Rangers await the return of ospreys
The wildlife rangers at a Dunkeld loch think their breeding ospreys could arrive at the nest site any day now and they have got everything ready to ensure things go well.
Rangers at Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre and Wildlife Reserve have been eagerly preparing for the return of ospreys, basing their expectations of seeing their breeding pair return on last year, when the male LM12 touched down at the nest site on March 21.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Perthshire ranger Sara Rasmussen recently wrote of looking ahead to another exciting breeding season for the endangered birds of prey, which migrate to Scotland from west Africa.
“Over the last few weeks our team, in conjunction with contractors Scottish Communications, has been working flat out through ice, snow, rain and floods to get everything in place for the season.
“We’re delighted to announce that our webcam is now live.
“With the 52nd osprey season at Loch of the Lowes about to begin, I wanted to detail some of the changes that we have made to ensure that these magnificent birds of prey have a safe and secure place to breed.”
There were problems last year when three incidents of human activity disturbed the nest in the pine tree and other animals like ravens and pine martens were a threat to eggs.
Sadly the birds moved to another location after three weeks of being back in Dunkeld.
This was the first time since 1990 that this nest failed to host a breeding attempt.
So to make things better in 2021, it was decided to cut back some branches that were making it hard for the ospreys to see incoming danger in time to take action.
Sara continued:“After the birds left the reserve in 2020...the team took advice from leading osprey experts on why the birds may have abandoned the nest, and what could be done to entice them back to the site.
“We decided to improve the outlook by removing the branches that were obstructing the view.
“Following this pruning, the tree now looks like a‘classic’osprey site.
“While we’re always keen to take as light touch an approach as possible, encouraging birds to use the regular nest strengthens our ability to provide round-the-clock nest protection.
“It also provides a fantastic opportunity for people to observe ospreys, both in person and via the live webcam.”
Everybody can keep an eye out by looking up the camera at https:// scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-todo/watch-wildlife-online/ loch-of-the-lowes-webcam/