Osprey fans on a high as chicks spread wings

Jul 16 2010 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

BIRD fanciers were on a high after the world’s most watched Osprey chicks took off on maiden flights.

Both youngsters fledged by the ‘Lady of the Loch’ have successfully got airborne in recent days, delighting fans at the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) reserve and those glued to an online ‘nest cam’ feed.

Only a few weeks ago, Lady, the UK’s oldest breeding female osprey, was seemingly knocking on death’s door, sparking an emotional world-wide web vigil before she bounced back from the brink.

Reserve staff feared the worst when the 24-year-old marvel, who continues to defy the eight-year average osprey lifespan, slumped in her nest leaving her mate to feed their offspring.

So many fans were ogling the unfolding saga online from countries such as China, Russia, Botswana, the US and Saudi Arabia, that the SWT internet server eventually gave up the ghost.

Now out of the woods for three weeks, the elderly and much-loved bird has continued rearing her latest brood, with the pair taking to the skies, the eldest on Sunday, the youngest next day, for the first time.

It brings Lady’s remarkable track record of fully-fledged chicks to 48, a high score unlikely to be trumped any time soon, given that the average osprey rears a total of 20 chicks in its lifetime.

Lady’s newest arrivals will now spend the next six weeks or so fine-tuning flying, fishing and feeding skills in preparation for their first 3000 mile migratory flight to West Africa in late August.

There they will spend the next three to five years before becoming sexually mature and returning to the UK to breed.

Although the female osprey is normally the first to migrate post-breeding season, leaving her mate to take care of domestic duties, this year SWT staff are unsure as to what may eventuate.

The best-case scenario appears to be that if Lady is indeed capable of making the long-haul flight, she may not manage a return trip to Perthshire next spring for another breeding season.

“Given her recent illness, our female may be too weak to migrate and might therefore stay a few weeks later than usual, or possibly will not migrate at all,” explained SWT ranger, Emma Rawling.

“Our hope is that she is strong enough and will start her migration sometime in August.

“We'll be especially sad to see her go as the odds that she will return next spring are low, but we won't be giving up on her. She has surprised us once and just might be capable of doing it again.”

l Keep tabs on all the osprey action via nest cam at www.swt.org.uk.