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Nethy down?

Last modified: 02 April 2009

Osprey chick Nethy being held by Ross Watson
Nethy was fitted with a satellite tag last summer. Osprey chick Nethy being held by Ross Watson - (RSPB)

After the fantastic news last week of regular female EJ returning to the nest at RSPB Scotland's Loch Garten Osprey Centre, comes the sad news that last years chick Nethy is missing presumed dead in Africa.

Nethy was one of the two chicks fitted with satellite tags for the first time last year, and her 3000 mile migration to West Africa was followed by thousands online at www.rspb.org.uk/ospreytracking.  She spent the winter in the Gambia, and more recently Guinea, where juvenile ospreys stay until the age of three when they make the return journey to breed.  However, with the signal from her tag not having moved for a fortnight, it would seem that she may have died.  There is an outside chance that the tag might have fallen off, but unless she is spotted one day by her leg rings, we will never know.

Richard Thaxton, Loch Garten osprey centre manager said:

"This is really sad news.  We sat-tagged the two chicks from the nest at Loch Garten for the first time last year, and now we think that something has happened to Nethy, which is a real shame for the thousands who followed her migration online.  Her brother, Deshar didn't make it to Africa at all, as his navigational skills weren't the best.

However, every tragedy only goes to show what a miracle it is that these birds survive at all.  40% of ospreys are reckoned to die in their first year, so really we have to say that this is just part of nature.  The Scottish population is pretty healthy now considering there were none left in 1954 when the first ospreys came back to Loch Garten, and with this season kicking off now, we're looking ahead to another successful nesting attempt."

The Loch Garten osprey centre is open daily from 10am to 6pm from now until the end of August, and the nest can be watched live at www.rspb.org.uk/lochgartenlive

EJ arrived last week from Africa and is waiting for a mate, and we hope to repeat the tagging project this year assuming that chicks hatch successfully.

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