Raptor enthusiasts have been delighted after a history-making Angus osprey feared lost made a reappearance in the skies over Fife.
In 2012 the male bird became the first recorded Angus-born osprey, and in a tricky operation at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Balgavies Loch reserve, near Forfar, was satellite tagged and ringed with the marker Blue YD.
He left Angus in late summer that year and was tracked on a journey of thousands of miles to Senegal in West Africa.
Then, in the spring of last year, Blue YD began a migration back to the UK before his satellite transmission trail abruptly ended over Yorkshire and those following the young bird feared the worst.
To their delight, the three-year-old has now been captured on camera fishing in the Eden estuary and the warden at the bird’s birthplace said the osprey’s homecoming has been a delightful surprise.
“Everyone who I have met at the reserve since this news broke has spoken about Blue YD and we are all elated that he is alive and well,” said Jim Hughes at Balgavies.
“Blue YD has got a very special place in the hearts of everyone who visits the reserve, they see him as our chick, who was born, bred and ringed here and the regulars at Balgavies were very upset when he disappeared from the satellite tracking and they feared the worst.”
Balgavies is currently preparing to say farewell to its resident pair and the strong single chick they have successfully reared this summer.
“Blue YD is a great-looking osprey and the chick which the pair have this year is another cracking bird, as a single offspring he has been very well looked after.”
Renowned Scottish wildlife artist Keith Brockie, who was involved in the challenging ringing of Blue YD at the Angus nest, said the young bird could well have made his way back to Angus last year but slipped under the radar of eagle-eyed ornithologists.
“It’s great that the bird is still around, but just a shame that the tracker is not working,” he added.