Osprey chick hatches in record first for Dumfriesshire

Dumfriesshire's first ever osprey chick in living memory hatched at WWT Caerlaverock on Sunday morning ending more than a month of excited anticipation by staff and visitors.

After 40 days of incubation, enduring scorching sun, gusting winds and torrential rain, the proud first-time parents welcomed their first born chick into the world, all captured on the CCTV cameras that beam images direct from the osprey nest into the visitor centre at WWT Caerlaverock. The osprey pair laid the three eggs at roughly two day intervals starting in late April, and it is hoped the other two eggs will also hatch successfully in the coming days.

Now the male bird has extra fishing duties to perform to keep the female and his new offspring supplied. Caerlaverock's Learning Manager, Brian Morrell , was over the moon and said: 'We have been waiting for this to happen for the last few years and at last they have done us proud. We hope to see the drama unfold from our observatory on the shore as the male bird catches fish in the Solway and carries them back to the nest where we can see the female feed her hungry chicks on the CCTV monitor at the centre.'

In partnership with WWT, The Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage, CCTV cameras beam live images from the osprey nest straight through to the fair-trade coffee shop in Caerlaverock's visitor centre.

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