One of the UK’s oldest breeding birds of prey has returned to Scotland to nest for the 21st year in a row.
Lady the osprey was spotted in the Loch of the Lowes wildlife reserve in Perthshire on Wednesday.
The bird, now thought to be around 26 years old, was identified using a close-up image of her iris taken with a camera hidden in her nest.
She was seen landing on a nesting site at the reserve, which belongs to the Scottish Wildlife Trust, during lunchtime.
She stayed for a few minutes before disappearing from the area until dusk.
The bird, which travelled some 3,000 miles from West Africa, will now be under 24-hour protection to keep her safe from wildlife crime.
Robert Potter, Scottish Wildlife Trust’s northeast reserve manager, said: “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.”
He said the bird was an “incredible specimen”.
The average osprey lifespan is eight years but Lady is thought to be more than three times that age.
She has laid around 58 eggs in her lifetime, with 48 chicks going on to hatch and successfully fledge the nest.
A biography of the bird, Lady Of The Loch by writer Helen Armitage, is due to go on sale next month.
Mr Potter said: “This one individual has single-handedly made a significant contribution to boosting osprey numbers breeding in Scotland.
“Last year, we thought this bird would die on her nest but, at the 11th 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.
“With the female now back on the nest, the next event to watch out for is the return of a male, which we expect to happen within the next week.
“The big question on everyone’s lips, however, is whether our old osprey will be fertile enough to breed again this year.”
The SWT is trying to raise funds to tag any chicks with satellite technology to allow them to collect data about their migration habits. Once a common sight in Britain, the osprey was all but extinct by 1916 due to persecu-tion.
Conservation efforts continue to re-establish the species as part of Scotland’s wildlife heritage. Today, 200 pairs of osprey breed in Scotland during summer months.
Mr Potter said two more ospreys had also been seen at the site.
He said: “Seeing these additional two ospreys around the reserve is an unexpected but marvellous sign of the wildlife which is thriving here at Loch of the Lowes.”