There is delight that stars of the twitchers' world have returned to their world famous love nest in the Cairngorms National Park and seem set for for a ninth breeding season together.

RSPB staff and followers of the world-famous Loch Garten ospreys EJ and Odin are celebrating the return of the regular breeding pair from their wintering grounds in Africa. The birds have had relationship problems in the past but hopes are high that EJ, the female and Odin, the male, Loch Garten’s most successful osprey pair, will add to their tally of 17 chicks fledged together from the nest.

EJ returned on March 23, with Odin arriving just over a week later, on March 31, just in time for the centre opening its doors to the public on April 1, offering views of the nest with its non-invasive CCTV camera system.

According to the RSPB the osprey used to be distributed throughout Europe, but heavy persecution, mainly by Victorian egg and skin collectors, during the 19th and early 20th century brought about dramatic decreases and extinctions.

It became extinct as a breeding bird in England in 1840 and in Scotland in 1916, though it continued to occur as a passage migrant. In 1954 birds thought to be of Scandinavian origin returned to Scotland, choosing the Loch Garten reserve in the Abernethy Forest. A pair has nested successfully almost every year since 1959. The Osprey Centre there has since become one of the most famous osprey conservation sites in the world.

Centre manager Jess Tomes, said, “It’s always a nail-biting time of year, waiting to see if our regular pair return after their winter travels. Migration is hugely dangerous for any bird and so it’s with enormous relief, and, I have to say a few tears of joy, that we welcome EJ and Odin back home. It’s even more of a relief as EJ is twenty this year and that’s getting on a bit for an osprey, so we’re just delighted that she’s returned for her 15th season at this nest. She’s the most successful female osprey we’ve had here and has been responsible for rearing 25 chicks to fledging, eight with previous partners. She really is a remarkable bird and a bit of a legend in the history of Loch Garten.

“In their nine years together, EJ and Odin have had their ups and downs, with love triangles, broken eggs, aerial and nest combat with intruding ospreys, fishing line entanglement and Odin deliberately destroying another male’s eggs, but through it all they remain a strong couple and are very experienced parents. We’ve already seen lots of mating and bonding so they’re getting straight down to the serious business of breeding. Who knows what the 2017 season will bring for them, but that’s the pull of the osprey story. It’s wildlife, right there in front of you and all we can do is watch and wonder.”