Alyth Osprey Webcam – Watch Harry and Flora’s Nest

The Alyth Osprey Webcam looks straight down into a wild osprey nest on a purpose-built platform beside SSEN Transmission’s Alyth substation in Perthshire, Scotland. The nest is a broad mat of sticks on a railed platform, and below it the view drops away to open farmland, the fenced substation compound, a line of pylons and low hills on the horizon. From spring to late summer this is the home of Harry and Flora, a breeding pair that has raised chicks here season after season. Through the season the frame goes from a bare platform to courtship, eggs, fluffy chicks and finally young birds stretching their wings on the rim. From autumn to early spring the nest sits empty while the birds are away on migration, and the camera shows the fields changing with the season instead.

About the Alyth Osprey Nest

Ospreys have nested at this site since around 1990, originally on top of an electricity transmission tower. When that 48 meter (157 foot) tower was scheduled for maintenance, SSEN Transmission built an alternative: a specially designed 25 meter (82 foot) pole topped with a nesting platform, put up in March 2014 some 320 meters (1,050 feet) from the old nest. Two 8.5 meter (28 foot) perch poles stand nearby. The birds moved straight in, and the platform has been used every year since.

The current pair were named in 2022. Harry is an unringed male. Flora wears a blue leg ring reading HK0 and hatched in 2014 at a nest near Loch Awe in Argyll. That year their three chicks were named Rowan, Hollie and Bonnie. By April 2026, SSEN reported the start of the 13th consecutive breeding season at the platform, with the first eggs already in the nest and 23 chicks fledged from it since 2014.

The substation itself is a 275 kV site on the transmission network, about 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) east of Alyth town centre. A rebuilt £85 million substation, designed with the osprey platform in mind, was energised in February 2024, and SSEN forecasts a 50 percent gain in biodiversity around the compound from the planting and habitat work done during construction. Alyth itself is a small Perthshire town of 3,046 people (2022), lying at about 100 meters (330 feet) and granted its burgh charter by James III in 1488.

Weather and Climate in Alyth

Alyth has a cool, damp climate typical of eastern Perthshire. Ten years of ERA5 data (2016 to 2025) put July highs at about 18.5 C (65 F) with nights near 11 C (52 F), in the weeks when the Alyth Osprey Webcam is usually at its busiest with growing chicks. Spring is fresh, with April highs of around 11 C (51 F), and the birds usually return in April. By June the sun is up for close to 18 hours a day, so the nest stays lit well into the evening.

Autumn is the wettest part of the year, with October averaging around 120 millimeters (4.8 inches) of rain, and this is also when the empty platform on the Alyth Osprey Webcam catches the most weather. Winter highs sit around 5 to 6 C (41 to 43 F), nights hover near freezing, and January and February bring a few centimeters of snow in most years, which can dust the nest and the farmland. Daylight shrinks to under 7 hours in December, so the winter view is short and low-lit.

Things to Do Near Alyth

Alyth is compact and walkable. The Alyth Burn runs through the middle of town, crossed by two road bridges and four footbridges, including the 17th-century Packhorse Bridge. Above the town, the Hill of Alyth rises to 295 meters (970 feet), and nearby Barry Hill carries one of the best-preserved hilltop enclosed settlements in the area, with its stone ramparts still visible. Golfers have Alyth Golf Club, founded in 1894 as a nine-hole course by Old Tom Morris and extended to 18 holes by James Braid in 1934.

Heading north, the Reekie Linn waterfall drops through a wooded gorge on the River Isla about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from town, and the road carries on into Glen Isla, one of the quieter Angus glens. Bamff House lies about 5 kilometers (3 miles) north of Alyth. Closer to the nest, the Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum holds one of Scotland’s finest collections of carved Pictish stones. Blairgowrie is 8 kilometers (5 miles) southwest, and Dundee is 27 kilometers (17 miles) to the southeast.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

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• Old Saybrook Osprey Webcam
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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Alyth osprey nest located?

The nest is on a purpose-built platform beside SSEN Transmission’s Alyth substation in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, about 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) east of Alyth town. Blairgowrie is 8 kilometers (5 miles) away and Dundee about 27 kilometers (17 miles).

What can you see on the Alyth Osprey Webcam?

The camera looks down on the stick nest from above. In season it shows the adults bringing fish and nest material, incubation, and chicks growing until they fledge. Behind the nest are farm fields, the substation compound, pylons and distant hills.

When are the ospreys at the Alyth nest?

The pair usually return in April, and SSEN has announced their arrival in April in each of the last several years. Eggs follow soon after, the chicks fledge in summer, and the birds leave for their wintering grounds around the end of the summer, so the nest is usually empty from autumn to early spring.

Who are Harry and Flora?

Harry is the unringed male and Flora is the female, ringed blue HK0, who hatched near Loch Awe in Argyll in 2014. They were given their names in 2022 and have raised chicks on the Alyth platform ever since.

How many chicks have fledged from the Alyth nest?

According to SSEN Transmission, 23 chicks had fledged from the platform between its installation in 2014 and the start of the 2026 season.

Why is there an osprey nest at an electricity substation?

Ospreys had nested on top of a 48 meter (157 foot) transmission tower here since around 1990. When the tower needed maintenance, SSEN put up a dedicated 25 meter (82 foot) nest pole nearby in 2014, and the birds adopted it straight away.

What is the weather like in Alyth?

Summers are mild, with July highs near 18.5 C (65 F). Winters are cool and damp, with highs around 5 C (41 F), frequent frost and some snow in January and February. October is usually the wettest month.

Source: Wildlife Windows