The two osprey chicks at Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve near Dunkeld have been ringed so they can be monitored and tracked by conservationists after they leave the nest.
A highly experienced and trained bird ringer took just a few minutes to place large blue Darvic rings around the birds’ left lower legs on Monday evening.
The oldest of the chicks has been ringed LP8 and the youngest has been ringed LR0. These rings will help observers identify the birds from a safe distance and see that they have originated from nests in Scotland.
It has not been possible to confidently determine the sex of either chick.
Perthshire Ranger Sara Rasmussen said: “Ringing the chicks will help us know more about their lives after they leave the reserve at the end of summer. They are close to their full adult size, and it shouldn’t be long until they take flight and leave the nest for the first time.
“The work we do here at Lowes to help ensure the nest is safe from disturbance is just the start of the story. Our hope is that these young birds will return in the future and eventually form breeding pairs, helping to contribute to the recovery of ospreys around the UK.”
Ospreys migrate south at the end of summer. Most birds spend the cooler months in West Africa, although an increasing number are wintering in Spain and Portugal. Ospreys begin migrating north at around 2-3 years old.
Earlier this year PT4, a female osprey which was born at Loch of the Lowes in 2019, paired up with a male at the Kielder Osprey project in Northumberland. This pairing came too late for the osprey to lay eggs but hopes are high for future seasons.
Any sightings of ringed ospreys can be reported to the Roy Dennis Foundation at roydennis.org
Laura Chow, Head of Charities, People’s Postcode Lottery said: “We’ve been thrilled to follow another successful season for the ospreys at Loch of the Lowes. It’s fantastic that we’ll have the chance to follow the young ospreys’ lives and we’d love to see them return to Britain in the future.”
The resident ospreys at Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve, LM12 and NC0, successfully hatched three chicks this season. Sadly the youngest died earlier in June during a brief period of food scarcity and fierce competition between the chicks.
Ospreys were extinct in Britain for much of the 20th Century. They began to recover in the 1960s and an estimated 300 pairs of ospreys now breed in the UK each summer.
The recovery of ospreys is thanks to the efforts of conservation charities including the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The Osprey Protection Programme at Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre & Wildlife Reserve is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre is currently open seven days a week from 10:30am to 5pm. The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s live osprey webcam ensures people from around the world can follow events as they happen.