Female osprey NC0's last chick of the season hatches at Loch of the Lowes wildlife reserve

The third and final osprey chick of the season hatched at a reserve run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust on Monday.

The egg was laid by a female bird coded NC0 at the Loch of Lowes wildlife reserve on April 18.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust said the third chick began to appear around 8.45pm on Sunday, before fully emerging at 7.46pm on Monday.

Her first two chicks of the season hatched on May 19 and May 21, as osprey young tend to hatch approximately one to two days apart.

Two osprey chicks at Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve. Scottish Wildlife Trust

Soon after the third egg hatched, male osprey LM12 returned to the nest with two large perch to support his growing family.

The male has an eye injury which appears to be minor and has not affected his ability to catch fish.

Sara Rasmussen, Perthshire ranger at the Scottish Wildlife Trust said: “It’s fantastic that all of NC0’s eggs have hatched this season. Our team of staff and volunteers have worked around the clock to ensure the ospreys can breed successfully without being disturbed.

“It is immensely satisfying to know that the long days and nights protecting the nest have paid off, and ongoing monitoring will contribute to the next step in the chicks’ remarkable journey.

“We’ll continue to keep an eye on the young ospreys as they grow, and hopefully all three youngsters will successfully fledge and migrate south at the end of the summer.”

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.

Most of these birds migrate to West Africa but some winter in Spain and Portugal.

Laura Chow, head of charities, People’s Postcode Lottery said: “We’re thrilled to hear three osprey chicks have hatched out under the diligent watch of the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s team at Loch of the Lowes reserve. We’ll be glued to the live webcam to watch these tiny birds as they develop.”