The love triangle in the nest of the Bassenthwaite Lake ospreys has taken a new twist with the return of the original Lake District male.
The ospreys are reunited after a new male is evicted from the nest
The pair of ospreys set up home in Wythop Wood in 2001 and have returned each spring, bringing up five chicks.
The female returned from a winter in Africa this week, only to find a new younger male in the nest.
As the new osprey tried to impress the female, her partner flew in and appears to have won the heart of his bird.
Visitors who travel to see the ospreys contribute around £2m to the Cumbrian economy each year.
The new male bird was born in Scotland and in July 2001 he was in the Midlands as part of a project to translocate ospreys back to England.
Bill Kenmere from the RSPB said the old male seems to have won the heart of his partner.
He said: "Our male arrived back yesterday morning and has been sitting on the nest with the female.
"The new male was still around early yesterday, but we haven't seen him since. We have seen our male bring fish and the female took it from him and there have been a couple of mating attempts."
He said the new male may now be out of the picture, or just around the corner planning another attempt.
Mr Kenmere said the old male has proved himself good at "putting fish on the table" of the female.
He said: "Her old partner is a very good male, he brings all the fish into the nest and she will use the amount of fish as a judge of his success.
"Over the years he has proved himself to be a good fisher and she won't go far wrong if she stays with him."