Scottish osprey chicks Doddie, Vera and Captain named after inspirational figures
● Rare hatchlings mark homage to popular heroes
One of Scotland’s best-loved sportsmen, a legendary Second World War entertainer and a centenarian who raised millions of pounds for NHS workers during the cornavirus crisis have an unusual connection in common.
The celebrities are former rugby player and motor neurone disease sufferer Doddie Weir, whose tireless campaigning has put the debilitating condition under the spotlight, forces sweetheart and singer Dame Vera Lynn, who died recently at the age of 103, and Captain Tom Moore, who received a knighthood after raising more than £32 million by walking 100 laps of his garden in time for his 100th birthday in April.
Now the three have been honoured with a special new tribute after wildlife fans voted for a brood of rare osprey chicks to be named after them.
The baby birds of prey – which hatched at a nest at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest in Lochaber, in the Highlands, at the end of May – were named by the public after a poll.
Thousands of suggestions were put forward in the online vote, organised by the Woodland Trust Scotland conservation charity.
Doddie, Vera and Captain came out as the favourite monikers for the trio, who have been attracting the attention of nature lovers from across the globe via broadcasts from a camera trained on the roost.
George Anderson, of Woodland Trust Scotland, said: “Our osprey nest live-stream 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.”
More than 10,000 votes were cast in the digital poll, with half of them opting for Doddie, Vera and Captain.
A further 28 per cent chose Thor, Freya and Loki, while 14 per cent liked Ally, Bally and Bee and 8 per cent were in favour of Hagrid, Boudica and Merlin.
The youngsters are watched by more than a quarter of a million fans on a live-streaming nest camera that has been running since parent birds Lonesome Louis and Aila hatched their first chick there in 2017.
Last year, it attracted an audience of 60,000 viewers but this has shot up to 290,000 viewers so far in 2020, with almost two million individual visits to the web page.
Until the names were picked, the hatchlings were known as JJ6, JJ8 and JJ7.
The birds are expected to fledge – or take their first flights – in the next week or so.
The Highland forest will remain their base camp until they migrate south towards the end of August, eventually travelling up to 5,000 miles to reach their winter stomping ground.
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 birds have been making a gradual comeback since returning to Speyside in the 1950s, with around 240 pairs across the UK.
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 the song by her namesake.”
“Naming the chicks, people wanted to honour these individuals who have all been prominent in the public consciousness this year”
GEORGE ANDERSON
Woodland Trust Scotland