SIGHTINGS of ospreys in the heart of the Lake District have raised hopes that more of the rare fish-eating hawks will choose to nest in the area, writes Victoria Clark.

Last year a pair of ospreys successfully reared a chick from a nest near Bassenthwaite - the first time in memory the birds of prey nested in the area, and the first pair to breed in England for more than 150 years.

To the delight of conservationists, following a winter in Africa both birds have now returned to their Lake District nest for the summer.

Another pair of ospreys has also been spotted flying above and fishing in Esthwaite Water, entertaining bird-lovers with their aerial displays.

Nigel Woodhouse, who owns a trout farm on the shores of the water, said an osprey was first seen in the area four or five years ago.

"Four years ago we put up a nesting platform with the hope it would bring a mate and two years ago it did but they still haven't used the nesting box," he said.

Fishery manager Dave Coleman said the birds usually arrive in early April, staying through till late September, and could usually be spotted at least once a day.

"It all depends on the type of day - if there's fish near the top of the surface they'll stay all day but if the fish aren't near the surface they fly a lot higher and just move on," he said.

Last Sunday people sat on the lakeshore open-mouthed watching "spectacular" displays of the ospreys plunging into the water to catch fish.

Graeme Prest, of the Forestry Commission, said ospreys had been summering in the Lake District for a number of years.

He said the birds at Esthwaite were probably younger osprey from Scotland, which had stopped off in the Lakes to look for potential new nesting sites, and enjoy the good fishing.

"Younger birds don't breed until they are three or four years so they don't need to nest for the first couple of years.

What they're probably doing at the moment is prospecting, looking for new sites."

Mr Prest said four ospreys had been spotted at Bassenthwaite in the last few days, and these sightings were all a very "good sign" of having more birds nesting in the area over the next few years.

The public viewpoint at Dodd Wood, near Keswick, is now open to visitors and, for the first time this year, live pictures from a camera overlooking the nest will be relayed back to the Forestry Commission's visitor centre at Whinlatter.

Visit http://www.lakesfd.co.uk/osprey%20home.htm for the full story and web cam views.