Amazing first pics of Dumfriesshire's first osprey chick
An osprey chick pops out from the nest looking for a feed from mum, only to be captured by a waiting lens for the first detailed picture of the one month old reluctant celebrity.
The best way to see Dumfriesshire's first ever osprey chick and its doting parents is via a CCTV camera trained on the nest and beamed live into the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust's (WWT) centre at Caerlaverock, as part of a joint project with Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage. The pictures were taken by a licensed monitoring officer as part of regular checks on the nest.
WWT Caerlaverock's Brian Morrell said: "The CCTV camera on our osprey nest is delighting visitors with fantastic live images of our fast growing chick on the big screen here at Caerlaverock. During the recent downpours the chick has been sheltered by mum using her waterproof feathers like an umbrella. Both parents are now feeding the month-old chick which seems to get bigger every day thriving on a diet of mullet and flounders.
"The chick also looks different every day too, with new feathers growing through the fluffy down. It will have its first complete set of feathers at six weeks old and will be looking to take that all important maiden flight a week or two later. "
WWT Caerlaverock is open every day from 10am to 5pm.
