THREE osprey chicks have hatched at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve in south Cumbria.

It’s been just over a month since osprey ‘Splash’ laid three eggs in her nest at the reserve, and this week three healthy chicks have hatched over three days.

This is the second clutch of chicks the osprey pair has produced after they successfully fledged three chicks last year.

Ospreys are loyal to the site where they nest and staff from Cumbria Wildlife Trust said they were ‘thrilled’ to see the same couple return again this year.

The ospreys have been popular with local people and tourists alike, with thousands of people visiting the nature reserve which lies just off the A590 near Witherslack.

This year also saw the charity upgrade its camera system and so far there have been 14,500 visits to Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s website to watch live footage from the nest.

Simon Thomas, Reserve Officer for Cumbria Wildlife Trust says: “Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve is a good location to raise chicks, with a choice of fishing locations.

“The ospreys aren't just eating flatfish from the Kent Estuary, as I had assumed. The cameras are showing coarse fish and trout and small salmon, and I know they have been flying inland into both Cumbria and North Lancashire but we don’t know that much about where they are fishing. We would love to hear when and where people see them fishing.”

The ospreys begin their migration to Africa in the autumn and remarkably it is likely the female will leave first just after her young have fledged. The male will remain and continue to fish and feed the young until they are able to fend for themselves and then start his journey alone. Young ospreys typically leave Britain a little while after their parents and migrate separately, an amazing feat of nature that sees them head to Africa without guidance.

. Live footage from the nest can be viewed at http://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey-cam