The public is being asked to help name three osprey chicks that have become an international hit during coronavirus lockdown this summer.
Barely five weeks old, the trio at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest in Lochaber are watched by over a quarter of a million fans on a livestreaming nest camera.
The youngsters, who hatched between May 29 and June 3 were confirmed as two males and a female over the weekend.
They have been tagged as numbers JJ6, JJ7 and JJ8 until new names are given.
George Anderson of Woodland Trust Scotland said: “The chicks were ringed at the end of last week and measurements taken at the time suggest they are two males and a female.
“You can’t just lift the tail and check, it comes down to weight plus measurements of the beak, talon and wing size.”
The naming discussion and vote will take place across Woodland Trust’s social media channels this week.
The livestream, that has been running since 2017, is a big hit with online audiences with the nest camera attracting 290,000 viewers and almost two million individual visits to the web page.
George Anderson added: “Some people follow it all day every day. We have heard time and again from people who are shielding that it has helped keep them sane.”
Sanjay Singh from the People’s Postcode Lottery, who support the nest camera, said: “We’re delighted our players’ funding has provided a window into this incredible osprey family, giving much needed support to so many people during this strange summer.
“The naming of the chicks adds a bit of extra fun, so we hope everyone will come up with good suggestions and take part in the eventual vote. And we still have a couple of months left to enjoy watching our osprey family before they leave on migration.”
The birds are expected to take their first flights by the end of the month before migrating south towards the end of August.
Loch Arkaig was the last known breeding site of ospreys in Britain before the species was wiped out around the time of the First World War. The species has been making a gradual comeback since returning to Loch Garten on Speyside in the 1950s.
Woodland Trust Scotland bought Loch Arkaig Pine Forest in 2016 in partnership with local group Arkaig Community Forest with the long term plans of restoring the ancient forest while stimulating economic activity in the local community.
