The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Delight as Lady’s first egg hatches
IT TOOK a little over 12 hours but two finally became three at the Loch of the Lowes reserve on Monday.
After tantalising birdwatchers with brief glimpses of its beak, the first osprey chick to be hatched at Dunkeld in two years made its grand entry just after 7pm.
More than 20,000 people watched live online as Lady welcomed her 49th chick into the world, at one point causing the webcam to crash.
The record-breaking raptor still has her work cut out for her, however, as there are still two eggs in the nest which are due to hatch any day now.
Her partner, known affectionately as Laddie, has taken to the role of new father with aplomb.
Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) ranger Emma Rawling said: “We know the female is used to being a parent but we didn’t know what to expect from her new partner.
“Fortunately he seems to be acting responsibly. He has been to catch fish and the chick has been fed this morning, so it is eating happily and looking strong.”
Despite facing the prospect of a lengthy wait, scores of keen birdwatchers made their way to the SWT visitor centre on Monday to watch the drama as it unfolded.
Among those revelling in the excitement were Jessie Morrison and Lesley Goodall, both from Kilconquhar.
Ms Morrison, a regular visitor, described the scenes as “amazing”, while Ms Goodall revealed that their visit to the reserve on the same day as the eggs started to hatch was a happy coincidence.
“It really is something special,” she added.
The Courier also spoke to Susan Mcvey, who is one of many dedicated members of the Wildlife Village online blog and has faithfully followed the osprey’s tale.
By sheer chance the “villagers” had met up at the reserve the day before and a number of them will be spending the next few days in Dunkeld.
“It’s just amazing to witness all of this first hand, so the timing really couldn’t have been better,” said Ms Mcvey. “I’m just over the moon.”
The new arrival is the first chick to be born at Loch of the Lowes since 2010, as last year poor weather conditions prevented the eggs from hatching.
It was initially thought that the 26-yearold osprey was too old to be fertile but subsequent tests on the eggs proved that there was life in the old girl yet.
In her lifetime Lady has laid 64 eggs, with 48 of these producing chicks that have fledged, so Emma is hopeful that she will reach her half century.
“To successfully fledge this number of eggs is quite an unbelievable achievement,” she said. “We expect her to reach the milestone of 50 later in the week.
“We’ve had interest from all over the world and people have been visiting in their droves since the eggs were laid, so we expect many more as the other eggs hatch.”