A TEAM effort from Forestry England tree climbers has made it possible for experts to ring rare Osprey chicks in Kielder Water & Forest Park, Northumberland.

After being lowered to the ground safely from the nest, the chicks were fitted with a harmless indentification ring on one leg and a numbered blue coloured tag on the other.

This shows they were born in England and Wales and can be read by people using cameras and spotting scopes meaning they can be tracked through their lives.

The Osprey returned to Kielder Forest as a breeding species for first time in at least 200 years in 2009.   Joanna Dailey, osprey co-ordinator with Forestry England, explained: “This year has seen a changing of the guard with two of the older and most productive males absent, most probably dying of old age, or accident.

"One in particular called YA produced an astonishing 26 chicks in his life.  "The good news is that his first grandson – called Elsin and just two years old – has been spotted nearby and looks well placed to continue the family tradition. In total eight nests in the 63,000 acre forest were occupied this year and five of them produced heathy off-spring.”

The Kielder Osprey Project is a partnership between Forestry England, Northumbrian Water, Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Wild Intrigue.

Tom Dearnley, Forestry England ecologist, added: “The sheer scale of Kielder creates an excellent environment for rare and protected species to recover. We’ve always stressed that the success of the ospreys is good news for the wider Borders and northern England.  "Some of the birds will spread out and increase the likelihood this iconic species will colonise and breed elsewhere.

"Ospreys arrived here under their own steam, in part attracted by artificial nests erected around the forest and a reservoir well stocked with fish. What’s happened since has been a heart-warming success story.”

This year for the first time views from one of the Kielder nests has been streamed live on YouTube.  To access this go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON4nW41NtfM