Happy 2018 everyone. It's been a while since I last blogged - it's difficult to type with a mince pie in one hand and a glass of something festive in the other! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and have enjoyed the new year so far.
So, what has been happening? Well, Loch Garten (like much of the UK) has been hit with severe snow and extremely cold temperatures. The lochs here (both Garten and Mallachie) have been at least partially frozen over for most of the winter. On recent litter picks along the Two Lochs Trail, I've found numerous gloves and hats, clearly dropped by walkers as they wander along. I've even found myself pulling out various bits of litter and debris from the frozen water. It really is amazing what people leave in the ice.
A frosty reception at Loch Garten!
Now is a wonderful time of year to explore the snow covered trails. One of the best things about my job is that quite often I'm the first person to walk them each day. This means that all of the tracks and signs of the woodland wildlife are fresh and I love trying to decipher which animal has been running, hopping or bounding along the path before me. From the tiny bank voles, who leave behind straight lines of tiny dots as they scurry quickly across the path, to red squirrels, who appear to be a little more relaxed, leisurely hopping about as they explore for food. They tend to leave meandering trails of four clear prints, similar to those of a rabbit, with the two larger hind feet landing just in front of but further apart than the front two. I've seen badger tracks around the Osprey Centre too - large, broad footprints with long claws marks, especially on the front paws. Clear badger prints have been hard to come by, however, as the animals busily snuffle around in the snow. There are definitely pine marten around too. Although I've not identified any pine marten tracks yet, there have been other, shall we say slightly ruder, smellier indications of their presence...often left on the entrance steps! Birds, of course, also leave prints when they spend time on the ground. The smaller species such as the coal and crested tits don't really leave clear prints as they are always in a rush to find their next morsel of food, but woodpigeons, ducks and geese will happily waddle around the forest floor and we often pick up their tracks. I've even found evidence that they enjoy the odd bit of ice skating...
Red squirrel tracks in the snow
Which avian pond skaters left these tracks?
Clear squirrel prints
We're also busy getting ready for the RSPB's Big Garden Bird Watch. If you haven't heard of it, the Big Garden Bird Watch, or BGBW as the cool kids say, is a nationwide bird survey carried out by...well, anybody! All you need to do is find a nice spot in your garden (or local park, woodland or any green space) from where you'll be able to spot birds. My tip is to find a nice window that looks out onto your garden, thus negating the need to sit outside in the cold! Also make sure you are well stocked with something to drink and something to nibble on, as you'll need to stay in the same spot and record the birds you see over a whole hour. This can be done at any time (although daylight is recommended for obvious reasons) over the three days 27th, 28th and 29th January and it doesn't even matter if you see no birds at all, as this is still an important record. All you need to do is send us your results and we'll be able to put together a picture of how birds are doing across the UK. The BGBW was started in 1979, initially just for kids, and around 34,000 people took part in that first year. Nowadays we invite everybody to join in and over half a million of you help us out. It's a really important tool for monitoring how certain species are fairing in different parts of the country and over the years, the results have helped us recognise trends in the rise and fall in populations of many of the UK's favourite species. If you're interested in taking part, all the info you need can be found here. Enjoy!
At Loch Garten we will be running a special BGBW event on Sunday the 28th January. We'll be making feeders to attract birds to your garden and there'll be bird ID activities and challenges. Who will see the most species in our Not-so-big Garden Bird Watch (recording for 10 minutes, just to practice)? and will anybody complete our Bird ID Orienteering challenge (or Oriole-teering, as it's now called). Our bird hides will also be open, giving you the chance to see all of our regular species, including the highly sought after crested tit, coming and going from newly set up feeding stations. There'll even be hot drinks available to ward off the cold and biscuits for dunking. Not tempted yet? Well, if conditions allow, I will also be instigating an enormous, free-for-all snow ball fight so be prepared (that's a joke...snowball fights and bird watching aren't a great combination). Hopefully I'll see some of you there. For full details please have a look at our website or facebook page.
Will you spot a "crestie" at our BGBW event?
Unbelievably (and this is true as I've just worked it out), the Osprey Centre will open in exactly 10 weeks today (Friday). It comes round so quickly every year and I'm already wondering what dramas and excitement are in store for us in 2018. It would be lovely to have a nice, quiet, straightforward breeding season on the nest this summer...I think we've all had our fill of drama! Will EJ make it back for her 16th season at Loch Garten? I think she will, but just to keep you going in the meantime, here's my favourite picture of EJ from last year...if looks could kill...
See you all soon, take care and keep warm x