Loch of the Lowes and Seafield (Kirkcaldy)

 We took a drive up to Dunkeld and the SWT Reserve at the Loch of the Lowes, bad planning though, we neglected to check if the visitor centre was open and it wasn't!! One hide was open though, so we spent some time in there, but also popping out to check the feeders from time to time.

It was a good job a hide was open because the weather was a lot worse than we expected, very drizzly! So as you can see the light was poor over the Loch, but the Wigeon didn't care,

neither did this Nuthatch,

or the Goldeneye.

Other highlights were Treecreeper and Great Spotted Woodpecker. Sadly the Red Squirrels we usually see there didn't put in an appearance.

A couple of days later we had some errands to run in Kirkcaldy, so went for a little walk along the sea at Seafield. The tide was way out, so all the birds were pretty distant and there was very little activity in the scrub on the other side of the path either. Having said that we were delighted to see three Long-tailed Ducks off shore always brilliant to see.

There were tons of Redshank about, these were a few of them catching the last bit of sun:

as was this Heron:

Other waders seen were Turnstone, some Purple Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, a couple of Black-tailed Godwit and a final flurry from some passing Curlew:

Finally on the way back to car this wild Rabbit posed nicely:

Loch of the Lowes

 We had a fabulous day yesterday at Loch of the Lowes, cold but bright. 

We seem to be blessed with Red Squirrel sightings at the moment, not that we are complaining!

All from the cosy warm the SWT visitor centre. 

From the visitor centre as well;

Obliging Nuthatch,

Female Mallard waiting for whatever falls from the bird feeders.

Great Spotted Woodpecker.

The loch was quiet though with lots of Goldeneye;

Wigeon

Plus plenty of Tufted Duck, a few Great Crested Grebe, Mallard and a very distant Goosander.

Some Greylag and Cormorant flew through and a solitary Canada Goose appeared from the Beaver channel briefly.

Apart from that we had a nice rainbow in the distance!

Loch of the Lowes (October)

 A few highlights from a visit to Loch of the Lowes (SWT) with Jo & Jimmy a couple of weeks back:

Great views of Red Squirrels on this visit,

and Great Crested Grebe, now in their winter plumage,

Goldeneye on approach,

undercarriage down,

touchdown.

A quick turn around and off again!

A female Goldeneye cruising by,

the the Grebe came in for its close up.

The sun on the far shore of the Loch.

More Squirrel action:

A mean looking Nuthatch.

Fly by by two Whooper Swans, photos courtesy of Tina (I was on the loo!!)

And finally the Grebe catching its supper in the fading light.

As always a lovely day out at the Lowes.

First Visit to Loch of the Lowes

 Having joined the Scottish Wildlife Trust we took ourselves off to Loch of the Lowes, just a 45 minute drive from us.

I have to say we were very impressed with the whole set up and the friendliness of the volunteers. Access to the hides (2) is great with great views of the Osprey nest on the opposite shore of the Loch. Each hide have good quality scopes, so there was no need for me to have lugged ours from the car! SO we had a great views of both Osprey coming and going from the nest, bringing back new nesting materials. Both hides also have TVs showing the nest cam, so an all round great experience.

So apart from the Ospreys it was pretty quiet on the Loch itself with Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Black-headed Gull and a couple of Buzzards putting in an appearance.

The feeders viewed from the visitor centre were very entertaining:

The Great Spotted Woodpeckers 

and the Nuthatch being the highlights

With a good supporting cast of Chaffinch

Great Tits,

and Coal Tit.

Of course there were Blue Tits, Robin, Crows, Pigeon and Blackbird. Finally as we walked back to teh car a Jay put in appearance.

A great place with many more visits to come I'm sure!