RAPTOR watchers were left devastated after a pair of ospreys they were monitoring lost all their eggs to a pine marten live on camera.
Ospreys Louis and Aila raised their first chick on the nest at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest, in Lochaber, last year.
Conservationists hoped the pair would produce a second brood this summer after three eggs were laid.
But twitchers watching on a live webcam feed were horrified when a pine marten raided the nest at 3.30am on Friday.
The female swooped at the invader, but it managed to make off with all three eggs, one after the other.
George Anderson of Woodland Trust Scotland said the male, which has thousands of fans online, was evidently having difficulty giving up hope and remains on the nest, as if the eggs were still there.
He said: “While this is upsetting to see, it is part of the natural way of things and that is what we set out to show with this camera.
“Little triumphs and tragedies play out across the natural world.
“What is important is that places like Loch Arkaig Pine Forest continue to offer a stunning home for the wide range of plants, insects, birds, fish and other creatures that live there.”
The ospreys are unlikely to produce replacement eggs this year.
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