Ospreys celebrate 50 years back in Scotland
The Wildlife Trusts
50 years ago the much-persecuted osprey made a dramatic return to Scotland.
The osprey had become extinct in Scotland in 1916, but finally returned
to breed at Loch Garten in 1954. A partnership of conservation organisations
are planning a year of celebrations for the osprey’s Golden Jubilee
including Scottish Wildlife Trust, RSPB and Forestry Commission Scotland.
The osprey is a spectacular bird of prey specialising in catching fish
lurking near the surface of lochs. Up to 160 pairs now breed in Scotland,
returning from their winter hideway in West Africa during March and April.
Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Loch of the Lowes reserve is one of the
most popular places to see ospreys, a pair have bred there for many years,
and their traditional eyrie is situated within 200 metres of the Observation
Hide, allowing osprey family life to be observed through telescopes and
on a monitor in the Visitor Centre.
Stuart Brooks of the Scottish Wildlife Trust said, ‘This jubilee
comes at a great time for the Trust because we plan to redevelop our Osprey
Visitor Centre near Dunkeld next year. This should allow even more people
to watch and enjoy these marvellous birds in their natural environment.
Their success story is something all of the organisations and the Scottish
public can be proud of.’
A few pairs of osprey have also recolonised England. Last year ospreys
nested for the third time in 150 years at Bassenthwaite in the Lake District.
Further south, ospreys have been reintroduced to Rutland Water, a Leicestershire
and Rutland Wildlife Trust reserve, through a joint project with Anglian
Water. Five young fledged sucessfully in 2003.
Osprey facts:
The osprey is unique among birds of prey in the way it is adapted to
live on fish, spotting them with their acute,
binocular vision, and swooping to catch them with
their long, curved claws.
The osprey only weighs 1.4 – 1.6kg, or the
weight of a small chicken, but it has a wingspan
of 145 – 170cm. Among Scottish birds of prey
only the golden eagle and sea eagle have larger
wingspans.
They migrate in winter to winter further south.
Scottish ringed birds have been found in the winter
in Gambia and Senegal in West Africa. Sadly, more
than half the young birds die of starvation during
their first year. They spend their first two years
in Africa before migrating north to their summer
breeding area.
The magnificent spectacle of ospreys nesting and feeding has already attracted
over a million visitors to the Loch of the Lowes.
Click
here for a complete list of books about ospreys
|
