Angus ospreys are making moves to capture record-breaking raptor Lady’s crown after thrilling visitors to a local reserve with a brood of four chicks.
The birds at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Balgavies reserve east of Forfar have proved a remarkable success story since hatching the first recorded osprey chick in Angus in the spring of 2012.
Now in their fourth breeding season, the pair returned to the small loch several weeks ago, igniting hopes that they would add to their total tally of six chicks.
By the weekend, watchers in the hide had spotted three tiny heads popping up in the nest, but Tuesday evening brought the sight of a fourth chick
Reserve warden Jim Hughes said: “We knew there were three chicks there and had seen the mother feeding them, but no-one could believe it when the fourth appeared.
“It’s created a great buzz around the reserve. A brood of four is unusual and I’m sure it will bring people out to Balgavies.”
He added: “The pair reared three chicks in 2013 and they all fledged as strong healthy birds.
“This latest chick is a bit smaller than the other three, but that was the case the last time and they all caught up with each other so hopefully we’ll see four strong young birds growing up.
“They are a very good breeding pair but the male osprey will now have his work cut out catching enough fish to feed his big family and the female.”
However, enthusiasts have been encouraged to keep a respectful distance from the family as they bring up their brood in the weeks ahead.
An SWT spokesman said the limited capacity of the small reserve could lead to serious consequences for the birds if they are disturbed.
The small hide close to the car park gives the best view of the osprey nest and visitors have been urged to use that vantage point at the critical time in their breeding season.
The first recorded Angus chick also wrote its own chapter into the Balgavies success story last month when the bird-known by its ring tag of Blue YD – appeared back at the reserve.
It is, so far, the only Angus osprey to have been satellite tagged, but after being tracked to Senegal in West Africa experts lost contact with the young male, triggering fears of a worst case scenario that it had lost its life.
However, Blue YD was spotted in Fife last year and in early May it was seen around the island nest at Balgavies having returned home.
Loch of the Lowes Lady was Scotland’s record-breaker
The already prolific Angus pair have some way to go to match Scotland’s record-breaking osprey, Lady, who fledged 50 young in a remarkable annual residence at Perthshire’s Loch of the Lowes reserve.
She spent 24 summers at the SWT facility near Dunkeld and at was well beyond the normal lifespan for the species when she failed to return to the loch in 2015.
