SO it isn't just ospreys that can get in the way of man's best-laid plans.

A few months ago, T in the Park's organisers had to hatch a plan to ensure that endangered ospreys, which were nesting at the site of the festival's new home at Strathallan estate, could breed in peace.

Now it's the turn of the scarce Spotted Flycatcher. It can be hard to detect at the best of times, favouring as it does the upper canopies of tall trees, and partially concealed nests. But the sight of a Flycatcher, and a nest containing a clutch of eggs in a huge pile of fallen pine trees at an Inverness-shire reserve, was enough to guarantee that the pile will remain untouched until after the baby birds have flown the nest.

The RSPB has been clearing hundreds of fallen trees from the estate but will be deprived of thousands of pounds because of the Flycatcher. The huge pile that houses the nest will start to lose some of its value. That is as nothing compared to the welfare of an agile, intriguing little bird described on the RSPB's website as "beautiful in an understated way." Amidst continuing concern about the levels of wildlife crime in Scotland, stories such as this one go a little way towards redressing the balance in the proper direction.