THE grand old lady of Scotland's ospreys has returned to her summer home at a wildlife reserve in Perthshire for a record-breaking 18th consecutive year.
Every year since 1991, the bird, now 21, has flown to the Scottish Wildlife Trust's (SWT) Loch of the Lowes reserve to breed.
Wildlife experts are convinced she has produced more chicks than any other osprey in Scotland.
While most female osp
reys are unable to produce chicks after they reach the age of 14, the Loch of the Lowes osprey has astounded reserve staff by continuing to attract a male suitor every time she has returned to Scotland following her winter migration.
Ospreys usually produce no more than 30 eggs in a lifetime, but last year she clocked up a remarkable half-century when the total number of eggs she had laid reached 52. Reserve staff are hoping her return in 2009 will herald another record-breaking breeding season.
Claire Troup, the SWT's Perthshire ranger, said the osprey had been seen landing on the eyrie beside the freshwater loch last Friday night. "We are thrilled our female osprey has returned again this year," she said. "Despite her age, she has managed to make a 3,000-mile migration from West Africa to her breeding ground. She is now waiting for her mate."
Once the first egg is laid, SWT staff and dozens of volunteers will mount a 24-hour guard to protect the bird and her eggs.
