Joy as male osprey flies in to nest
There was joy at a Perthshire beauty spot this weekend, as the famous osprey returned once again to the Loch of the Lowes.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust confirmed the male osprey LM12 arrived back at the nature reserve near Dunkeld on Saturday, March 21 after spending months in West Africa.
LM12 touched down at the sky-high nest at 3.33pm clutching a fish.
He spent a few seconds on the nest before leaving, closely pursued by two crowds.
The male osprey was seen again on Sunday morning, and trust staff are now eagerly anticipating the return of his long-term mate LF15 for a sixth season.
Since 2015, LM12 and LF15 have successfully fledged 12 chicks at the Perthshire reserve.
Sara Rasmussen, Perthshire ranger for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: “LM12’s arrival on the nest marks the start of another exciting season for the ospreys at the Loch of the Lowes.
“He’s wasted no time in beginning to get the nest ready for breeding, and we can’t wait to see if LF15 will return in the next few days.
“Unfortunately there is no access to the Loch of the Lowes visitor centre or our hides at this time, but we encourage people to keep up-to-date by following us on social media and by tuning in to our live webcam.”
Normally, visitors can go and watch the birds from hides on the loch’s shore, however due to the coronavirus outbreak they have been closed until further notice.
Ospreys were extinct in Britain for most of the 20th century, and only began to recover in the 1960s.
There is now an estimated 300 pairs of breeding ospreys in the UK every summer.
This recovery is thanks to the efforts of conservation charities such as the Scottish Wildlife Trust, whose osprey protection programme is supported by the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Sanjay Singh, senior programmes manager at the People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “I’m so pleased that funding raised by our players is able to support the work of the Scottish Wildlife Trust in its ongoing work to protect ospreys at the Loch of the Lowes.
“The work is incredibly inspiring and we can’t wait to see what this season has in store.”
Although the visitor centre and the hides are currently closed, keen bird-watchers can still keep a track of the osprey nest via a live webcam on the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s website.