The osprey has nested at the reserve for 21 consecutive years An osprey thought to be the oldest breeding female ever recorded in the UK has returned to its nest at a wildlife reserve in Perthshire.
“Lady” has nested at the Loch of the Lowes reserve near Dunkeld for 21 consecutive years.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) feared the bird would not survive its migration to Africa last year after becoming weakened by illness.
But the charity said it had now “positively identified” Lady.
Wildlife experts said a close-up image of the bird’s iris seen from the camera trained on the nest had enabled them to confirm the identity of the osprey.
The news comes after an unidentified bird was spotted landing on the reserve’s nesting site at 1210 BST on Monday, where it remained for no more than a few minutes before disappearing from the area until dusk.
Robert Potter, from the SWT, said: “As our resident female osprey is not ringed the only way to positively identify her is to view a close-up image of her iris, which has distinctive markings.
“To get the close-up image required, we need the bird to sit on the nest for a reasonable length of time in daylight hours.
“Last year, we thought this bird would die on her nest but, at the eleventh hour, it managed to regain its strength”
Robert Potter Scottish Wildlife Trust
“At the first possible opportunity, we used the camera to zoom in on the bird. To our delight and astonishment, the close-up allowed us to confirm that this bird is, in fact, our resident female osprey, known by many as ‘Lady’.”
Mr Potter said the osprey was an “incredible specimen of nature”.
Lady suffered a bout of ill health in June 2010 and experts feared the bird would die when it stopped eating.
But thousands of people, watching via the webcam, witnessed the osprey’s sudden recovery days later.
Female ospreys live an average of eight years and produce about 20 chicks in that time. Lady has produced 56 eggs and has now seen 48 fledge.
Mr Potter added: “Last year, we thought this bird would die on her nest but, at the eleventh hour, it managed to regain its strength.
“Today, despite the odds, it looks healthy after just completing a 3,000-mile migration from West Africa.”
Bird experts and webcam viewers will now be watching keenly for the return of a male, which the trust expects to happen within the next week.
The charity said the “big question” on everyone’s lips was whether the bird would be fertile enough to breed this year.
Female ospreys generally lay two to four eggs in early April. They then hatch about six weeks later.
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