Another day has come and gone at Loch of the Lowes, and we can report that there has still been no definitive sign of an osprey in the Perthshire skies.  Two of our visitors late yesterday afternoon reported a possible sighting from the car park but we are yet to see anything over the loch or at the nest.  

As we said in yesterday’s post, we’ve certainly not given up hope yet.  It is important to bear in mind that Scottish ospreys will almost always be later back than their English or Welsh counterparts due to the greater distance they have to cover. We will continue to keep you posted.

While we wait, we’ve been talking to other Wildlife Trusts’ across the UK known for their osprey watching.  Here are some top spots from the Wildlife Trusts’ where you can see these impressive birds over the summer:

In England:  Lyndon Nature Reserve in Rutland is home to a male osprey known as 03(97).  This bird flew in to Rutland Water on Sunday 20 March.  03(97) has bred every year since 2001, successfully raising 23 chicks with three different females.

Lyndon Nature Reserve in Rutland offers two fully accessible hides which overlook a nest where a pair raised three chicks last summer.  The Rutland Belle offers 13 evening cruises and four early morning cruises from May-August 2011; a great way to see fishing ospreys.  You can find out more on the website http://www.ospreys.org.uk/lyndon-reserve/cruises/

Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust’s Rutland osprey project shows live CCTV images from the nest on a big-screen in the Lyndon Nature Reserve Visitor Centre and also on the project’s website, www.ospreys.org.uk.  Follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rutlandospreys.  Footage recorded at the Rutland Water Manton Bay nest in 2010 enabled the world to watch all three chicks hatch.  This footage was recorded shortly after the third chick had hatched http://www.youtube.com/user/RutlandOspreys#p/u/7/9h5LdvtOMNs.

In Wales:  Staff and volunteers at Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve, run by Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, expect to see the return of their bird during the first week of April. It is hoped 2011 will see the second breeding pair ever recorded in Wales.

Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve offers nest viewing through telescopes from the purpose built-hide or via the nestcam on large screens in the visitor centre.  The artificial nesting platform was erected by Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust in 2007 on the salt marsh next to the Dyfi Estuary.  Both returning ospreys are unringed so age and origin are unknown but staff and volunteers use plumage patterns to identify them.  One bird has orange eyes instead of the usual bright yellow of an adult osprey.  More on http://www.montwt.co.uk/dyfiospreys.html and www.facebook.com/dyfiospreyproject or http://twitter.com/DyfiOspreys

Meanwhile in Scotland: We continue to wait to see if the oldest known breeding osprey in the UK will return to us this year.