Female Osprey Raised 48 Chicks

A wild osprey in the the UK that has lived three times longer than the average lifespan for the species, has also raised 48 osprey chicks over the course of her life. The twenty five year-old raptor is the most famous osprey in the UK, due to her astonishing resiliency. On June 18th, it was feared by observers that she was finally being overtaken by old age, and was soon to die. Several days later, it appeared she was actually regaining strength and could carry on. Currently she is in Scotland. A manager at a nearby conservation center said, “Now however, we could be watching her final days on the nest as she struggles to keep going and care for her latest two chicks – part of the amazing tally of 48 chicks she has raised during her lifetime.”

That one female osprey played a great role in the revival of wild osprey in Scotland. In 1916 they had been driven to extinction. She appeared in Scotland in about 1985 when there were only about 50 breeding pair of wild osprey. Now there are about 200. The age-defying osprey actually laid her 56th egg this year in the Loch of the Lowes area. Observers have named her “Lady of the Loch.” She reappears in Scotland after regular migrations of several thousands miles from Africa.

If you are interested in visiting or donating to help conserve nature in the region, you can find more information on the Scottish Wildlife Trust website.

Image Credit: Scottish Wildlife Trust

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Teresa W.

7:09AM PST on Mar 5, 2012

great story

send a green star

Carol P.

9:04AM PST on Mar 4, 2012

Glad to hear that a smart, healthy bird was able to pass along her genetics so many times.

I love seeing Osprey in the wild and am grateful to live in a place where they are beginning to flourish again.

Brenda T.

7:49AM PST on Feb 21, 2012

An amazing bird. We are very proud of her in the U.K.

Yvonne S.

1:41PM PDT on Apr 28, 2011

This is an amazing story and I'm surprised I hadn't heard about it before (I live in the UK).

beverly g.

5:07PM PDT on Aug 1, 2010

O M G thats wonderful..

Liv R.

7:45PM PDT on Jul 20, 2010

Thats amazing!!

KS G.

4:54AM PDT on Jul 18, 2010

Thanks very much.

Abo r.

11:21PM PDT on Jul 9, 2010

noted

Beng Kiat L.

9:11PM PDT on Jul 4, 2010

Thanks

johan l.

11:51PM PDT on Jul 3, 2010

This is incredible.
We have many fish-eagles (ospreys) in S.Africa but I doubt if anyone has gone to the trouble of monitoring her from birth!
My devious brain keeps on wondering how they picked that particular fish-eagle?