It's a bit of a driech day here, so I thought I would take the time to update you on what's been happening here at Loch Leven while I'm sitting inside keeping warm with a cuppa & one of Hazel's home made cakes..
Firstly, thank you to everyone who came along to our very first open day on Sunday, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did! We had nearly 500 visitors, all taking part in everything from pond dipping to bushcraft, and bug hunts to Springwatch style nestbox walks. It was great to see so many families on the reserve enjoying themselves, especially seeing the little ones getting stuck into nature - peering into ponds and staring at cygnets, and loving every minute of it!
On the bird front, Vicky and Leon were out doing the monthly wetland bird (webs) count on Monday; lots of gadwall, tufted duck,shelduck and lapwing around along with a few wigeon, shoveler, a pair of redshank, oystercatcher and moorhen (moorhen are nesting infront of the Gilman Hide, great views! There were 4 great crested grebes on the loch too, and 2 little grebe. Along with the hundreds of greylag geese & their goslings, there were also 13 Barnacle geese on St Serfs island and 7 Canada geese on the loch.
Highlight of the week is a tough one to call... It's a toss up between stripy little super cute lapwing chicks running around on the island infront of the Carden Hide, and a water rail! The water rail was also heard (but not seen) down at the Carden, so keep your eyes peeled if you're visiting! There are still black headed gulls nesting on the Carden island at the moment, and the common sandpipers have been seen down there this week too.
The lapwing chicks have been entertaining visitors to the Carden Hide all week, so close that people were able to see them with the naked eye. In other lapwing news, Vicky has just spotted another new nest this morning, with previous nestlings doing well & some having fledged. Warden Vicky says "I'm very excited." So there you go!
PS. Colin & Vix currently have 500ml bird cakes reduced from £3.49 to £1.74 in the shop. They come in 2 tasty flavours: chopped peanuts & raisins, and chopped peanuts & insects! Offer ends next Tuesday so get em quick!
After weeks of planning & preparation, our big day is finally here.. and we would like to invite you to the RSPB Loch Leven Open day, tomorrow!!
At 10am tomorrow we open our gates to celebrate our new look and our new name, and we would love you to join us.
After months of work refurbishing the visitor centre and improving the wetland, this is your chance to come along and experience our fantastic new look reserve for yourself, and for free! There will be pond dipping, minibeast hunts, shelter building and story telling; guided walks too: the magical fairy & elf trail for little ones, botany walks for the big ones.
If you're hooked on springwatch nest cams, join in the nestbox trail to find out who's been making home around the reserve.
If bugs & beasties are your thing, you can peer into the moth trap to see what's been caught, join Greig's great bug hunt or make a minibeast hotel to take home.
Drop in on the craft hide and try your hand at willow weaving, test your speed in Ranger Races, or try and beat the Black Grouse Goalie.
We'll have guides on hand to show you the birds from the hide, and give you wildlife photography tips. Get your face painted, try your luck in the tombola, the list goes on..!
Whatever the weather, come rain or shine, there will be lots to enjoy here tomorrow. We look forward to seeing you then!
We're holding our open day in conjunction with SNH Discovery Day in Kirkgate Park, Kinross. To help you make the most of the activities on boths sides of the loch, we are running a free bus service between our reserve & Kinross Pier.
Buses leave RSPB Loch Leven every hour on the hour, from 11am - 5pm.
Buses leave Kirkgate Pier on every hour on the half hour, from 11.30am to 4.30pm.