News and Views from Scotland
Successful Ospreys Return
Ospreys at Loch Garten, graphic © Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
The most successful breeding pair of ospreys at Loch Garten wildlife reserve )in the Strathspey area of the Cairngorms National Park), have returned from spending the winter in West Africa and have commenced their 9th breeding season. The graphic on the right is © F Leask via Wikimedia Commons.
The female osprey known as "EJ" from the identity ring on her leg has been to Loch Garten for 15 years and has fledged 25 chicks with her current partner known as "Odin" and other males.Having fattened up on the fish in West Africa they will be plunging into the colder waters at Loch Garten and other lochs and rivers to feed their latest family.
Ospreys (also known as fish eagles) grow to over two feet in length and have a wing span of around 5 feet. The picture on the left is of an osprey pair at Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre and Wildlife Reserve near Dunkeld in Perthshire.
In 1954 two ospreys arrived in Scotland from Scandinavia and their offspring have spread to many parts of Scotland where they often become popular tourist attractions. In 2011 the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) estmated that there were between 250 and 300 breeding pairs in the UK, mainly in Scotland with some Scottish chicks moved to a nature reserve in Leicestershire where they have become established.
Please give me whatever feedback comes to mind via david@rampantscotland.com.
David
Return to News and Views Index
Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
