The really exciting news of that we have a third osprey egg laid this afternoon- a blessing beyond our wildest hopes this season. Our resident female bird showed classic signs of laboured breathing and low posture in the nest around 4.10pm and after a final shudder, she stood at 4.34 and clearly showed us the third egg- beautifully white and clean looking unlike the older two which have turned a buff colour with normal weathering. 

Links to video of our ospreys with the three eggs:

http://youtu.be/_zYMJ7wtGOg  our female laying her third egg

http://youtu.be/85n452Kngeg    both parents with the eggs

 We would like to apologise for the short interruption to your webcam viewing for an hour last night- simply due to human error, when the last of our daytime staff accidentally left without switching a button over.  The dedicated volunteers and staff who were on Osprey watch shift at the time did not realise the web camera wasn’t changed over to night mode as they are based in the loch-side  hides ( to best protect our birds by surveying the whole loch environs) and have just a small screen version of the night vision camera at their sides during their shifts. When a member of staff realised you where not seeing on the web what we were seeing here, it was quickly sorted but our apologies for the gap in your viewing. Rest assured that there ARE staff and volunteers on site 24hrs a day , 7 days a week to ensure our birds safety.

Finally some more Osprey Q and A’s.

Q: Is there a second Osprey nest at Loch of the Lowes:

A: No there is no second nest at the Loch of the Lowes reserve. There are other pairs of ospreys nearby (with 55 pairs in Perthshire as a whole) and as these birds can wander widely, this accounts for many of the ‘extra’ birds we see fishing our loch, and some of the nest intruders. We do not discuss or disclose the locations of other osprey nest sites for the bird’s protection- to do so publically would be irresponsible and unethical as whilst all osprey nests have dedicated local volunteers who keep an eye on them, not all benefit from the level of protection we have here at our high profile site. We must all remember our responsibility to protect all these birds from unscrupulous humans, who may do them harm.

Q: Why are the Loch of the Lowes ospreys not ringed?

A: Neither bird has ever been ringed- this has to be done at approximately 6weeks old by specialists with a license. Our female may have either come from an area where there were no ringers working in the late 1980’s when she was probably born, or a nest which was inaccessible. Our male is probably a young bird and may be one of those now born in Scotland that couldn’t be got around to in the short window of opportunity each year, or a nest that has escaped notice!

Q: How do the birds cope with all the rain?

A: Our ospreys are remarkably resilient, and can cope with all weathers, from rain, snow to extreme heat. Our female will adjust her posture to best cover the eggs in different weathers. You will notice she shifts regularly to keep her ‘blood flowing’ and occasionally stands up and shakes when she is waterlogged