Osprey

"Pandion Haliaetus"

This large raptor also known as a sea hawk and a fish hawk is a diurnal fish eating stunningly beautiful bird of prey. They arrive in the uk in March and April after spending the winter in Africa.

This osprey has bought in a pike for his 3 hungry offspring who are now the same size as he is

This amber listed bird suffered from illegal killing

(and still does)

After low breeding numbers it is making a remarkable comeback and thrives in the highlands.

The female is ferocious and guards her nest while the male is off hunting

They have white underparts and dark upper parts and amazing wings angled and designed to bend at the “wrist”to enable it to lift off from the water once its talons have gripped a fish.

Many have drowned due to the weight of their prey and the fish diving, pulling a weak osprey under to drown.

Only the fittest survive.

They are approximately 52 to 60cm in length

They have a wingspan of 145 to 170cm

They weigh in at between 1.2 to 2kg.

There are only 200 to 250 breeding pairs in the uk.

Their nest is called an eyrie and is built at the very top of a tree. It is between 120 and 150cm across

The female lays 2 or 3 eggs at intervals of 1 to 3 days and then incubates them for 37 days each.

The nesting duties are shared but the male does most of the fishing. Many young birds die before the age of three and those that survive live on average around 8 years.

The oldest recorded Osprey was 32

They return to the same nest every year usually with the same partner

The osprey on the screen above is

E J

She successfully raised over 25 of the 33 chicks that hatched between 2004 and 2018 at Loch Garden

She failed to return the following year