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It has been a very interesting week and the weather has not even been half of it! The water level on the reserve got pretty high, but we weren't worried, the road wasn't flooded and we've seen the water level marker in the Aird Meadow pond disappear before, and the centre has still remained high and dry. Touch wood...

Last night was the second of our Bat and Moth nights for this year, led by the brilliant Clyde Bat Group, who kept everyone thoroughly entertained. The rain stayed off for us mostly and we managed to get plenty of Soprano Pipistrelles. No Daubentons this year (water level was too high to go to our usual spots.)

This morning we came back to empty the moth trap, it looked like it would be a good evening when we left, warm, cloudy and drizzley (perfect moth trapping weather!). We were not disappointed, and got a good variety of moths in the trap. The complete list is as follows:

Large yellow underwing, lesser yellow underwing, copper underwing, lesser common/common rustic, crescent, double lobed, butterbur (?), small phoenix, rosy rustic, small square spot, iron prominent, small wainscot, common marbled carpet, flame shoulder and dark arches.

I spent my lunch break photographing butterflies on our buddleia bush, a spectacular sight including red admiral, painted lady, small tortoiseshell, peacock and large white butterflies. It has been great to see so many on the bush this year, let's hope they continue to thrive.

Peacock butterfly by Paula Baker, 2009

Then, after heading along the trails to investigate a query, I stopped by our woodland feeding station to see what was about and was amazed by the amount of bank voles I saw there. There must have been at least 5, all of them feeding at some point whilst the others ran in and out of their holes and hid in the bushes. It was fantastic to be able to get so close to them and I can now understand why we ended up with so many pictures of them in our photography competition this year!

However, the highlight of the week has to be the weasel vs magpie face-off that I witnessed this morning. On my way out to get the moth trap, I popped into the photography hide to alert the photographers that I was coming, and one of them pointed out that there was a weasel trying to get past a pair of magpies. What followed was hilarious, the weasel kept running out of the bushes and leaping into the air at the magpies, which then proceeded to chase the weasel back into the bush. This happened several times, each time the weasel appeared from a different spot in an attempt to out-wit the magpies. Finally, the weasel just went for it and shot past both magpies who looked as surprised as the rest of us did! Fantastic!

As you may have guessed from the title of this post, we've been seenig otters on the reserve this week. One was spotted slinking into the water outside the Aird Meadow Hide on Friday afternoon and other visitors have reported seeing them in various places around the reserve. Gary (one of our volunteers) found spme spraints (for those that don't know, that's otter poo!) along the Dubbs Water trail, a surefire sign that they are going along that way quite regularly. Excellent!

However, we have also been spotting mink on the reserve, one of the few species that can be easily mistaken for an otter. Mink are non-native predators in the UK that have been proven to locally affect some breeding bird populations.

To tell the two species apart, i've often heard people say that, 'otters are cute looking, mink look mean' - well i guess that depends on you definition of 'mean' (and cute for that matter!). To clear up any confusion, here are some quick otter/mink comparisons that might help you work out which it is you are seeing:

European otter (Lutra lutra):

Appearance: Otters are always brown with a pale coloured stomach with long bodies, strong tails and webbed feet to help them swim quickly through the water. Their eyes are located at the top of their heads and they have sensitive whiskers growing around their snout which can help them detect prey. Otters benefit from a double-layer of fur: a thick waterproof outer coat and a warm inner one

Size: Males measure 115cm from nose to tail. Females are slightly smaller at 100cm

Weight: 7-9kg

Lifespan: Up to four years. There are rare instances recorded of otters living up to 12 years

Diet: Mainly fish and crabs but carnivorous otters also eat birds, small mammals and frogs

Family: Otters belong to the Mustelid family along with badgers, polecats, weasels, stoats and mink. Otters are the only amphibious family-member

Lakes, rivers and rocky or coastal areas are the otters' natural habitats, and they can also be spotted hunting their prey in quiet stretches of the canals. Otter territories are vast, covering up to 25 miles (40km) of watercourses and dense vegetation or wooded areas, which they use for resting purposes and for breeding holts. However, otters are timid and not often observed by humans. You are more likely to come across one of their smaller and more confident cousins, the mink.

European otter by Chris Gomersal (rspb-images.com)

American Mink (Neovison vison):

Appearance: Feral mink are naturally a chocolate-brown colour but farm-bred animals can vary in colour from white or grey through to black. Limbs are short and tails are approximately one third of their body length

Size: 42-65cm

Weight: 600g-1kg

Lifespan: Up to 8 years. Few survive beyond their second year in the wild

Diet: Mink are opportunistic predators who will happily eat a variety of fish, small mammals, birds and invertebrates

Family: Mustelidae

The Mink's long slim body is covered in glossy, thick dark brown fur with a white patch under the chin. They have short legs with partially webbed feet, which make them excellent swimmers. They can be found in wooded areas and fields near streams and lakes. They do not dig burrows, but instead take over dens abandoned by other animals.

Mink are semi aquatic predators able to hunt both aquatic and terrestrial prey. They can dive under water like an otter to capture fish, crayfish, and frogs. They can also capture terrestrial prey like birds, snakes, mice, voles, and rabbits. Mink are generalist predators focusing on whatever prey is most available and easily captured. These animals are mainly active at night and do not hibernate.

(Thanks to Wikipedia & British Waterways for this information)

So, next time you see a large water mammal, have an extra peek and see if it happens to be a mink, or if you are very lucky, an otter, and be sure to let us know either way!

Paula

What a great time we've had on the reserve for ospreys during the last few weeks...at one point it seemed as if one was visiting every day! On one day in particular, we saw the same bird three times, at 10.30, 12.30 and 16.00. The first time it managed to catch a small fish, but this obviously wasn't enough as we saw again two more times, although it didn't manage to get anything as the wind picked up making the water below very choppy indeed - not good for any sort of fishing!

Now, with all of the osprey excitement at Loch Garten, this pales in comparison. So, to put this into perspective we usually (if we're lucky) get about one or two osprey sightings PER YEAR at the reserve, so to see 3 in one day is excellent, and for the bird to keep returning to fish in the loch is superb. Our visitors got excellent views and one lucky person even managed to get a few shots of the bird carrying its 'catch of the day.'

Some of you may or may not know, that we have erected two osprey platforms on the reserve, one next to each loch, in the hope that we might be able to attract a pair to breed here. Fingers crossed with all of the recent activity, one of the birds has noticed our hard work and is considering using it as it nest next year.