A young pair of adult ospreys in Kielder Water & Forest Park has given birth to Jubilee chicks.

The female on the second of two nests in the 62,000 hectare (155,000 acre) Northumbrian wilderness had been incubating three eggs, but the first two hatched on Monday and Tuesday adding to the Golden Jubilee feel good factor. Last year this same pair reared two ospreys for the first time in Kielder.

The news is yet another step forward for this magnificent species - once extinct in England - but on the verge of making Kielder into a potential mini-stronghold. Forestry Commission staff were able to watch the first birth on high definition cameras at Kielder Castle Visitor Centre.

Meanwhile, volunteers further down the valley at Northumbrian Water's Leaplish Waterside Park welcomed scores of nature fans over the holiday weekend to spy the older nest in the forest - which already has three bouncy young chicks.

Kevin Hudson, Leisure Manager from Northumbrian Water, said: "With hungry new born ospreys to feed the male will put in extra shifts hunting for fish to see them through the vulnerable early days of life. If the weather holds fine, we have real hopes that this year could see a record number of English born ospreys take to the wing in August."

Breeding ospreys returned to the North East for the first time in at least 200 years in 2009 and since then three chicks have fledged each year. Nature fans can watch the action unfold on CCTV at Kielder Castle and also at Leaplish, where the Kielder Osprey Watch 2012 is being operated by volunteers on weekends and Tuesdays and Wednesdays.