Loch of the Lowes Osprey Wildlife Diary

Update: Another line issue, but BT are here so hopefully cams will be back online ASAP. Thanks for your patience folks.

Good morning one and all!

It’s another pretty grey day here this morning, but at least the rain has stopped…for now.
It seems there has been plenty of activity at the feeders last night, with the pine marten making several appearances, along with a number of hedgehogs and a mystery visitor which we’ll check back on the footage to see if it can be identified.
It looks like the pine marten has set up residence and is now appearing at the right times. We’re hoping he’s told his mates of the nightly feast, so keep an eye out for the return of the pine marten evenings!

Thank you to all of you who have responded with comments about the blog. We’ll air your views in the meeting today and hopefully any of the little issues we have can be sorted for next season.

Happy viewing!

Good morning all, This is Stephen From The loch of the lowes Visitor centre some of you might have heard about me others not. This is my first post on the blog And its great to see how much people care about our scottish wildlife and how much people like interacting with us on the blog and in the VC.

More exciting news here at LoL as a juvenile pine marten was again seen this morning stuffing its face with peanuts. Hopefully with some luck its here to stay and we MAY be able to start to hold some pine marten evenings up at the VC.

The weather has been very windy up here and there have been some nasty clouds approaching menacingly some of the leaves have started to fall from there trees Autumn is very much HERE…

I hope everyone has a excellent day and get those comments pouring in!

Stephen

Greying skies and a strengthening breeze are moving the loch about this day. I only had a brief view and noticed only a few waterfowl bobbing. Yesterday we enjoyed a new arrival of wigeon to accompany the many tufted duck, hundreds of Canada geese, great crested grebe and at least three coot. In the sound department (as many have commented), Canada geese, jays, crows and robins (both male and female), honk, screech, caw, and twitter.

When I arrived, a red squirrel tumbled uncontrolably down a high birch  catching itself only a few metres from the ground, ungainly. There was a yellow moth flitting about the observation window. Still plenty of time to pollinate flowers.

It is not a still morning as would appear at first sight.

On the blog; good news and numerous views of pine martin. At evening and early day. Pine martin are active throughout the night prowling about  large territory. Perhaps the visits here are the beginning and end of the nights’ rounds and the young one has found a secure place to rest nearby…We are a happy folk.

The trials of life surely press us. We are a happy folk here. Rinchen

The fog will burn off. It is quite warm this morn.

On Thursday morning I had the opportunity of going to the base of the tree which provides so much for ”our” osprey nest. I tagged along with some electronics people assessing our system of cameras and security. It was my first stroll over.

We walked through some old sessile oak, through reeds taller than ourselves, avoiding muck underfoot. It was not a long hike through the sweet scent of bog myrtle and overstepping wee clusters of sundew  implanted in soft sphagnum. They were awaiting insects for lunch. And then the air opened up to us humans, into a small patch of magical Caledonia forest. Lush green on earth with orange trunks rising high and out above; Scots pine. Only a few hundred years ago Scotland was thus covered. It was a quiet glade below a nest that one could miss if not aware of its’ presence. Light, bright and full of space.

I searched for the remains of fish, for I knew that at least two had flown overboard, out of the nest this breeding season. I was only hopeful, in that I knew that fox or crows would have carried or eaten the free meal long ago. As the expression goes, “not a sausage”. In my search I located only three osprey feathers.

I also looked at an area by the canal that has had otter presence. There is a tall leaning pine which offers a cavity under its’ roots. Badger also could use these places for security. No activity to report. Perhaps the autumn and winter is the time that otter relocate here. Let us hope.

Habitat is crucial. Let us remember that. Rinchen

  The pine martin is back! At about ten to six this morning the same wee juvenile pine martin appeared on the feeders outside the VC. It stayed for  about 10 minutes and stuffed itself with peanuts- we  are going to have top start putting out a more mixed and suitable diet for it in the evenings-dried fruit, and some meat too. It appears to have a wee white spot on its left shoulder – individual markings on pine martins are very useful identifiers. Lets just hope this become a habitual visit!

This will be my last blog post, as it is unbelievably my last day at Lowes. Soon I will be joining you lovely folks on the ‘reader’ side of the blog community, which will be a great way of keeping in touch with my friends up here and the joys of the coming seasons on the loch.

I just wanted to say one last thank you to you all for all your kind comments and good wishes- they have been very much appreciated. All the staff here have found the blog an enormous morale boost and it has certainly helped us through some difficult times this season knowing there are so many of you out there who care! Thank you all and see on the blog- look our for “ex ranger Emma!”

Emma Rawling

The staff at Lowes were so excited by the Pine Martin sighting on Wednesday morning, that some of us stayed up very late watching at the feeder window hoping…..no such luck last night! It brought back memories of all those long nights back in the spring doing osprey nest protection watch ( can that really only be five months ago?) when you get a previledge view of the nightime world of Loch of the lowes.

At night there is the errie call of the geese calling on the loch, and the quiet footfall of the deer in the woods. The tawny owls are quite vocal and the loch surface seem to buzz with daubentons bats scimming for insects. Lots of feild mice scrurry around the base of the feeders and our resident hedghog ( who lives under the VC) shuffled out to go about its business in the dark.

Alas, the only thing msising was a pine martin, but we hope it will return soon- keep your eyes peeled and be sure to let us know if you see it on camera!

Emma Rawling

Well folks, a new month brings new excitement here at Lowes. Congratulations and thanks to the eagle eyed webcam watchers who spotted early this morning, our first Pine Martin visitor for a long time, at our window feeders.

We used to have a resident family here at Lowes, but over the last year they have been consicuously absent, theories have ranged from feral cat competetion , to local clearfelling being the cause.

This pine matrtin which apeared this morning appears to be a juvenile, probably dispersing from its birth family at this time of year, looking for a teritory of its own- which is good news for us as it might decide to stay around!

There was great excitement in the office this morning as we rewound the overnight camera recording and watched the wee beastie filling itself up on peanuts- Fiona tells me its their tradtional favorite around here! lets hope we get return visit soon.

Emma Rawling, Perthshire Ranger

What

How can it be the end of August already? This morning is cold and msity here at Lowes, a real taste of autumn, but I’m sure the sunshine will soon burn through! Fionas’ delightful description yesterday gave you a  good tate of the changing wildilfe here at the Lowes- it is perhaps the most beautiful times of year in the highlands.

We’ve had almost daily osprey sightings here at Lowes, of birds  passing through, which is a nice reminder of how many birds are further north than us are breeding. Thankyou to those of you posting details of other ospreys on route in the UK- fascinating reading.

Excellent news this morning about one of our previous ospreys chicks born here at Lowes, which has been sighted in Dumfries andd Galloway. The female chick was hatched here in 2001 and is a daughter of our wonderful lady and her previous mate ‘Eric’. Isn’t it wonderful to think of her descendants out there helping repopulate new areas of Scotland!

Emma Rawling

Perthshire Ranger

  As the ospreys fly south for the winter, so do some of our staff! As autumn steals in the conservation ranger team is winding down, and with another successful bird breeding season over, we can look to other wildlife and conservation work for the winter. Here at Lowes the good work goes on all autumn and winter, however, and we leave you in the very capable hands of the dedicated Visitor Centre staff: Peter, Fiona, Rinchen and Stephen and Charlotte.

As Rinchen mentioned yesterday, I (Emma) am leaving to begin a new post as Warden at Caerlaverock in Dumfries (on the Solway Firth) where winter is the busiest time with 25,000 migratory geese overwintering there. So I am sure to be busy, and there is even a pair of ospreys nearby to fulfil my ‘osprey addiction’. Don’t worry I will be keeping in very close touch with Lowes- it has entranced me too!I just wanted to say thank you all for the wonderful insights and great ‘company’ on the blog this season- I have genuinely enjoyed sharing so much osprey talk with like minded folks, and especially meeting a few of you in person too. Thank you all for your kind words and wishes.Many of you won’t be aware that during the season on the seven reserves I cover, I have been ably assisted by four fantastic volunteer rangers who have done everything from osprey watch shifts, to weeding and surveys on reserves, and helping run events and research. They are a wonderful team who have my eternal gratitude and thanks- Laura, Anna, Andrew and Mathew , you are absolute stars! So much of the hard work in conservation often goes on out of sight and unsung, and I’m sure you will join me in thanking them, and wishing them the very best in their future conservation careers.Emma Rawling Perthshire Ranger

Good morning to you all!

It’s another glorious day here this morning, but there is a definite chill in the air. Autumn is just round the corner it seems.
This month has flown by and it’s now that time when seasonal visitor start to make their next journey, including our staff and volunteers! It’a always a sad time for us who stay and have to say goodbye, but happy in the knowledge that they are moving on to start their next chapter with happy memories. We wish Emma and her team of volunteers well on their future ventures and thank them for all their hard word and dedication over the season.
We were reminded that autumn has not yet taken over as an osprey was sighted hunting on the loch this morning. No doubt a migrating individual popping in for a quick fish supper before heading on it’s way. We will continue to see sporadic sightings of visiting osprey right up until mid to late September, by which time ‘our’ birds should finding their ‘feet’ in their wintering grounds.
We have noticed an increased number of geese on the loch of late, but have since been informed that it is a gaggle of feral geese who have been hanging about the area all summer. The group are mainly canada geese, but there are also 4 bar-headed geese, some greylags, a few hybrids and one that looks like a snow goose. Quite the rogue bunch of misfits!
The squirrels continue to entertain us, and I’m quite sure there is at least 1 new kit has appeared in the last week! Squirrels, being mammals are quite capable of having 2 or 3 litters a year and can reproduce throughout the seasons, although it is less likely young will survive during the winter.

Still plenty to see folks, so stay tuned!
Fiona

“GOOD NEWS FOR LOCH OF THE LOWES FUNDRAISING”

Jeanette

And the wind blows cool this morn.

I would like, at this juncture to express a few thoughts about the committment to this blog and this osprey season at the Loch of the Lowes by Emma the Ranger. As many of you are aware, the “nature” of many conservation positions is a seasonal one. Her position here too is seasonal. Emma will be moving on in about a weeks’ time. She is moving a wee bit south of here to continue to do some very exciting conservation work. I wish to personally acknowledge my recognition of her diligence and care of the osprey file here in 2010. Initially, she was the human focal point for the monitoring of three absorbing eggs and coordinated many a volunteer over the 24 hour incubation period. Once the eggs hatched, although her main duties were consumed by oversight of the other 6 nearby reserves, she continued to have a third eye on “our” ospreys. The word dedication comes to the fore.

And the wind blows cool this morn.

Air moves with heat rising from earth and sea, in layers, in concentrations of different pressure areas, moist air, dry air. It is often during or after strong winds that migrant birds appear to us. Somehow, having partaken in this spectacle over my life, birds seem to “return” to earth. It feels as if they are not always connected to the world in which we reside. The strong connection to flight allows them to inhabit another “world”, somewhere other than our own. Perhaps this is one of the fascinations that we have for these beings.

“Our” young ospreys, I have commented, relished the wind before even being able to fly. They held out their wings to truely feel the resistance of feathers against the air. Once they were able to fly, they seemed most active on breezy skies. Avian migration is well under way with millions of feathers exploring “their” world.

Sail on. Rinchen

A grand morning at the Loch! Crisp, calm and clear.

Last night I was gazing north over the Tay valley, rolling wheat  beneath my feet, tall deciduous trees along the wide river banks, and up to a few, as they are called in the Western Isles, “papps”, Beinn Mhor and others at more than 1000 metres/ 3300 feet. Above, were determined swallows in a large continuous flock heading directly south aerial foraging as they went. I use the words “determined” and “directly” with intent; as I intend to underscore the drive of migrants, their ability to pool their resources and skills to one end/destination/goal. 

There are salmon thrashing up the rocky gorge of the Braan just west of Dunkeld these days. A drive far stronger than the downward thrust of the cold water and gashes of stone on scale.

And so, ospreys move from this large island. As some of you know we witnessed the presence of an osprey for about two hours on Thursday afternoon on the Loch. Surely a “she” popping in to a no doubt known (to her) territory of a prime osprey nesting site. Perhaps this bird knew that if an osprey nest was nearby, fish supply and security was guaranteed… Yesterday morning too, I saw an osprey fly through the area from the crannog hide, moving south. 

One of “our” blog people posts recent U.K. osprey sightings. I encourage you to scroll back to yesterday for an update. Good stuff.

These are determined times; flights of birds overhead, mass feeding sites, along shore, woods and water. The magic of life surrounds. We too are driven. I hope that we “know” why.

The best of wishes for all migrants, including human ones today. Rinchen

Update: the camera problems persist! BT have been informed again and we’re just waiting on a reply (don’t hold your breath!) It might be a long black-screened weekend! Sorry folks! Fiona

Who said Osprey season at Lowes was over? Nature always has the capacity to surprise and delight us- the most certain thing I have learned about ospreys after four years studying them, is that they surprise you somehow every year! Though we often talk in generalisations about’ normal’ behaviour, there is always room for individual variation and, if I can anthropomorphise for a moment, birds do seem to have unique personalities.

 But back to the excitement at hand- a visiting osprey spent a couple of hours with us at Lowes yesterday afternoon, and led us on a merry dance trying to identify it! At about 4pm, a large adult bird (solid chocolate plumage, not a speckled youngster) flew in and perched on one of the pines across the bay from the nest. The bird was very large, and so probably a female, but we did not recognise the head markings as one of our local birds.

 The osprey then frustrated our attempts to catch sight of its legs, to see any distinguishing rings, but to no avail. Perhaps it was an unringed individual, and so we will never know were it visited from. The Bird spent a good half hour preening- probably a sign it had flown quite a distance, before fishing on the loch for tea. Our Loch is exactly the kind of valuable safe stopping place for birds on the move that are crucial in their migrations. It left later in the evening to either perch up for a night, or continue its journey south.

 This reminds us that many ospreys from further north are still to pass us and that there are many more sightings to be had on migration routes this autumn. If you do se ospreys, be sure to try to get a view of leg rings- particularly the coloured Darvic rings, and report them if you can – Roy Dennis is always “extremely interested in sightings of colour rings and would be very grateful if reports of colour rings, including digital pictures showing the colour ring are sent to my email address: roydennis@aol.com ”

 Emma Rawling

 Perthshire Ranger

Update: 11am  Sorry folks cameras down again- it still appears to be our internet connection.