Jenkin
Hill Cottage overlooks the wooded slopes of Seat How, part of the ancient
Thornthwaite Forest. Being located on the edge of the forest, we see a lot
of wildlife visiting the garden. Most new visitors are surprised by the large
number and variety of wild birds seen here, such as coal tits, blue tits,
siskins, chaffinches, nuthatches, dunnocks, goldfinches, greater spotted
woodpeckers, robins and ravens.
Red squirrels are regular visitors during late autumn and early winter,
collecting nuts from a feeder and burying them in the garden. The forest
here is a protected area for the squirrels, with every effort being made
to prevent invasion from greys.
Pheasants are also likely to be seen foraging
under our bird feeders.
Whinlatter Forest
About 100 yards away a track through the forest can be taken which
leads to miles of walking or cycling unhindered by motor vehicles.
Alternatively a route from the village leads up beside Comb Beck, providing
a sometimes steep but very attractive path into the forest.The Whinlatter
Forest visitor centre is within easy walking distance.
The forest provides a habitat for a wide range of wildlife including badgers, frogs, toads, foxes, roe deer and red squirrels. Overhead you may see buzzards, peregrines and many other varieties of bird life.
The Bassenthwaite Ospreys
A
breeding pair of Ospreys has become established beside Bassenthwaite Lake.
With a wingspan of up to 5 feet these magnificent birds can be seen catching
fish on the Lake during Spring and Summer, and occasionally are
seen from our garden. They overwinter in North Africa, some 4,000 miles away!
Other Ospreys have also been seen in this area, a good sign that more breeding
pairs may take up residence. A public viewpoint from which to observe
the ospreys is open from April until September in Dodd Wood on the east side
of the lake. A new holiday time bus service connects Thornthwaite with the
osprey viewpoint, Whinlatter centre and Keswick. Timetable
here.
Information about the ospreys may be found on the Osprey
Watch website.
Ospreys returned to Bassenthwaite Lake on 31st March 2009, and were confirmed to be our breeding pair on 6th April. Three eggs hatched, one of the chicks perished on her maiden flight, but the remaining two flourished and left for Africa in early September.
Bassenthwaite Lake
Bassenthwaite Lake is a National Nature Reserve and SSSI. Four miles long, it is one of the largest lakes in the Lake District, but is very shallow, with a maximum depth of about 70ft. There are no motor boats here, and the Southern part of the Lake is a World renown site for water fowl. There is a public hide from which the water birds may be viewed. Otters are becoming re-established in the area and on rare occasions may be observed from the hide.
BBC Squirrel and Owl Videos
The BBC Autumnwatch team came to the North Lakes in 2009 and have produced short videos of red squirrels and tawny owls. View the videos here.