THE OSPREY 55 



in the shallow waters of our lochs, posts with cart wheels 

 fastened to their summits. These cart wheels are approxi- 

 mately the same size as an Osprey's eyrie, and are in- 

 tended to catch the eye of any wandering Osprey on the 

 lookout for a nesting site. The idea is a sound one, and 

 might well be put into practice by some of our landowners 

 having suitable lochs on their estates ; but so few Ospreys 

 visit these islands during the spring migration north that 

 I am very doubtful if even a single pair could be induced 

 to nest. To begin with, I am informed that there are 

 now scarcely any Scandinavian Ospreys left, and, indeed, 

 if a pair did by chance decide to nest in this country, they 

 would in all probability chose Loch an Eilan or Loch 

 Arkaig as their quarters. It is only during the last few 

 years that the Loch Arkaig eyrie has been deserted. 

 Quite a decade has elapsed since the last young were raised, 

 but after this a solitary Osprey put in an appearance 

 on the loch each spring for a period of, I believe, seven 

 years. It seemed as though this bird was unable to 

 secure a mate, though it is difficult to imagine that this 

 could have been so, for the Osprey is quite a well-known 

 bird along the Mediterranean seaboard during the winter 

 months, and if the Loch Arkaig Osprey made its winter 

 quarters there, as is probable, it must have met with 

 a number of its fellows. But with the Loch an Eilan 

 Ospreys, too, the same thing happened ; a solitary bird 

 appeared for a time before the nesting site became entirely 

 deserted, so that the difficulty of securing a mate must 

 be considerable, unless, indeed, these individuals were 

 barren birds past the period of nesting, which is hardly 

 likely. 



The eyrie on Loch Arkaig is built on a stunted oak 

 tree on a small island, where the birds were comparatively 

 secure during the nesting season. But, unfortunately, 

 this protection could not be afforded them after they left 



