Bassenthwaite osprey pair produce chicks for the third year

It is believed the same mates have returned to the site to breed for the third year running

Two osprey chicks have hatched at a nest in the Lake District after the same pair of birds returned to the site for the third year running.

The female, ringed as KL, has successfully mated with an unringed male at the nest at Bassenthwaite.

The Lake District Osprey Project said the pair had produced a full clutch of three eggs, but one was not strong enough to make it out of the shell.

A spokesman said it was "delighted" they had returned for the third year.

Ospreys returned to the Lakes District in 2001, after an absence of more than 150 years.

Over the last 15 years of the monitoring project, more than 30 chicks have been raised at the nest.

A team of more than 100 volunteers provides a 24-hour guard at the site and crowds of people visit specially-created viewpoints to catch sight of the birds.

Live images from the nest are also being beamed to a big screen at the nearby Whinlatter visitor centre.