A Highland nature reserve has welcomed its first osprey chick of the year.
The RSPB is celebrating a hatching at the Loch Garten Osprey Centre in the Cairngorms National Park.
The new arrival finally emerged at 11.40pm on Saturday night, witnessed only by the centre’s night-shift volunteers.
It is the one of three eggs laid by the reserve’s regular female EJ, and her mate Odin.
Now staff are on tenterhooks for the remaining two eggs to hatch.
Jen Clark, the RSPB’s osprey information officer at Loch Garten, said: “After waiting patiently for the past 36 days we are thrilled to have the first chick finally hatch.
“EJ, our female, started getting restless in the early afternoon on Saturday and we could hear soft chirrups coming from the egg.
“The osprey centre was packed with visitors who were eager to see the hatching, and the hide would fall silent whenever EJ stood up to show the eggs.
“The atmosphere was electric. However, it wasn’t until almost midnight, when only the night watch volunteers were present, did the chick eventually break free of the egg.
“The chick got its first feed early the next morning when Odin, the male, brought in a fish at first light.
“He will now have to step up a gear to provide food for the osprey family.
“This is the first of three to hatch and we hope the other two will do so too in the next few days.”
This year marks EJ’s 12th consecutive season at Loch Garten.
At 17-years old, she is one of the most experienced and well-known birds to visit the nature reserve.
Named after and identified by the letters on her leg ring, she returned to the Cairngorms on March 24 after making an exhausting 3,000 mile journey from wintering in West Africa. She was joined a few days later by her partner Odin.
The couple produced a clutch of eggs, the first arriving on the evening of Friday, April 11.