Young osprey takes flight

THIS DRAMATIC image shows the moment a young, world-famous Perthshire resident took to the skies for the first time.

It was captured on camera by delighted Scottish Wildlife Trust staff as learner flier Blue 44 launched himself on a maiden trip at Loch of the Lowes wildlife reserve at 11.55am on Monday.

The eight- week- old osprey, Lady’s latest youngster, spent several minutes trying out his new-found skill. He was joined by his father for part of the excur- sion around one of his mother’s favourite flying routes, according to reserve staff.

Jonathan Pinnick, assistant manager of the Scottish Wildlife Trust visitor centre at the loch, said: “Blue 44 is fully grown and will make his migration journey soon.

“It was really exciting to watch — we caught the moment in our back-up camera.

“Unfortunately it’s in a fixed position so we only saw him in the edge of shot.

“Once we realised he was off, we were able to get some footage of the chick in flight with our moveable hi-definition camera.”

The successful jaunt raised a huge cheer from watching staff and visitors.

Although the chick disappeared from sight to rest, both parent ospreys spent time roosting nearby to keep an eye on him.

The flight marks the end of dependency on his parents for young Blue 44 — named after the colour of his identification tag — as his mother begins feeding herself up for the gruelling migration back to Africa.

Blue 44 embarks on his maiden trip.