Osprey pair produce chicks for fifth year running

The eggs hatched over the space of five days

A pair of ospreys have produced chicks at a secret Lake District nesting site for the fifth year running, conservationists have revealed.

Three eggs have hatched at the site at Bassenthwaite, near Keswick, according to the Lake District Osprey Project.

The birds - a ringed female known as KL and an unringed male - arrived at the nest last month, having spent the winter in west Africa.

Project spokesman Paul Brady said staff and volunteers were "delighted".

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

KL's return was caught on Lake District Osprey Project webcams

Several different pairs have nested successfully, raising more than 30 chicks.

Mr Brady said: "This is the fifth year that this particular pair of ospreys have successfully hatched chicks at Bassenthwaite Lake.

"The female and her partner are a successful pair and have captured the imaginations of the thousands of visitors who have come to see them over the last five years. This has been a fascinating story."

The birds can been seen from specially-created viewpoints and visitors can watch live nest-cam images on screens at the nearby Whinlatter visitor centre.