Staff and volunteers at a Perthshire reserve have been left heartbroken after losing a second osprey chick.
Almost a year to the day after Blue 44 disappeared during migration; Blue YZ has also gone off radar.
Despite surviving a migration through the Sahara desert, the young raptor the 50th chick to fledge from the nest of the record-breaking osprey known as Lady is believed to have perished in the Guinea Bissau area of Africa.
Data from the satellite tag was last received two weeks ago and that sparked concern among the team at Loch of the Lowes.
Ranger Emma Rawling told The Courier: “With Blue 44, he was doing brilliantly and was really strong when he suddenly dropped off radar, so we held out hope that he might be OK.
“This time, however, we are more worried because Blue YZ did seem to slow down and start struggling.”
Ms Rawling has remained pragmatic and has been comforted by support from the public.
She added: “Even if we have lost the bird, we have learned a lot from her.”
