There is so much nature news from Loch of the Lowes today we thought we’d better give our beaver its own blog post ( look below for Osprey News 24th April) .

The last week or so has seen a big increase in the number of sightings of the Beaver at Loch of the Lowes. This is to be expected as the water warms up and the animals become more active after their quiet winter. The beaver has been appearing on the loch around dawn and dusk several days in a row, and has been seen swimming in its distinctive ‘doggy paddle’ style across the loch, and has been very clearly visible from the hides.

We know this is the male Beaver we caught for study back in March as we can see his very small but colourful ear tag in his left ear.

We have also continued to monitor its lodge in the swamp on the reserve with remote sensor camera traps, and have been getting some great clips of the beaver going about its business. Recently for the first time we believe we have evidence of a second animal at this site- one of our camera trap videos clearly shows an animal without an ear tag. Could this be the long suspected female?

Here are some wonderful photos taken by two  of our Osprey Watch volunteers Brian Taylor and Ron Walsh who were in the right place at the right time on Sunday and Monday to catch the male in action swimming towards  and in front of the hide.