Since his arrival in the early hours of Sunday, our resident male osprey has been busy organising his nest for the coming season. He immediately got to work, displaying some interesting cleaning techniques by using his body and splayed wings to flatten the growing grass tufts in the centre! It is possible for a female to reject a nest if it is deemed untidy enough upon her arrival, so this is a very important behaviour to witness.

On Sunday afternoon, the male treated spectators to a wonderful sight of himself returning from a successful fishing trip with a large pike grasped firmly in his talons. After returning safely from his arduous migration it’s a relief to see him demonstrating his great condition and hunting capabilities.

There is no sign yet of his usual mate, our resident female, but it is still early days and we have only just entered the typical osprey arrival period. However yesterday we received reports of 4 ospreys over the loch, and at 8.10am this morning an unidentified female arrived on the nest. She began making herself quite at home, kicking out grass and adding a stick to the nest. So far, there has been no observed interaction with our male but we will keep you all informed of any interesting developments as and when they happen!

 

Charlotte

Perthshire Ranger