THE 50th chick of the resident female osprey at a Perthshire wildlife reserve has made its maiden flight.

Staff at the Loch of the Lowes near Dunkeld were delighted to see the chick taking to the skies for the first time.

The chick—which hit the headlines up and down the country when it hatched from the 50th egg laid by its mother—reportedly squawked proudly following the virgin flight.

The fledgling’s mother is this year enjoying her record breaking 17th season at Loch of the Lowes.

Her offspring’s first tentative flight reportedly lasted around five minutes.

The chick is not only the product of its mother’s 50th egg, but also the sole survivor of the eggs she laid this season.

Visitor centre manager at the Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve Peter Ferns said, “This could be our current female’s last chick, so it is great to see it reach this level and be so strong.

“Of course we hope that she has plenty more chicks, but she is an old girl and has done really well.”

The chick, which hatched on May 18, was one of three eggs laid by what is believed to be Scotland’s oldest breeding female osprey.

The fact only one egg out of three went on to hatch reinforces the opinion of experts that the female is nearing the end of her reproductive life.

All the drama of the first flight was caught live on new high definition cameras installed at Loch of the Lowes this season.

The footage has now been broadcast to a global audience on the internet.

Those watching online had their hearts in their mouths when the chick made its second flight—only to narrowly avoid death on its return to the nest.

Rather than repeating its earlier graceful landing, the chick dramatically missed the edge of the nest and became tangled on the side.

After dangling precariously upside down for several minutes, it flew off to right itself and make ready for another, more successful, landing.

“The centre was quite full by the time of the second flight,” Mr Ferns said.

“When it overshot the nest and got caught I think everyone must have been holding their breath.

“I suppose it is the sort of thing you would expect to happen really, given that this is a new experience for the chick, but it did not make it any easier.”

Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Perthshire ranger Graeme Walla, added “It has been such an outstanding experience watching the egg hatch, a tiny little chick pop out, grow and now be able to leave the nest, even if it is just for short periods.

“It feels that it was only yesterday we were conducting our 24-hour protection watch and this was all the reward we could have asked for.”

The chick will stay close to the parents until the end of August when it will leave for the west coast of Africa and stay there for between three and five years until it reaches sexual maturity.