January, 2012

Above are some of the great pictures taken at yesterday's fantastic ringing demonstration. The event was a great success and we caught 83 birds, two greater spotted woodpecker, a treecreeper, gold and green finches, a variety of tits, blackbirds, dunnocks and robins. All of the birds caught have been added to the information that the BTO have on many bird species, this will continue to help us monitor bird populations and movements. One of the great tits that we caught was previosly rung and is now three years old and a few of the birds had been rung at another site on the east of loch leven. There has also been loads of activities on for the kids today and they have proved very popular, with all of them enjoying quiz's, a nature trail and much more. On the reserve today there are plenty of teal, wigeon, tufted ducks and quite a large flock of whooper swans on the loch shore and the back of the reserve. Further out on the loch there is a high number of great crested grebes and small flocks of gooseander all feeding on the high fish populations in the loch. Later on in the day a group of six roe deer were feeding on the reserve, what a great way to end an AMAZING day. The renovation of the cafe is going well and the new disabled toilet is well underway! That's all for this week, check the blog next weekend for the latest up dates.

The reserve is full of birds today, especially curlew which have been probing in the damp mud all day. There is also a small flock of teal and mallard feeding close to the first hide, a great opportunity to see the wonderful colours of the teal up close. On the loch there is a variety of ducks including pochard, tufted ducks, goldeneye and wigeon. This afternoon, as I was talking to a visitor, a sparrow hawk came speeding around the corner of the centre- probably in pursuit of it's dinner. When I was filling up the feeders at the bird catching site, for next Saturday, I was really pleased to watch a party of long tailed tits feeding really close to where I was. There has also been reports of a tree creeper in the hill area, so maybe they may venture down to the bird feeding area.

Next week is one of the RSPB's highlights of the year- the big garden bird watch. It is a chance for everyone to take part in an event that is really beneficial in finding out about the populations of our garden birds. All it takes is one hour next weekend to count the birds that visit your own garden (all of the information can be found on the RSPB website or by visiting your local RSPB reserve). As part of the big garden bird watch there will be a bird ringing event that will give you a unique chance to get really close to the garden birds we love, and learn more about them with experienced BTO ringers. The event is free and will run from 10am until 12pm on Saturday the 28th (weather permitting) Well, that's all for this week and I hope to see some of you at next Saturday's event.

After many months of planning for our big visitor centre refurbishment, moving day is finally here! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be making big changes to the visitor centre – making the cafe and shop brighter and better, with some changes out in the courtyard too.

The cafe is first to go under the hammer so Vicky, Uwe and Dougie were in at 7am this morning shifting furniture and fridges. It’s been all hands to the deck all morning as willing (or coerced?!) volunteers clear out the cafe and kitchen,  ready for the work to start.

We have set up a new ‘wee cafe’ downstairs in the education room so you can still get a cuppa and a slice of cake.  Please note that we won't be able to serve scones, sandwiches or hot food during this time, but we do have tea, coffee, soup and snacks, all served with a smile!

 

We’ll be updating the blog throughout the works, so keep checking for the latest developments.

Unfortunately the two sea eagles have not been seen today, though there are plenty of other birds to hold our attention. There are pochard, teal, mallard.and tufted ducks all grouped together in the bay along with a small group of fishing gooseander. Smaller numbers of whooper swans are still present on the loch with skenes of geeses still flying close to the reserve. The feeders have been particularly busy today with large finch flocks (mainly chaffinch, goldfinches and green finches) turning up all over the reserve. Today we had an unusual visitor to the reserve- a starling stuck in a feeder. Luckily we were able to free the bird easily and when it was removed it was as active as usual, it was then returned to the garden it came from and released. Remember the big garden bird watch is on the 28th and 29th of this month and that there will be a ringing demonstration on the Saturday (more information on the website), I cannot wait. Check the log next week for all of the latest bird reports.

 

After a few days absence, a white-tailed eagle made a dramatic return to the reserve this morning, offering some of the closest views in recent weeks. Perched proudly on a fence post within a few hundred metres of the cafe, the bird is far closer than the usual foraging grounds on St Serf's island. Photo: Mark Hamblin (rspb-images.com)