In an unusual turn of events our eldest fledgling LR1 appears to have left Loch of the Lowes on migration before the resident female. LR1 was last seen on the webcam on Sunday 15 August at 20:20.

In our previous blog (When will NC0 leave?) we speculated about her departure date. Going by the dates set by our previous female LF15 we fully expected she’d have left by now. However, this is only NC0’s second year with us, and as we don’t know her habits and patterns of behaviour yet she’s still giving us surprises!

At the time of writing this blog, NC0 was last seen yesterday (Thursday 19 August) at 17:55. So we don’t think she’s left on migration just yet.

Is it unusual for young ospreys to migrate before their mother?

It’s fairly unusual for young ospreys to leave before their mother. With one exception our two previous females, LF15 and Lady were always on migration first, sometimes 2-4 weeks before their fledglings left the loch.

Our reserve records only show one season where this has happened before.

1974 – The male left first on 19 August and the female stayed until 26 August, with the chicks leaving on 1 and 2 September.

1992 – The male left first on 17 August, followed by the eldest juvenile on 31 August. This left ‘Lady’ the resident female who departed on 4th September and the youngest juvenile was last seen on 7 September.

While our records do go all the way back to 1969 they are not wholly complete. It is possible that a chick has left before the female more than once, but it’s certainly not a common occurrence.

So, why has LR1 left before NC0? Well, we’ll never know but LR1 always appeared to be a very bold and confident individual. I’m sure she just felt it was the right time to go. We wish her luck on her maiden migration, and hopefully she’ll return to Scotland in a few years’ time.

Watch this space for more information about NC0 and her ‘imminent’ departure.

Emma Castle-Smith

Visitor Centre Assistant Manager