A male osprey which hatched in the Lake District in 2013 has returned home – after an epic, 10,000-mile journey crossing 30 countries.

White number 14 returned to Bassenthwaite on July 5, much to the delight of members of the Lake District Osprey Project (LDOP).

Thanks to a satellite tracker, which was fitted to the osprey before it fledged, LDOP members have been able to follow the bird’s adventures over the past two years, which included crossing the Sahara Desert twice and completing three circular tours of Europe.

Number 14 – whose parents, female KL and an unidentified male, also returned to Bassenthwaite this year for another successful breeding season – fledged in August 2013, along with chick Number 15.

The following month, Number 14 started to migrate south, crossing various countries including France, Algeria, Morocco and Guinea.

The osprey remained around Abengourou for most of October, before heading to Equatorial Guinea, where he stayed fishing and roosting until April this year – when he set off travelling back to the UK on a journey which crossed Nigeria, Tunisia, Italy, Croatia, Austria, Germany, Denmark to name but a few, and included three circuits of Europe.

Members of the LDOP were delighted when Number 14 finally arrived back in the UK on June 29 and closely watched the tracker as the osprey crossed Cumbria (to the west of Kirkby Stephen) and the Scottish border, before heading south and finally returning to Bassenthwaite on July 5.

Phillip Cheesley, of LDOP, said: “It’s incredible to think about Number 14’s journey, travelling over 12,000 miles if you go by direct lines. He has crossed the Sahara Desert twice – spending four nights in the desert the first time (end of September 2013) and six nights the second time (end of April 2015), which is amazing for a bird which eats fish, and visited approximately 30countries.

“Sadly, Number 15, which fledged at the same time as Number 14, wasn’t so lucky and perished in the desert in 2013.

"It is thanks to the satellite tags we are able to follow the fascinating adventures of the ospreys and learn much more about these incredible birds – such as how fast they are flying, where they are feeding and where they are roosting. To date, the LDOP has ringed 26 young ospreys and satellite tagged seven of them.”

Since the LDOP began in 2001, more than 30 chicks have been raised and this year is the fifteenth year of successful hatching for the Lakes ospreys - with chicks for ringed female KL and the unringed male, believed to be the same male which has returned to Bassenthwaite with KL for the third year running.

The current chicks at Bassenthwaite are expected to leave at the end of August, so there is still time for people to see the birds from the viewpoints at Dodd Wood or Whinlatter Visitor Centre.

To watch the ospreys, visitors can join a dedicated team of staff and volunteers at the viewpoint at Dodd Wood every day from 10am – 5pm until the end of August, and at Whinlatter Visitor Centre every day from 10am – 5pm, where visitors can watch live nest cam images on flat screen televisions.

Osprey fans around the world can keep an eye on the action from the nest by following the webcam on the LDOP homepage www.ospreywatch.co.uk and get the latest news at www.ospreywatch.co.uk, at www.facebook.com/ospreywatch, or by following on Twitter @lakelandosprey.

To help support the project, which has attracted more than one million visitors since it started, people can also now donate at www.justgiving.com/lakesospreys.