A Perthshire wildlife reserve has bid farewell to female osprey Lassie after another successful breeding season.
The bird of prey, known as LF15, has flown the nest at Loch of Lowes Visitor Centre, near Dunkeld.
She was last spotted at the reserve on Saturday, August 5 – a week earlier than when she left in 2016.
This is the third year that Lassie, and her mate Laddie, have bred together at Loch of the Lowes.
In both 2015 and 2016 they successfully fledged three chicks. The two fledglings, known as PH1 and PH2, are expected to depart by the end of August, to be followed closely by Laddie.
Rachael Hunter, Perthshire Ranger at the Scottish Wildlife Trust said: “This season has flown by. Both fledglings are spending a lot of time chasing each other around the loch and have been seen practising fishing, so they seem to be well prepared for their maiden migrations.
“LF15 has left eight days earlier than 2016 but this isn’t unexpected because she laid her eggs relatively early. LM12 should stay around for a few more weeks to feed the youngsters but it’s more than likely that we’ll have an empty nest by the end of August.”
She added: “After ospreys leave their nest they lead fairly solitary lives. However, breeding pairs form a bond and LM12 and LF15 are still reasonably young, all being well we fully expect them to reunite at Loch of the Lowes next spring.”
