Meet Doddie, Vera and Captain...
After receiving several thousand suggestions from the public, Woodland Trust Scotland have named the three osprey chicks hatched at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest earlier this year.
The trio have been named Doddie, Vera and Captain in honour of Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir, Forces’ Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn and centenarian NHS fundraiser Captain Tom Moore.
The chicks are watched by more than a quarter of a million fans on a livestreaming nest camera supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and following an online vote last weekend Doddie, Vera and Captain topped the poll.
George Anderson of Woodland Trust Scotland said: ‘Our osprey nest livestream found a huge audience this summer, as people at home during lockdown craved contact with nature.
‘When it came to naming the chicks people wanted to honour these individuals who for different reasons have all been prominent in the public consciousness this year.’
The nest camera has been running since 2017. Last year it attracted an audience of 60,000 viewers (that’s viewers not individual views). This year it has seen its audience shoot up to 290,000 viewers so far, with almost two million individual visits to the web page.
The birds are expected to fledge - or take their first flights - in around a week. The nest will remain their basecamp until they migrate south towards the end of August.
Mr Anderson added: ‘Most Scottish ospreys fly overland down through England before crossing the Channel to France and on to Africa. There is every chance that Vera the osprey may fly over those white cliffs made so famous in song by her namesake.’
There were more than 10,000 votes in the naming poll. Fifty per cent voted for Doddie, Vera and Captain; 28 per cent voted for Thor, Freya and Loki; 14 per cent voted for Ally, Bally and Bee; 8 per cent voted for Hagrid, Boudica and Merlin.
The osprey family’s story began in 2017 when an inexperienced young male took possession of the nest at Loch Arkaig. He was nicknamed Lonesome Louis as it didn’t look like he would attract a mate. But after 18 days Aila arrived and that first year they raised a single chick – Lachlan. In 2018 all three of the pair’s eggs were taken by a pine marten. In 2019 they successfully raised two female chicks – Rannoch and Mallie.
Loch Arkaig was the last known breeding site of ospreys in Britain before the species was wiped out around the time of the First World War. The species has been making a gradual comeback since returning to Loch Garten on Speyside in the 1950s.
Woodland Trust Scotland bought Loch Arkaig Pine Forest in 2016 in partnership with local group Arkaig Community Forest. They have long-term plans to restore the ancient forest while stimulating economic activity in the local community.
The livestreaming nest camera offers a wild slice of forest life with the aim of publicising the fundraising appeal for the restoration.