Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Angus osprey gives heron squatter short shrift on eagerly awaited reserve return

The male osprey sees off the Balgavies heron
The male osprey sees off the Balgavies heron

A Returning Angus ospreys has flown straight into a row with another resident of its rural roost.

At the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Balgavies Loch reserve near Forfar, enthusiasts have been waiting with bated breath for the expected return of a prolific pair which took the area into the history books five years ago.

courier-4

Balgavies was the scene of the first recorded osprey chick hatching in 2012, and since then the birds have gone on to raise families on the island nest each summer – including a brood of four healthy youngsters last year.

The hide at the reserve, a few miles east of Forfar, has been packed with raptor fans in recent days as osprey arrivals were recorded at other locations, including Perthshire’s Loch of the Lowes.

Their patience was rewarded when the male, believed to be bearing the Green BF ring, appeared in the skies above the picturesque loch – to the annoyance of a heron using the island as his roost.

courier-5

An aerial tussle developed between the pair, with the spectacular duel captured by keen Letham photographer and reserve regular Mike Fenton, whose collection of images on the Balgavies Loch Ospreys Facebook site has been given an enthusiastic response.

This season is not the first in which the returning pair have encountered squatter difficulties in their Angus summer home.

Geese and crows have proved a problem in the past for the ospreys, but they have always taken little time to reclaim their summer Angus home, repair any winter damage to the nest and get down to the serious business of enhancing the area’s raptor population.

courier-3

The location of the nest has made it difficult for experts to carry out any ringing or satellite-tagging operations, with only the first chick – known as Blue YD – fitted with a tracking device.

It was initially tracked to Senegal, but fears it may have come to harm after the male bird’s signal was lost gave way to relief when it was positively identified back in Courier Country last year.

courier-6