HENRY THE male osprey showed what he thought when he arrived at his Boat of Garten nest last month to find his partner of last year EJ had already laid two eggs.

Having destroyed them, he chased off his male rival, then disposed of two other eggs laid by EJ.

But now, in an event which has only been witnessed once before in Scotland, EJ has started a second clutch—which Henry has accepted.

It is the latest episode in the saga of the ospreys at the RSPB’s Loch Garten reserve in the Cairngorms, which has so far included events ranging from polygamy and betrayal to jealousy and infanticide.

Bird watchers and the RSPB staff at the reserve were dismayed at Henry’s reaction when he discovered EJ had been fooling around before he got home from Africa.

And when he destroyed the second pair of eggs they thought the Garten nest would again be without young.

RSPB site manager Richard Thaxton said, “Following the hugely disappointing events, our heads were down and we thought our season was in shreds, but against all odds, she is re-laying.

“This is an extraordinary turn of events as a relaid clutch of eggs has only been known once before in Scotland,” he added.

“At dawn this morning, EJ was seen to be sitting low in the nest—an indication of egg laying; but only when she stood up did we see the almost unbelievable site of a replacement egg.

“She shuffled about a bit then settled back down to incubate it.

“The tension was agonising as we watched the CCTV screen for a glimpse and when we finally saw it, there was a roar of delight from the osprey centre staff. It was game-on, she’s back on track for a successful breeding season.

“There has been an unspoken belief this past two weeks, among my staff and I, that this would happen, but we dared not get our hopes up.

“We believed it was possible but a complete and utter long-shot that she would relay.

“Now our faith in EJ has been rewarded—she’s done it and it’s quite unbelievable.”

It now remains to be seen how many more EJ might lay.

Although she could in theory manage another egg in the next couple of days, it is doubtful that she would be able to produce the usual clutch of three, having already laid four.

Visitors can call in to the osprey centre, to see how the drama unfolds. The centre is open daily from 10am to 6pm.