Hello all,

Well, there has been a bit more activity here at Loch of the Lowes today. Our female osprey has been on and off the nest regularly throughout the day, bringing in a very large live fish at 2.30 pm, which we suspect to be a trout. As I write, our resident female is still devouring her catch.

There haven’t been any intruders so far today. In response to a question we’ve received via ospreys@swt.org.uk about whether there’s still a chance that our female could be driven off the nest by an interloper and its mate, we’d like to reassure you all that our resident female will be doing all she can to defend her nest at this stage in order to hold possession for the breeding season, while she waits for the return of her mate 7Y, who was ringed locally at Ballinluig and returned to the vicinity to breed.  While there is a small chance that interlopers could still arrive and drive her off the nest, we don’t think there’s much to worry about with our experienced female, who has already seen off two other ospreys on  Tuesday – so there’s definitely still fight in the old bird yet.

Another question we have received relates to the migration journey of our osprey and its chicks.  Do the youngsters migrate to the same area as their parents?  The answer is yes!  It is thought that young osprey chicks follow inherited genetic programming which tells them where to head on their first migration.  So by hopefully tracking any chicks which hatch on the nest this year, we should be able to collect data which may indicate where ‘Lady’ also goes for the winter.  For more information about our osprey tracking project, visit  www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/ospreys-at-lowes/osprey-tracking/.

We are creating an index of the answers to some of the osprey-related questions we are already receiving and hope to receive over the season.  You can read our index, which we’re sure will grow as the season goes on at http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/ospreys-at-lowes/frequently-asked-questions/

The centre has been very busy today with visitors all keen to see our female osprey and other wildlife.

At the feeders there have been sightings of a red squirrel; on closer inspection it appears it may in fact be a pregnant female. Red squirrels have two breeding seasons from January to April and May to August and so we may be seeing juveniles visiting the feeders as the season progresses.

Also spotted at the feeders were two bank voles enjoying the mixed seeds.

We have also had a sighting of a yellowhammer, along with great spotted woodpeckers, dunnocks, and great tits.

Out on the loch it has been fairly quiet today, but we have seen mute swans and goldeneye.

Anna