By Cherry

Way back in the snowy winter months, we decided to run a ‘Wildlife at Midsummer’ Family Fun Day this week-end. This was to be a celebration of the Midsummer Solstice on 21^st June and a great opportunity to highlight the effect our planet’s greatest tilt towards the sun has on wildlife.  We had visions of sweltering heat, tee shirts and light, bright dresses, sun hats and sandals, with visitors sitting beneath the oak trees in dappled shade, sipping cool lemonade.

True to Scotland’s unpredictable weather, we have been treated to frequent heavy showers interspersed with gusty breezes and brilliant sunshine.  Brollies rather than ice lollies have been the order of the day! However, for wildlife it is inconsequential whether it rains or shines, it is the long periods of day light which trigger growth, hatch insects and provide plenty of time for foraging to feed their hungry youngsters.

Up in the Osprey nest, our female spent the day alternately preening in the sun or moving quickly to cover her chick as soon as it started to rain.  Now three weeks old, the chick is growing visibly bigger every day but still manages to tuck completely underneath its mum to keep warm and dry. The male brought in three fish today, two for his mate and the chick and the last one for himself. He took the remains of the last fish to the nest and left it with them, returning a short while afterwards to reclaim it. However, while on the nest, an intruding osprey flew over the nest. Our male set off in hot pursuit, none of us have ‘seen the like of this’ before, (he’s not usually so aggressive) and he gave chase as far as the headland, ensuring the intruder headed off towards the other end of the loch.

Professional Photograph of you and/or your family while supporting Loch of the Lowes Ospreys.

Have you ever looked at crystal clear photographic portraits and thought how lovely it would be to have your own family captured so perfectly? Or maybe you with your grandchild, group of best friends or even with your dog?

We are thrilled to announce that on Saturday 27th July Dee Clarke will be available to capture your family portrait at Loch of the Lowes.  ALL proceeds from your session will go directly to Loch of the Lowes for Osprey tagging.  So why not take this unique opportunity to come along and participate in the family session while supporting a very worthwhile cause.
The cost of the session is £40 for SWT Members and £45 for Non-Members.
Immediately after your portrait session you will have the opportunity of viewing your images to select your favourite five images which will then be made available for you to digitally download with a licence to print.

For further information or to book, just call  01350 727337. See Dee’s work  here: http://www.deeclarkephotography.co.uk/

We may be past the longest day of the year but as the word Solstice tells us (Latin for Sun stands still)  the sun appears to stay at this highest point in our sky for several days. Here’s a beautiful photograph taken by Bryan Turnbull of the sunrise at Loch of the Lowes.