Osprey chicks thrive after hatching in Aberdeenshire

Three osprey chicks have hatched at a north-east visitor attraction.

The youngsters’ antics are delighting members of the public at the Lochter Activity Centre near Oldmeldrum.

As families tuck into lunch in the restaurant they can watch webcam images of the chicks feasting on their father’s regular deliveries of rainbow and brown tr out.

The baby birds are the fourth brood to hatch at Lochter in the past five years.

Their parents arrived back from Africa at the end of March and made quick work of tidying the nest.

Within three weeks, the first egg had been laid and the first chick hatched on May 26, with the second breaking open the following day.

A third and final chick made its debut on Thursday morning.

Staff at the activity centre said the arrivals during the “most fantastic” spell of weather had given the chicks the best possible chance of survival.

On Thursday alone, there were five fish deliveries to the nest.

Over the past two years, buzzards have raided the nest.

Both chicks were taken last year, but staff managed to return one of the young after the buzzard found it too heavy to carry.