EJ the Osprey returns to Loch Garten RSPB for 14th year running

RSPB Scotland is celebrating the return of EJ the Osprey to its Loch Garten nature reserve in Speyside, a full 12 days earlier than it appeared last year.

EJ, a female Osprey, has been a regular resident at the site since 2003 and has raised a total of 23 chicks there to date, mainly with her usual partner Odin.

EJ (Photo: RSPB Scotland).

Julie Quirie manages the Osprey Centre shop at the reserve, and was the first member of RSPB Scotland staff to spot EJ. She said: "I had just arrived at work for my first day of the new season, threw open the flaps at the Osprey Centre and there, sitting on a branch eating a fish, was EJ!

"She had just arrived, having completed her epic flight from the far south. It may seem strange, but even after eight years working at Loch Garten, the return of the ospreys still brings a lump to my throat."

Ospreys migrate to western Africa in August and September before returning to Scotland for spring and summer, usually in March or early April.

Jess Tomes, from RSPB Scotland, manages the Osprey Centre. She said: "Last year was like something out of a soap opera at Loch Garten. Both EJ and Odin were present but we had an interloping male Osprey visiting the nest attempting to ingratiate himself with EJ while Odin was away on hunting trips.

"The rival male actually kicked Odin and EJ's eggs from the nest! In the end things got so torrid that the birds failed to raise a family for the first time in years. This season we're hoping for plainer sailing and a happy Osprey family. With EJ back home, our thoughts are already turning to Odin. Will he reappear? Will other male Ospreys try to get in on the act?"

Loch Garten is famous for being the home of breeding Ospreys since the 1950s, and the site is where the birds first returned to after becoming locally extinct as a breeding species in the early twentieth century. RSPB Scotland has been protecting Ospreys at Loch Garten since 1958, and 2016 will mark the 58th season of 'Operation Osprey'.

The Osprey Centre at Loch Garten will re-open for the season on April 1, so visitors can get a closer look at these birds as well as a host of other species, and enjoy a daily range of family activities.