THE organisers of T in the Park may have to deal with two pairs of ospreys arriving on their new site rather than the one originally expected, conservationists are warning.
The pair which normally nest at Strathallan Castle Estate are expected to return any day from wintering in West Africa. Disturbing them once they have arrived and are nesting could be a serious offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
DF Concerts, the festival organisers, have already sought advice from experts and constructed a new nest in a bid to attract the ospreys away from the original site.
But it has emerged that they cannot now get access to the old nest, which is on land owned separately from the nearby festival site.
James Reynolds, RSPB Scotland's Head of Media and Communications, said that 80 per cent of ospreys return to their old nests, and most have to do some rebuilding.
He said: "As far as we know the old nest is still in position. It would have been better if it was taken away because the ospreys are likely to head for it.
"Of course what might happen is that the original ospreys return to the old nest, while another pair area attracted to the new one. So we could end up with two pairs of ospreys. It is possible.
"If that happens it would be a win for nature, but may complicate things for the organisers."
A spokeswoman for T in the Park admitted there had been problems with the old nest.
"We have been in negotiations which we had hoped would result in us gaining access to the land that holds the old nest. This has proved unsuccessful so far," she said.
"Instead, we're working with a top ornithologist to ensure that the birds have an undamaged nest in an optimum location should they choose to return.
"Removing the old, damaged nest, in addition to our existing plans, would be the responsible thing to do in the interests of the ospreys, however we currently do not have the consent from the landowner where the tree is, to pay for that to happen."
She said that she could not reveal the name of the landowner as it could in turn reveal the location of the nest, and it would be an offence to do so.
Meanwhile a spokeswoman for Perth and Kinross Council said that no date had yet been set to consider the planning application from DF Concerts to hold the festival in July. She said there was to be further public consultation but there was no date set for when that would close.
Around 85,000 revellers are expected to attend each day of this year's T in the Park between July 10 and 12. It had to be relocated from its home at Balado near because of safety concerns over an underground oil pipeline.
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