Children help name feathered favourites
Names for Alyth ospreys
Children at an east Perthshire primary school spread their imaginative wings to name a pair of nesting ospreys.
The site of SSEN Transmission’s new Alyth substation has long been home to a pair of ospreys, which each year use a special purpose-built nesting platform on the edge of the substation boundary.
Until this year the osprey pair and their young have been nameless – but names have been chosen thanks to pupils at Meigle Primary School.
The winning names were announced at a special school assembly held earlier this month, with the winning pupils presented with prizes from the SSEN Transmission team.
The Alyth ospreys have been called Harry and Flora, with the three chicks named Rowan, Holly and Bonnie.
All pupils were also given their own osprey soft toy as a thank you from the teams for getting involved and for showing such enthusiasm about the birds of prey.
Earlier in the year, Meigle pupils visited the substation to have a closer look at the nesting tower through the custom-built viewing platform and telescope.
The youngsters have been following the progress of the birds ever since they hatched, thanks to the addition of a
webcam.
The ospreys have attracted quite a following, with just under 2000 subscribers now following their movements on a daily basis.
Archie Munro, SSEN Transmission lead project manager, said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to the pupils at Meigle Primary School for coming up with such brilliant names for our resident ospreys and their three chicks.
“With so many great suggestions we had a hard time narrowing it down to the final five.
“The live webcam has been a brilliant way of introducing our much-loved resident ospreys to a wider audience, and I know the team here have really enjoyed following their progress up close.
“We look forward to Harry and Flora the ospreys hopefully returning again next year, where we expect to continue with
our live webcam as before and hopefully welcome even more chicks.”
Ornithologists have been checking that SSEN Transmission’s progress with the substation work at Alyth has not interfered with the ospreys’ development during the project, which is part of a wider scheme to upgrade the east coast transmission network and is on course to be completed in autumn next year – according to a spokesperson for the power firm.