Sifting through the normal doom and gloom of the major news stories this morning, I came across these two items which both concern one of the most beautiful areas of our country, namely The Lake District.

Longlands Lake, which lies near Egremont on the River Ehen is a well known haunt for bird lovers being a haven for mute swan, tufted duck and mallards. Cumbria County Council has said in a statement that it wanted to maximize the potential for the site by handing control to the local community. Individuals or community groups can apply and the whole process will take up to a year to put into place

This type of assignment is called a “community asset transfer” which means that local authorities have the power to give public assets to indiviuals or organizations for less than their true value in order that the future of the asset can be maintained when they are no longer needed by the authority. However, if the site in question is then found to be misused or neglected or the organization in charge ceases to exist then the ownership would revert to them automatically.

This particular site as well as being home to the varied bird species is also rich in broadleaf woodland which offers habitats to other species, so it will be used, hopefully, as a nature reserve for the community.

Over at Bassenthwaite, near Keswick, it has been revealed that three osprey chicks have hatched. The eggs were laid at the site in April and have hatched over the last couple of weeks. Ospreys returned to the area back in 2001, after a little absence of about one hundred and fifty years. Since then more than twenty chicks have been raised at this particular nest site.

A twenty-four hour guard on the site is provided by an army of over a hundred volunteers, and a series of specially created view points have attracted visitors from across the country, fully equipped with fleece jackets and every other piece of kit, hoping to catch a sight of the birds. If you don’t fancy braving the elements, shame on you, then live images from the nest are being beamed to a big screen at the nearby Whinlatter visitor centre.