Thick cables stretched across the surface about four feet above the water. He rapidly aborted the dive as he realised netting covered the whole pond. Braking hard he tried to cut out of the dive but hit the netting and bounced off. Shaken and confused he laboured across the netted pond and circled up, still looking at the seething mass of fish. There must be a way to get at them. He entered into two more dives, each time pulling out at the last moment as the netting barred his way. He came to rest on a telegraph pole on the edge of the site. From there he reassessed the situation. The exit channel from the last pond ran beneath him. It was not netted. A few trout swam against the current. Within moments Ozzie was back on the pole with his second self-caught meal!
The owner of the fish farm was a clever man. Ospreys had been stealing his fish for years. But in the big scheme of things the losses were relatively small. He could either spend more money scaring away the Ospreys or get the Ospreys to pay for the fish they took. He built a bird hide overlooking the ponds and channels and for a small fee birdwatchers could come and get the best views of hunting Ospreys ever! Neat solution.
Fish farms in Scotland grow fish - usually Rainbow Trout - for human consumption. So many fish in such a small area attracts Ospreys. Ospreys can be seen in the summer months at the Rothiemurchus Estates fish farm at Inverdruie, near Aviemore.