A HEARTBREAKING photograph has been shared of Llyn Brenig's ospreys looking at where their nest should be. 

On Friday night, a chainsaw was taken to the osprey's nesting platform at the reservoir on the Conwy and Denbighshire border. 

The nesting pair of the rare and highly protected birds of prey had just laid their first egg on the same day.

Police, the North Wales Wildlife Trust and renowned naturalists expressed their disgust at the incident, as well as hundreds of members of the public. 

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And on Sunday, the North Wales Wildlife Trust released a photograph of the two ospreys seen perched above their former nesting site on Sunday morning - looking down on it.

Brenig Osprey Project partners have cleared one of the other nest platforms in the hope that the birds will migrate to that one.

Graeme Cotterill of North Wales Wildlife Trust said: "They are definitely confused and will have felt the loss of that nest.

"Their main biological drive at the moment will be to lay another egg.

"We think there's every chance that she has an egg inside her now so hopefully they will choose to do that at the new nest site so all is not lost.

"There is a third bird in the area and they are defending their territory which is a good sign that they take the lake to be their home."

He added: "At the moment we are not speculating but I cannot think of any logical reason as to why someone would do this.

"This is the first act of this kind in over 50 years in Britain."

North Wales Police's Rural Crime team believes the felling of the nest was by someone with motive - not wanting the ospreys at that particular site, rather than a sensless act of vandalism. 

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact police on 101 quoting reference number 2059734.