Osprey chicks fledge the nest

Two osprey chicks born at Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve have fledged the nest.

Young female osprey PF4 took to the skies for her first maiden flight around the Perthshire Loch on 9 July.

Taking a courageous leap from her large nest she landed back safely on it a few minutes later.

The second chick, PF5 spent a great deal of time squealing, flapping, helicoptering and jumping about from the nest to a perch and back again, before flying off on 13 July.

‘This is a great time to come and view these majestic birds taking short flights around their nest and the loch where you can hear them shouting out for fish’, said Perthshire Ranger, Sara Rasmussen.

‘The youngsters will be fed constantly by their parents, to build up their energy and fat reserves before their long migration in late August.’

‘Initially, they will spend time building up their strength, confidence and control with short flights around the nest. After a week they may start to venture further, building up to flights that last a few hours.

Once the chicks have been flying for a few weeks it is usual for the female to depart first, leaving her mate to provide food for the young ospreys, until they too begin their first migration journey.

By late August they will depart on their lengthy journey south, with the male also leaving around this time.

Both parent birds, female NC0 and male LM12, returned to the nest on 17 March within six hours of each other.

Three eggs were laid in April with only two eggs hatching on 13 and 16 May. This is the earliest recorded hatching date on this nest.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s live osprey webcam ensures people from around the world can follow events as they happen.

Ospreys were extinct in Britain for much of the 20th Century.

They began to recover in the 1960s and an estimated 300 pairs of ospreys now breed in the UK each summer.

Most of these birds migrate to West Africa but some winter in Spain and Portugal.

Read more on Scottish Field’s News pages. 

Plus, don’t miss the July issue of Scottish Field magazine.