Thirdchick’s notlikelyat birdreserve

Staff at the Loch of the Lowes nature reserve say it is unlikely the third osprey egg will hatch.

Two osprey chicks have already hatched at the Dunkeld reserve in the past fortnight, and are now growing very quickly, thanks to regular feeds of large fish from male osprey LM12.

The third and final egg is still in the nest, but it is unlikely it will now hatch.

Jane Hamilton, species protection officer at the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: “It seems unlikely that the third egg will hatch at this point. This is disappointing but the positive is that there are still two healthy osprey chicks.

“It is not uncommon for eggs to fail to hatch, or for newly-hatched chicks to die within their first few days. Two ospreys fledging the nest would still be a great success, so we hope that things continue to go smoothly for the two chicks and their parents over the coming weeks.”