What a great second day our wee little Osprey has had today.

There have been no fewer than five fish brought into the nest since four o’clock this morning- though it was at times hard to distinguish which were newly caught , which were being brought in a second time half eaten , and which were leftovers stashed in the nest by the female!

Our male Osprey has seriously upped his game and responded exactly as we had hoped to the sight of his first offspring:  by dramatically upping his fishing efforts. He is really proving his abilities and that we can trust natures instincts to kick in at the right time.

It is vitally important the wee one eats regularly as it is getting all its moisture from its food and in such hot weather may be a risk of dehydrating. The amount it can eat at a sitting is tiny, but as long as it is ‘little and often’ it will be fine.

Obviously the hot sun today has concerned us, but our highly experienced and capable Osprey mum has risen to the occasion and done a great job of shading the chick when necessary.

This evening we have been again zooming in to check the egg- what we thought might be the beginning of an egg tooth hole, was just a  fish scale, but we will keep looking for the tiniest signs.

The other two eggs are still on the nest and presumably still viable. Some of you have been wondering if they are ok as the female has not been incubating them as much- but it is simply that she hasn’t had to, it been so hot! We are hoping the second egg (the slightly darker one) will hatch tonight or tomorrow, but it could be as late as Saturday and still be normal.

 In other wildlife news, our last spring migrants, the Spotted and Pied Flycatchers have arrived at the reserve, and the warm weather has brought out a huge number of bats and finally some butterflies, such as Green Veined Whites and Orange Tips.

Our neighbouring bluebell woods are at their most magnificent right now: why not walk from Dunkeld to the reserve through this fabulous woodland, rich in the stunning scent of bluebells, and see the magnificent views of Loch of the Lowes from the hill- and spot the osprey nest if you can!