A FAKE tree has been tempting rookie ornithologists to spy out Lake District bird species in celebration of World Bird Watch Day.

Lucy Larch has been sitting pretty at the Windermere Lake District National Park Visitor Centre, encouraging junior bird-watchers to record all they see from Brockhole's grounds and hide.

The tree is the brainchild of LDNPA information adviser Steph Conway, who crafted the tree at home and named it after her colleague, Lucy Houghton (pictured with the tree, below).

The larch leads children over to a bird information corner where youngsters can find out what sort of birds they are likely to see and all of their findings are recorded by opening a flap in Bernard the Baby Barn Owl's tummy.

LDNPA information centres manager Karen Carter explained that the whole display had been made in "good old coloured paper and sticky backed plastic".

"In these days of interactive computer interpretation, a bit of good old fashioned hands-on activity is an increasingly welcome novelty for children. The great thing is that along with having a bit of fun, children become aware of all the different kinds of birds they will see when they visit us," she said.