Osprey update 2010 - Remarkable Loch of Lowes bird lays 58th egg!

Ospreys chicks in Northumberland being ringed. Credit FC

July 2010. Nature's answer to ‘Supermum', a 24-year-old osprey famed as the oldest breeding bird of its kind to be recorded in the UK, has exceeded the expectations of experts by surviving this year's breeding season to see that her latest chicks successfully take their first flight from the nest.

Osprey's live an average of eight years and are estimated to produce 20 eggs during that time. The lifespan and reproductive abilities of this individual osprey are considered ‘remarkable' by wildlife experts, especially as a month ago she appeared to be at deaths door. 

Ospreys in Wales in 2010 The Glaslyn ospreys both returned to their nest from last year. Three eggs were successfully hatched and all three chicks have fledged. A second pair nested in Wales for the first time in 2009, at the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust's Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve, where they built a nest on an artificial platform. In 2010 several ospreys were seen around the nest but last years male did nor reappear until the end of June! There were no chicks here in 2010. Loch Garten ospreys Unseasonably windy weather has meant for the first time in almost four decades no young ospreys have been ringed at RSPB Scotland's Loch Garten Osprey Centre. Staff had been hoping to ring all three of this year's young, as well as fit satellite tags to two of them, so their migratory movements could be monitored. However, the task was deemed too dangerous after high winds prevented the trained team from accessing the nest safely via ladder. Windy weather thwarts osprey ringing attempt.  More about Loch Garten  Aberfoyle ospreys Last years female teamed up with a new male and have produced 3 healthy chicks. See Queen Elizabeth Forest Park & the David Marshall Lodge Caerlaverock ospreys - Chick rescued after fall from nest 3 chicks hatched at WWT Caerlaverock in 2010, but on 11th July observers realised one was missing. A short search found the missing chick on the ground under the nest, and after a brief interlude, the chick was returned to his family, apparently none the worse for his brief absence.  Loch of the Lowes Peter Ferns, the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre Manager, said: ‘We are overjoyed that our female breeding osprey has once again been successful in producing and raising chicks which have fledged the nest. This is the 20th consecutive year we have watched over this bird at Loch of the Lowes and it's certainly been one of the most dramatic. Osprey ‘supermum’ survives to see her chicks take off  Read how to see the ospreys at the Loch of the Lowes wildlife reserve

Lake District ospreys Last years pair returned to the nest, and duly 3 eggs were laid. However 1 failed to hatch, but the other 2 have grown into healthy looking birds. They have been ringed, and one fitted with a satellite transmitter. The Lake District Ospreys, at Bassenthwaite, also managed to fledge 3 healthy chicks last year. Rutland ospreys Two pairs of ospreys have successfully raised 3 chicks each at Rutland in 2010. There are several more ospreys present, but like last year, no further chicks were hatched. Two pairs successfully fledged chicks at Rutland Water Nature Reserve in 2009; a third pair was resident but did not breed; and several single birds also spent the summer in and around Rutland. The two successful pairs fledged two chicks each. Border ospreys The pair of ospreys from the Tweed Valley Osprey Project have successfully hatched and fledged 2 chicks in 2010.   2009 was another good season, with 9 pairs of ospreys fledging 22 chicks! The ‘featured' chicks at the Tweed Valley osprey watch centre produced three strong chicks. More at Peebles osprey watch Northumberland ospreys Three osprey chicks have been ringed at Kielder Water & Forest Park to help experts keep tabs on their fortunes. The birds are the off-spring of a pioneering osprey couple who last year raised the first osprey family in North East England for at least 200 years in the 155,000 acre wilderness. Historic ospreys ringed in Northumberland wilderness  How to see the Kielder ospreys at Kielder Forest   The Kielder ospreys fledged three chicks in 2009. Photo credit Forestry Commission.   .