Yesterday was the day we had all been waiting and hoping for – the arrival of our male osprey, reuniting him with his partner who’d been waiting patiently for a week for his safe return. Since his first appearance at 11:20 on Good Friday, despite some initial hostile behaviour and mantling, the pair have settled down incredibly well and domestic life has resumed.

Shortly after his arrival visitors spotted the male with his first fish, and after several hours of persistent nagging the female eventually received her share! Our male has an excellent fishing record and is wasting no time providing food for both himself and his partner – a very welcome sight indeed.

You can see from our webcam how quickly the nest is changing too. The female occupied herself last week by spending a lot of time digging out the nest cup and rearranging the lining material, but since his return yesterday both birds are working hard to rebuild the outer structure with an amazing 10 sticks brought in between them just in the last few hours!!

With the safe return of both our ospreys this year, we all feel very lucky to have had such a positive start to the season and long may it continue!!! Please keep checking back for regular updates on our pair’s progress over the coming weeks.

Charlotte,

Perthshire Ranger.