Staff at the Loch of the Lowes nature reserve fear the UK’s oldest breeding osprey may have died.
Lady became Scotland’s most famous bird of prey after rearing up to 50 chicks over 24 summers on the nest.
However, it is already past the date of her latest arrival in a season and she has not reappeared.
While staff face the likelihood that Lady’s days are over, there is brighter news from the reserve’s new resident.
A young osprey, known as Lassie, laid an egg at 8.50pm on Tuesday.
The egg was produced 14 days after the osprey arrived on the nest and began mating with the resident male, known as Laddie.
Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) staff are hoping Lassie will go on to establish her own legacy.
Ranger Charlotte Fleming said: “We are delighted to announce that our first osprey egg of 2015 was laid at 8.50pm on Tuesday.
“We were surprised how quickly it happened. Our night watch staff began to notice classic signs of egg laying behaviour, including the female tail lifting and panting.
“Just 10 minutes later she stood up to reveal her beautiful new egg.
“It was a lovely moment all the team were gathered around the monitor. Despite a little hesitation at the beginning, there have been no problems and she seems to have taken to it perfectly.”
Miss Fleming said Lassie settled down to incubate around 9.10pm and took a “well-deserved nap” while sitting on her first egg of the season.
“The male brought his first fish in at 6.30am and he seems more than happy to take his share of incubation duties,” she added. “This is a new era for the nest.
“It’s an important time for osprey conservation so this is a really welcome arrival, and now we are waiting to see if and when the next egg will be. Usually they are two days apart, and we are hoping eventually to see a clutch of around three eggs.
“The average incubation time is 35 days so the first chick could hatch in mid-May,” she said.
You can watch live footage of the nest on the SWT’s Loch of the Lowes webcam.