Good morning everyone and hello from a very autumnal Abernethy!

This morning I was delighted to receive this postcard from a very confused looking postman...


Incredible! Not only does EJ appear to have very neat writing (another use for that amazing reversible toe) but her spelling and grammar is impeccable. Not bad for someone whose first language consists of high-pitched whistles and repetitive one-note calls. As many of you will know, we are not absolutely sure where EJ spends her winters (many UK breeding ospreys will travel to West Africa but some are known to stop in Southern Europe) and unfortunately this postcard does nothing to solve the mystery. The picture on the front shows a capercaillie in full display, leading me to believe EJ bought the postcard from the Loch Garten shop before she left. I must ask our shop team if they remember serving a short, feathery woman with a very hooked nose...

Now that the Osprey Centre is all closed up and the team have departed for the next stage of their careers, this time of year can feel a bit quiet around Loch Garten. However, if you're willing to look for it, there's still lots going on in the forest and, although quite a different feeling to summer, wildlife is still abundant. Indeed, in many cases, autumn and winter provide much better mammal and bird viewing opportunities. This is certainly true of some of the smaller bird species in the forest. As their natural food sources become more scarce, they spend a lot of time on the peanut feeders and birds such as coal tits, chaffinches, great tits, great-spotted woodpeckers and even crested tits will happily feed right in front of an audience (as long as the audience is relatively quiet). In fact, many braver individuals will readily come and take seed right out of your hand! It's a really exhilarating experience when a coal tit (or even a crested tit) perches on your fingers and plucks some seed from your palm. Interestingly, if you stand quietly outside the Osprey Centre holding a cake or some chocolate, there's every chance that a Visitor Experience Manager will appear and take it right out of your hand. I suggest you all go and try that ASAP...

  

The Loch Garten picnic tables are used year-round...

...although some prefer to eat using hands!

Autumn also sees the arrival to Scotland of huge numbers of pink-footed and greylag geese, overwintering from Iceland and Greenland. These birds spend their days foraging on fields and their nights roosting in the middle of lochs and ponds, enjoying the safety that the water provides. Loch Garten hosts around 500 roosting geese over the winter and it's definitely worth spending an hour or two standing on the loch shore, listening to the geese as they fly in to land on the water each evening. As the light slowly fades and the forest begins to go to sleep around you, there is something quite magical about hearing the heavy wing beats, splash landings and low honking as the birds reconvene for their communal slumber party. If you're interested in seeing this spectacle for yourself, we are holding a Goose Roost event on Saturday 21st October. Join our Community Ranger, Alison, for hot drinks, soup and shortbread on the loch shore as the geese fly in overhead. The event will run from 4:30pm until 6:30pm and more information can be found on our website or Facebook page. I'll definitely be there as I love to see the geese reesting!

Garten geese!

If you go down to the woods today (no, there's no Teddy Bears picnic), you might also be treated to the impressive sound of red deer stags as they begin their seasonal rut. At this time of year, males compete with each other for breeding rights to females, displaying their dominance through parallel walking displays, vegetation thrashing and spine-tingling roars. These roars, accompanied by snorting and grunting, can be heard for miles around and sound like they are coming from a much scarier creature, especially if you've never heard them before. The larger, dominant stag will generally prevail and build up a harem of females with whom only he will mate. Occasionally, if two very evenly matched males find that neither is willing to back down from the challenge, the displays evolve into violent fights, often resulting in serious injuries and death!

Red deer in the forest

Have an awesome autumn and hopefully see you at the Goose roost! I'll leave you with a recent beautiful sunset over Loch Garten...

Loch Garten in all her glory!