Tay and Tummel, two newly named osprey chicks at the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve took to the skies at 1.00 pm today (Friday 13th July 2007) for their first-ever flight.

At 54 days old, the two remaining chicks from a brood of three, have been growing at speed and their flying skills have been improving on a daily basis with both youngsters practicing flapping their wings and jumping in the air over the last week.

With a 50-foot drop from the nest should one of the chicks take a tumble, stress levels of staff and volunteers have been rising, as the chicks readied themselves for their potentially life-threatening first flying adventure.

Over the last few weeks significant changes have taken place to the appearance of the osprey chicks as they move ever-closer to adulthood. “The chicks have finished their dark reptilian phase and if you visit the webcam you can now see that they are now quite light and speckled,” said Andrea Williams, SWT’s Perthshire Reserves Ranger. The camera used by staff and volunteers 24-hours a day to monitor the birds against any potential harm, is simultaneously beamed into the visitor centre and live onto SWT’s website at www.swt.org.uk

“Tay is the boss in the nest and is the one who seems to want to try everything first so he was the one that took the plunge first,” Williams continued; “but brimming with sibling rivalry, Tummel was hot on his heels and soon gave her brother some lessons in aeronautical skills. It’s brilliant to watch and thanks to CCTV it’s like watching your own soap opera unfold before your eyes – it is so addictive and we have people saying that they can’t stop watching the osprey family on the webcam.”

Loch of the Lowes has witnessed the birth of 69 chicks since 1969, with 49 chicks produced by the current female. After the sadness of recent losses at Loch Garten, staff and volunteers are relieved that Tay and Tummel have survived to fledge. But once the pair has mastered flying, fishing is the next skill on the mission to become independent of mum and dad.

Then, much to joy of volunteers and staff, tinged with a wee bit of sadness, the youngster will take on the hardest journey of their short lives; a 3,000 mile journey back to Africa. The question always remains, will they ever return to their first home in Perthshire and will a maturing mum be back again next year to raise her 50th chick? We’ll know in March 2008.