Wildlife spotting
If you sit quietly for long enough you will be rewarded with the best nature has to offer during your visit to Keswick.
From otters to ospreys, red squirrels to roe deer, there are special hides and viewpoints for spotting and if you’re out and about at dawn or dusk you will be pleasantly surprised by what you’ll see.
Photo courtesy of LDOP Otters
While one can never guarantee a sighting, you’d have to be unlucky not to see otters from the hide at Bassenthwaite. The semi- aquatic and very playful mammals have also been seen at Portinscale and in Derwentwater.
Ospreys
The ospreys have their own showground on Bassenthwaite from their arrival in April until they depart in August.
In 2011 they kept the rangers on their toes by moving out of the tree top nest they have used for years to a brand new one
24 Keswick Holiday Guide 2012
down by their favourite river. This has meant there has been no live footage to see at the Whinlatter Visitor Centre Osprey Exhibition in 2011 but they hope to have it up and running again for 2012.
Ospreys have a wing span of five feet - if they’re flying about you can’t miss them. They first nested beside Bassenthwaite in 2001 - the first wild osprey to breed in the Lake District for 150 years.
Once the breeding pair lay their eggs, wardens keep a round the clock watch on the nest to prevent thieves stealing the eggs. Ospreys usually lay three eggs, which take about six weeks to hatch. The young stay in the nest for six or seven weeks. In late summer, the adult female will
migrate south, leaving the male to teach the youngsters the art of fishing.
Over the course of most days the Ospreys can be seen fishing, sitting, feeding, flying and washing. High powered telescopes and binoculars are provided at Dodd Wood viewing points but by all means bring your own. You may also be lucky enough to see them feeding on Derwentwater too.
Red Squirrels
You used to be able to see Red Squirrels all over Great Britain but now they are confined mainly to the north but thankfully there are plenty to see in and around Keswick.
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