Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre and Wildlife Reserve covers 98 hectares near Dunkeld. From early April to late August, the star attraction is a pair of breeding ospreys, which nest just 150 metres from our observation hide.
Address: Loch of the Lowes, Dunkeld PH8 0HH
Why visit?
Highlights include:
- Getting closer to the ospreys with binoculars, telescopes and live video footage
- Spotting red squirrels, woodpeckers and other woodland birds from viewing windows
- Interactive displays help bring the story of Loch of the Lowes to life
- Education activities and school visits
- Regular family events throughout the year
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Gift shop stocking a range of wildlife-themed gifts, souvenirs and birdcare products
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Hot and cold drinks and light refreshments available
Best time to visit?
- Mar – Nov for red squirrels
- Apr – Aug for ospreys
- May – Aug for beavers
- All year round for wildfowl
- All year round for bird feeders & deer
Visit for:
- birdwatching
- woodlands
- wildflowers
- scenery
- mammals
Other information
The Fungarth path leads from the historic town of Dunkeld to Loch of Lowes.
Last night’s beaver watch evening was a great success, with several close sightings of beavers on the reserve! Beaver spotted swimming across the Loch ©Rab Potter Beavers were spotted swimming in the Loch, taking vegetation back to their lodge, and on the shore collecting branches from a recently felled tree. A beaver was spotted on the shore, eating vegetation from a recently felled tree ©Rab Potter Visitors on the beaver watch had…
You may have been wondering why there hasn’t been any news in recent weeks of our young satellite tagged osprey, FR3. Unfortunately it would appear that we have lost contact with him. As many of you will recall, FR3 was tagged as a chick at Loch of the Lowes in July 2015 and over the last two years we have tracked his initial migration to the Gambia and subsequent movements since then. There were hopes that he may…
Yesterday proved to be an exciting day at Loch of the Lowes as the osprey chicks were ringed. It is important to do the ringing while the chicks are still quite young – before they show any sign of fledging behaviour. Our chicks hatched early in the season and are getting quite big, so the decision was made to ring them yesterday afternoon. The ringing went smoothly and quickly, with minimal disturbance to the birds. Our expert ringer Keith…
Yesterday Keith Brockie was at Loch of the Lowes and he ringed our two osprey chicks. The youngest (smallest) is Blue PH1 and the oldest (largest) is PH2. The whole job was undertaken safely and swiftly and there will be more details to follow from the rangers. On a different subject, the Great Crested Grebes are still successfully keeping their nest intact and incubating their eggs. However … there is at least one other grebe nest on the loch and…
A little while ago we wrote about the vandals attacking our microphone on the osprey nestcam. These were great tits who were pulling the fluffy covering off the microphone to use for nesting material. Once again, we are experiencing problems from the sound/microphone area beside the osprey nest but this time we don’t think it can be blamed on the great tits. As viewers of our cameras will have noted, the sound has stopped. We realise this is a loss…
After what seems like weeks of hot sunny days, the rain has come! The land could certainly do with a soaking and the level of the loch was Our ospreys are doing very well despite the weather extremes. From daytime temperatures of 8 degrees to 27 degrees, baking sun to wind and rain, they continue to eat, squabble and sleep. The eldest chick has even taken to copying its Mum (LF15) and tidy the nest! Over the last few weeks…
Sitting here in the office at Loch of the Lowes it’s hard to believe that just 2 days ago I was in Slovakia. Over the course of the week my fellow exchange participants and I were taken to some truly stunning locations, where we had the opportunity to experience the very best of the country’s wildlife and meet with conservation professionals and experts in their respective fields. Wildlife Highlights As a keen birdwatcher some of the wildlife highlights were undoubtedly…