April and August each year, when the ospreys are present, a series of viewpoints on the eastern shore of the lake are open to visitors, with volunteers on hand to explain what you are looking at and to operate telescopes.
The ospreys are visible from the viewpoints fishing on the lake — their distinctive hovering flight (unusual among raptors) and dramatic plunge-dive into the water to catch fish with their feet are among the most spectacular wildlife experiences available in England. A successful dive catches a fish in approximately one in three attempts. The bird carries the fish back to the nest head-first — aerodynamically stable.
Visiting information: The RSPB Bassenthwaite osprey viewpoints are open April–August. Check the RSPB website for current locations and access. Entry to the viewpoints is free.
Bassenthwaite Lake is the only lake in the Lake District that is officially called a lake — all the others are technically meres, waters, tarns or other designations. It lies three miles north-west of Keswick, fed by the River Derwent flowing north from Derwentwater. The western shore is part of the Lake District National Park; the eastern shore includes farmland and the wooded slopes where the ospreys nest.
The lake is three and a half miles long and is one of the more productive fishing lakes in the Lake District — which is why ospreys choose it. It holds populations of brown trout, perch and pike, and the shallower southern end provides good hunting conditions for fishing raptors.
Bassenthwaite Lake is one of the eight lakes on our 8 Lakes tours. Your expert storyteller will tell the story of the ospreys and point out the nest area on the eastern shore as you pass. During the osprey season (April–August), the birds are occasionally visible from the road.
Bassenthwaite Lake is one of the eight lakes on the 8 Lakes Morning Tour and 8 Lakes Afternoon Tour.