Osprey Safari

he other more commercial lakes providing a haven for wildlife. Indeed in a recent survey by Natural England, Esthwaite was found to be one of the most diverse lakes in the Lake district, the star of which is our wonderful Ospreys. We also have a wonderful licensed cafe (The Boathouse Cafe) with a live video stream directly from one of our nests, pay and display parking, toilet facilities, picnic area and beautiful walks. Some prefer just to sit with a glass of wine and wait for an Osprey to pass by, it is not unusual to see an Osprey catch a fish from the cafe terrace. We have three nests in the Esthwaite valley including one 900m from our cafe on the lake shore. The abundance of birds in the area and our stocking of 10,000 pounds of quality brown trout each year makes Esthwaite a magnet for these magnificent raptors. Throughout the breeding season there is always an abundance of live fish options for the birds, probably one of the reason for the density in the area. We start stocking with brown trout 15/03, a couple of weeks before the ospreys arrival and continue at the rate of 1000 pound per week for 10 weeks. Initially the stocked fish will stay in the upper layers of the lake providing high protein meals during mating, egg sitting and chick arrival
in the middle of May. About this time our coarse fish start spawning near the surface providing an alternative easy meal. As the water warms through July and August when the the chicks are fledging fishing gets tougher and is somewhat restricted to mornings and evenings when fish are closer to the surface. This is when we see the adults taking turns to fly down to North Morecambe Bay returning with mullet and flatties. Once the chicks have fledged