Good afternoon all,

Events at the nest today:

Our osprey pair has switched places several times throughout the day. At 10:28am, our male returned to the nest, bringing with him a large lump of moss to line the nest with. He then left again at 14:20pm. Then at 14:24pm our female retured and perched on a branch in front of the nest, settling down on the eggs four minutes later.

At 14:35pm, the male could be seen attempting to fish in the loch. Then at 15:13pm, he arrived at the nest with a small, headless fish. Both birds then leave the nest, the female taking the fish away with her. The eggs are left unattended until 15:39pm when the male returns once more and settles down to incubate the eggs.

For any more questions regarding our ospreys that you may have, please check our dedicated FAQ page and see if you can find the answer you are looking for:

http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/ospreys-at-lowes/frequently-asked-questions/

Other Wildlife at Loch of the Lowes:

A single pair of great crested grebes was seen on the loch today, as well as three mute swans, twenty-two Canada geese, thirty mallard, a pair of tufted duck, circa twenty sand martins and approximately thirty swallows. On the far side of the loch, a roe deer was spotted feeding on the leaves of one of the overhanging trees.

A heart-warming sight today was the female goosander crossing the open water with her five chicks that have been growing well over the past few weeks.

At the feeding station, five great tits were recorded, along with coal tits, blue tits, three robins, three greenfinches, five pheasant, fifteen chaffinches, eight siskin, a yellowhammer, a tree creeper and a total of five red squirrels. A spotted flycatcher was also sighted in the woodland surrounding the loch.

Several species were heard around the reserve including a sedge warbler, a willow warbler, a song thrush and a cuckoo.

Simon

Perthshire Reserves Trainee Ranger