Delight has greeted the arrival of the first osprey chick in two years at a Highland nature reserve.
Staff and visitors to RSPB Loch Garten celebrated the successful hatching of the new chick at about 7am on Saturday morning.
It is believed to be the first osprey to hatch anywhere in the UK this year.
The egg was laid by regular female resident EJ on April 7 and hopes are high that the remaining two eggs could hatch in the coming days.
Jess Tomes, visitor operations manager for Loch Garten said “We had predicted the hatch date to be sometime over the weekend.
“But we noticed on Thursday that EJ was quite agitated, standing up off her eggs and looking at them whilst calling softly, so we had our fingers crossed that she was anticipating welcoming her first chick for 2016 into the world.
“Sure enough, our night-shift volunteers saw the familiar wobbly head of the newlyhatched chick on the nest monitor at around 7am on Saturday.”
It is the 24th chick born at Loch Garten to EJ and her regular partner Odin.
The new arrival is especially welcome after all three of last year’s eggs were destroyed by an intruding male osprey.
Ms Tomes added: “Last summer was disastrous for EJ and Odin in that a young intruding osprey chased Odin away and kicked all three eggs out of the nest.
“By the time Odin returned a few days later, it was too late for them to re-lay, so 2015 was a chick-less year at Loch Garten.
“But, they have put all that behind them this year and we’re just delighted things have worked out, and EJ and Odin are parents again.”
Visitors to the Osprey Centre have been treated to views of EJ tearing off tiny chunks of fish and gently feeding them to her chick.
Ms Tomes said: “It’s the best time of year to visit the Loch Garten Osprey Centre, especially if we get two more chicks, as there will be plenty of action with Odin having to bring in enough fish to feed his growing family.
“His record catch in one day is nine fish, so there should be plenty to see.”
