Osprey

The National Park is home to several pairs of breeding ospreys who arrive here to mate each spring. Keen observers can spot them hunting over many of our lochs in the summer months. Loch Venachar, Loch Lomond, Loch Eck and the Lake of Menteith are some of the places where you might see these beautiful birds.

Despite being a relative of the eagles, their grey and white colouration means that with a passing glance, they can sometimes be mistaken for very large gulls. On closer inspection, the difference is very obvious.

Osprey or ‘lasgair’ meaning fisherman in Gaelic, have a wingspan of up to five feet (1.52 metres), long black talons, a noticeably hooked beak and a reversible outer toe to grip fish. They are highly equipped to make the most of the rich pickings of the fish in our lochs to feed their growing young. The long hours of daylight in summer in Scotland also help them in their hunt to feed growing chicks. They spot their prey when they are high above the water, after which they will hover momentarily then plunge feet first into the loch and grab their unfortunate victim!

Each year, these beautiful and remarkable birds naturally return to their old eyries (nests), most of which survive the winter or require just a little refurbishment.

An osprey’s eyrie can grow over three feet (1 metre) across and deep and more often than not are located in Scots pines. Since 2005, osprey have bred successfully on one of the islands of Loch Lomond. Over the three summers to 2008, eight youngsters have been raised from this nest site alone. All of these young birds have been ringed in an attempt to learn more about their lives and migrations.

Ospreys haven’t always had this level of success and were extinct in Scotland by 1916. However since returning in 1953 and with increased protection on the continent and at home, the numbers have begun to increase. Numbers are still rising in Scotland with reports of 200 breeding pairs.

Ospreys can be disturbed by people during the breeding season. Nesting ospreys are legally protected but despite this, boats coming too close, people camping close-by and planes flying low overhead can all cause the female to leave the eyrie during the crucial incubation stage. Most of the nest sites in the National Park are in relatively secluded places but some such as the nest on Loch Lomond could be at real risk. Throughout the summer months the National Park Ranger Service monitor the birds to record any disturbances and encourage visitors to give the birds the space they need to thrive.

Towards the end of the summer the ospreys leave the lochs of the National Park for the sunnier climes of Africa, but we hope to see them return here next year and for many more to come.

If you would like to find out how you might catch a glimpse of these magnificent birds and many others in the National Park, please visit our Bird Watching page.