Love birds: Osprey couple reunite at Perthshire wildlife reserve for the fifth breeding season

An Osprey couple have reunited at Perthshire’s Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve for the fifth breeding season.

Male osprey LM12 has returned to the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s reserve on 27 March or his thirteenth breeding season.

His mate for the past four years, female osprey NC0, arrived back on 8 March and has been busy preparing their nest with twigs and moss.

Together, the pair have fledged seven chicks, with LM12 having raised 21 chicks in total at this site. This will be LM12 and NC0’s fifth breeding season together.

‘It’s wonderful to see LM12 back for another breeding season with NC0,’ said Perthshire Ranger, Sara Rasmussen.

‘He’s now older than the average age of most adult ospreys and after a tough season last year I really wasn’t sure if we would see him again. I’m delighted that he’s looking in good condition and the osprey breeding season is now underway..

The breeding pair also made an appearance in the latest series of the BBC’s Great British Railway Journeys with Michael Portillo. Aired this week but filmed in May last year, the series focuses on post war Britain and is available on the BBC iPlayer.

Together, the pair have fledged seven chicks. Credit: Scottish Wildlife Trust

Ospreys were extinct in Britain for much of the 20th Century. They began to recover in the 1960s and an estimated 300 pairs of ospreys now breed in the UK each summer. Most of these birds migrate to West Africa but some overwinter in Spain and Portugal.

The recovery of ospreys is thanks to the efforts of conservation charities including the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The Species Protection Team at Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, with funds awarded by Postcode Planet Trust.

Read more Wildlife stories here.

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