Hello, I am Rachael the new Perthshire Ranger. I am extremely pleased to be working here for the Scottish Wildlife Trust and to have 5 special and diverse reserves to look after.

They are Loch of the Lowes, Keltneyburn Meadow, Brerachan Meadow, Tummel Shingle Islands Tomdachoille and Ballingluig and Balnaguard Glen.

I have an excellent new team of residential Assistant Rangers who will be helping me over the next 3 months and assisting with a range of tasks from invasive species control to butterfly transects, orchid counts, beaver watch events and guided walks.

Every day so far at the Loch of the Lowes I have had the pleasure of viewing the ospreys and the 2 rapidly growing chicks, red squirrels, occasionally beavers, great crested grebes and a number of birds at our feeding station and this is just at Lowes.

The other reserves such as Keltneyburn can boast an amazing variety of plant species including an array of orchids at this time of year, including the rare Small White Orchid.

This week whilst removing non-native plant species, we were lucky to spot the Northern Brown Argus butterfly at our Tomdachoille Island reserve.

On the same day we were very excited to see an Osprey fishing in the Tummel river! These kind of sightings make a strenuous day working on the reserves all the more enjoyable.

During June we hosted 2 beaver watch events and we were privileged to be able to get some excellent viewing experiences of them close by the hide. We have been monitoring the beavers with our camera systems and this week we have had several sightings of kits splashing around with older family members.

I am meeting many people who share a passion for wildlife and conservation whether they are colleagues, members of the public or conveyors at our reserves, all who are keen to help.

It is an exciting time for myself and I am looking forward to the coming months where I shall be busy working out on our reserves.

I am arranging local volunteer work days throughout the summer and if you would like to join us please contact me at perthshireranger@scottishwildlfetrust.org.uk alternatively please visit us at Loch of the Lowes.

Rachael Hunter, Perthshire Ranger