Fears for Loch of the Lowes osprey
By Alan Richardson
BIRD-LOVERS FROM across the world watched helplessly yesterday as life seemed to ebb from Scotland’s oldest osprey in her Perthshire nest.
The magnificent female bird, known as Lady to thousands of admirers worldwide, has made a 6000-mile journey from Africa to Loch of the Lowes, near Dunkeld, for two decades to hatch her young each spring.
In April the 25-year-old laid two more eggs but events took a grim turn on Saturday, when viewers of the 24-hour web-cam monitoring the nest noticed her listless appearance.
Unresponsive and lying flat beside her two chicks, initial hopes that she was merely dehydrated were dashed by experts who confirmed the nature reserve favourite was in the last hours of her life.
Centre manager Peter Ferns—who monitored the situation and kept online visitors updated—said staff and the general public were left reeling by the bird’s sudden deterioration.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust centre has a strict non-intervention policy, meaning no medical aid was given as, it is believed, she is finally succumbing to old age.
The chicks will also be left to fend for themselves but relieved workers noted the male partner brought them fish and scared off predators through the weekend and hope he will continue to do so for the next week until they can feed themselves.
Mr Ferns said, “It’s very sad to watch because personally, I’ve been watching her 17 years—since I started on night shift—protecting her eggs, and it’s like losing one of the family.”
He added, “We’re so used to her being there but we knew she was going to go sometime.
“It will be heartbreaking to watch the chicks if they are not tended by the male.”
He added, “It’s also very hard for the visitors who feel involved as well.
“The regulars have been coming in since the osprey returned.”
Mr Ferns explained why the hundreds of visitors to the website were still able to view the nest.
He said, “We’ve not taken the webcam down because this is raw nature and people need to learn about it at its worst, and not just the fluffy, nice parts.”
The body will be removed from the nest when possible without unduly disturbing the chicks and male, for a post-mortem.
Mr Ferns said, “I’ve looked at all the recordings and she was fairly perky and feeding the chicks at 7.20 to 8.30 (on Friday night) and it was in the early hours you could see she was starting to go a little bit and something was wrong.
“She has no marks and it may be that she has eaten something bad but it could just be old age finally catching up on her.”
Since first arriving, Lady has had 57 eggs, 47 of which have produced successfully fledged chicks.
Ospreys have an average lifespan of only eight years and lay around 20 eggs.
UPDATE JUNE 21
Our mum has continued to fight her battle through the night and at first light she is still with us. It is amazing the strength a being can find solely to protect their offspring. She continues to amaze even in her decline!
Today will be another very busy and tiring day for us all here so your continued updates are particularly important to us, as we may miss a fish or interesting event that could be vitally relevant in the success of our dad and chicks.
I would just like to thank each and every one of you for your support and words of comfort and encouragement over the weekend. It means a lot to us.
Slainte mhath!
http://www.thewebbroadcastingcorporation.com/swt/swt.php web cam, this is so so so sad.
