Honour for three of the heroes of 2020
BY CONOR RIORDAN BIRD lovers have paid tribute to the heroic Doddie Weir, the late Dame Vera Lynn and fund-raising champion Captain Sir Tom Moore – by naming three ospreys after them.
Doddie, Vera and Captain were by far the most popular choices in a poll to christen the chicks, who have been growing up at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest near Spean Bridge in the Highlands.
They got more than half the 10,000 votes cast, well ahead of second choices Thor, Freya and Loki (28 per cent).
George Anderson of The Woodland Trust Scotland, which ran the poll, said: “Our osprey nest live stream found a huge audience this summer as people on lockdown craved contact with nature.
“When it came to naming the chicks, people wanted to honour these individuals who have all been prominent in the public consciousness this year.”
Scotland rugby icon Doddie celebrated his 50th birthday on July 4 – threeand-a-half years after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. He continues to raise funds to help others with the illness.
The nation paid tribute to wartime Forces Sweetheart Dame Vera when she died last month aged 103.
And 100-year-old Captain
Tom won the hearts of millions by doing laps of his garden during lockdown to raise almost £33million for NHS staff.
Nearly 300,000 people have watched the ospreys on the live stream of the nest this year – more than four times the 2019 figure.
Doddie, Vera and Captain are expected to take flight soon and head south to Africa for the winter.