Staff and visitors at a north-east attraction are keeping an eye on the sky as they wait for three osprey chicks to take their first flights.
The fledgings are expecting to leave their nest at Lochter Activity Centre, near Oldmeldrum, for the first time any day now.
Ospreys have nested at the centre for the last five years, and the current brood of chicks are the fourth to hatch.
With their father an expert fisher, the chicks have regularly been spotted devouring rainbow and brown trout while their mother keeps guard against would-be intruders.
Visitors to the centre have been delighted to watch this year’s chicks grow via a webcam set up in the restaurant, and will be hoping to catch a glimpse of the moment the trio take flight and attempt to master the art of catching their own meals.
Euan Webster, managing director of the centre, said it cost about £4,000 a year to feed the ospreys, but it was worth every penny.
He said: “It is a small price to pay to be able to follow the lives of such wonderful birds.
“This year has been a real success story for the resident pair as they have raised three fine chicks, who are at fledging stage and will make their first solo flight any day now.
“They are like friends to us and long may they flourish.”
Staff at Lochter erected a nesting tree five years ago, filling it with a few sticks to simulate a “starter home”. Within two days, a pair of ospreys began building up the nest and have returned from Africa at the end of March every year since.
Within three weeks of their arrival this year, the first egg had been laid and the first chick hatched on May 26, with the second breaking open the next day. The third chick made its debut almost a week later.
The ospreys are expected to begin their migration to Africa in September.