The resident female osprey at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Loch of the Lowes reserve in Dunkeld has hatched her first egg for two years, the 62nd egg to hatch in her lifetime.
The osprey, known affectionately by many as ‘Lady’, was standing by yesterday as the first of her three eggs started to break. The chick emerged after 12 hours, at 7pm last night (Monday 21st).
Almost 20,000 people watched the egg hatch live on the nest webcam. Click here to view the webcam online.
The formidable bird has been returning to Loch of the Lowes for 22 years and has laid 64 eggs during her time there. 48 of those have produced chicks that have fledged, so this year she may reach a half century of chicks fledged at Loch of the Lowes.
This chick is the first born at Loch of the Lowes since 2010 as last year the eggs failed to hatch, despite being proved fertile.
The osprey nests are under 24 hour protection thanks to two Osprey Protection Officers, fully funded by SITA Tayside Action Biodiversity Fund.
Perth and Kinross Quality of Life Trust and the Scottish Government and the European Community Rural Tayside LEADER 2007-2013 Programme have contributed to upgrading the visitor facilities at Loch of the Lowes over the winter.
This year, the female and her new partner have been incubating three eggs, so there are two still in the nest, which should hatch any day now.
Scottish Wildlife Trust Perthshire Ranger Emma Rawling said:
“The chick started breaking through the egg at 7 in the morning and was finished by soon after 7 at night. This is perfectly normal; eggs can take up to 24 hours to hatch.
“We know the female is used to being a parent but we didn’t know what to expect from her new partner. Fortunately, he seems to be acting responsibly. He has been to catch fish and the chick has been fed this morning.
“It is eating happily and looking strong.
“Provided that at least one of the other eggs hatches, she could reach the milestone of having successfully fledged 50 chicks in July, which would be a quite unbelievable achievement. We’ve had interest from all over the world and people visiting in their droves since the eggs were laid.
“We expect many more as the other eggs hatch and the chicks fledge. We are going to satellite tag these osprey chicks to monitor exact routes, timings and behaviours of these fascinating migrating birds.”