This is it, folks; the final chapter, the epilogue, our swan song, the last leg, the culmination of our glorious escapades. We’ve reached our final week at Loch of the Lowes. Exit Assistant Seasonal Rangers, pursued by a bea(ve)r.

But hang on a minute! Let’s rewind a bit, shall we? We’re not ready to leave quite yet. Not until we’ve regaled you all with a tales about our week and all that we’ve been up to.

After our previous efforts at Balgavies Loch, the path work was almost complete. We spent the morning applying the last of our recently acquired carpentry skills by putting up the final posts and said our goodbyes to regional Project Officer, Duncan. With a half-day left, we decided to pop across to Montrose Basin; ice age glaciers created its flat, open floodplain which is home to a host of wading birds, flocks of migratory birds, thousands of pink-footed geese in the autumn and sleepy common seals (Phoca vitulina). We spent the rest of the day touring round the visitor centre and bird hides, which would have been peaceful if it hadn’t been for the massive flocks of honking Canada geese!

The next day we were invited to help Project Officer Heather with tree surveying over at Dùn Coillich; a community owned area of land and part of the Heart of Scotland Forest Partnership. The project has made great efforts to promote tree regeneration on the previously overgrazed land. We spent the day hiking up paths (and sliding down them too!) using our very scientific string and sticks as a marker, to count every sapling we found at designated grid points. This helps the reserve get a clear picture of the tree regeneration progress and how much animal browsing has been occurring in the area.

The Dùn Coillich Community are one part of the aforementioned Heart of Scotland Forest Partnership, but it wouldn’t be a partnership of course without partners. These include the John Muir Trust, Forestry and Land Scotland, Dalchosnie and Kynachan Estates, Woodland Trust Scotland, Garth Wood, Grenich, the National Trust for Scotland Ben Lawers, and (last but not least) the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Collectively, these partners contribute sections of linked land with the vision of restoring mountain woodland and a thriving, wildlife-rich landscape.

Another aim, however, is to provide a place for people to access and enjoy, which is why the official opening of the Foss Path at Schiehallion was such a big deal. Big enough to tempt in MSPs John Swinney and Mark Ruskell, who did the all-important ribbon-snipping between a poetry reading, community mingling, and a bite (or three) of cake. It was heart-warming to see so many people of different backgrounds and abilities brought together. Just think how many more people it will continue to unite for many years to come! You can read more about the day here.

After weeks of invasive plant species management across the Perthshire reserves, we had our final session a little closer to home at Loch of the Lowes, tackling a new foe; pulling up runaway sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), which had seeded from a nearby plantation and long-standing Victorian invasive rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum). Controlling and removing these tricky customers helps to encourage the native Scots pine regeneration and preserve the unique areas of fenland and quaking bog on the reserve.

Our last day out on reserves was remarkable, quite literally as we spent the day marking fences! Black grouse are an iconic species, and whilst renowned for their colourful ‘lekking’ displays, they are not very good at flying. Indeed, their flights tend to be close to the ground and therefore they have a nasty habit of getting caught up in deer fencing. Consequently, many fences are marked with wooden dropper posts, as was our task at Balnaguard Glen, with the aim to highlight the fence line so that any passing grouse can avoid impact strikes and injuring themselves.

So what next?

Emma plans to make various visits back to Loch of the Lowes from her home turf of East Lothian. The staff and volunteers at Lowes won’t be able to fend her off until she gets her bracken-bashing fix and all the balsam has been beaten into submission; the battles have been won for now, but the war is far from over!

As for Charlotte and Jackson, this will be their final week north of the border – for now at least, Scotland hasn’t seen the last of them yet! – before resuming long days of University work down in England. Keen to explore one of the more remote Trust reserves, (and as a thank you for all the incredible energy and hard work throughout the summer), the ranger team will be heading off on one final road trip to the Isle of Eigg, where we plan to expand our bird ID skills bird and help out resident Scottish Wildlife Trust ranger Norah by day, and star gaze at night. Fingers crossed for white tailed eagles and Northern lights!

Last but not least, we have an exciting announcement to make…

Well, exciting for us, at least.

On Wednesday night, following our final Beaver Watch public event of the season and whilst in the kitchen washing mugs, Jackson suddenly let loose a cry like a startled loon and raced towards the viewing window. In classic duckling style, Charlotte and Emma dove after him. The day had finally arrived. Just when we were beginning to lose hope, we finally spotted our elusive pine marten!

Farewell for now and thank you for a great season!

Emma, Jackson and Charlotte
Seasonal Assistant Rangers