Female osprey 'Lassie' returns to nature reserve
4 hours ago
From the section Tayside and Central Scotland
A young female osprey known as "Lassie" has returned to Loch of the Lowes nature reserve two weeks earlier than expected.
The bird hatched three chicks at the Dunkeld reserve last summer and was last seen on 7 August 2015.
She took over from long-term resident "Lady", who reared 50 chicks there.
Perthshire Ranger for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Charlotte Fleming, said: "It's great to see the osprey back again."
She added: "Her behaviour is very relaxed and she seems very at ease in the middle of the nest.
"From initial observations she looks in great condition for breeding.
"We are hoping that she won't be on her own for long and are keeping our eyes glued to the webcam to see when the male will arrive.
"I am delighted that our osprey season has started so well already, and have everything crossed for another successful breeding season."
Once extinct in the UK, there are now about 240 breeding pairs of ospreys. The trust does not refer to them by names and Lassie is officially called Lowes Female 15 or LF15.
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