OVER the course of her visits to these shores, she has seen five Prime Ministers, the coming and going of the poll tax, the birth of the Scottish Parliament, a Ryder Cup, a Commonwealth Games and an independence referendum, but now it is feared that one of Scotland's most famous visitors - almost an honorary citizen - has breathed her last.
Lady, the nation's most famous bird of prey and the oldest breeding osprey ever recorded in the UK, is likely to be dead, according to rangers at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes reserve in Perthshire.
She has always been a most welcome visitor (her nesting site is not the one that is causing such consternation to the organisers of the T in the Park music festival), and has played a major role in her breed's renewed lease of life in Scotland.
She has broken all records. Female ospreys live an average of eight years and produce about 20 chicks. Lady, however, is thought to be 29, has produced 71 eggs and fledged 50 chicks.
If her death is indeed confirmed, members of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and nature lovers all over the land can take comfort from the fact that hers has been a life well lived.
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