Hi everyone! My name is Kai, and I am so excited to get stuck into my new position here at Abernethy as a volunteer visitor experience assistant. Hopefully, I will become a friendly familiar face to the locals and frequent nature centre, visitors.

I graduated last year from the University of Aberdeen with a bachelor’s degree in Zoology, focussed on parasites, disease, and a bit of wildlife ecology. I spent a few weeks…

Hi everyone! Rishane here!

Most of you will probably not remember me since most of you haven’t even met me! Yes, I’m back for another season at Loch Garten only this time I’ve levelled up. I’m a big gal now and will take on the duties of an RSPB Visitor Experience Officer after volunteering for the strangest 6 months of our lives.

When I arrived last year as a newbie, I was excited to assist the…

I first came to the Abernethy forest and the Osprey Centre as a child. I remember the trip well, walking up to the centre through the towering scots pine trees and the anticipation as I entered the dark, cool hide, hoping to glimpse the famous osprey pair. Although we had come to view this wonderful bird of prey, the scene imprinted in my mind was the spectacular forest. Gnarled scots pines, hanging lichens and dappled…

Here's me, very excited to be driving the RSPB Landrover out onto Abernethy to help out with a bit of fieldwork last autumn.

Hello (again)! Ewan here, and I am delighted to be writing a new introductory blog about myself for you all, as it means I am back for another season at Loch Garten! This time 12 months ago I was trying to do this job while working from home, trying to entertain myself, and hopefully all of…

Hello! My name is Iona and I’m so glad to be actually experiencing Abernethy for myself! Having worked as part of the membership team for the RSPB, I was often talking to the public about the amazing conservation work at this reserve and how important it is to protect the species which call Abernethy home. I have worked all across central Scotland, engaging with members of the public and telling them all about the RSPB…

Hello bloggersphere,

 I thought I should give you a wee update now that we have a clearer idea about how our season is going to look. Following quite a pessimistic year we now have the optimism of summer to look forward to. Our team for the season are in place and will be starting a little later than usual due to the aggressive flock of flamingos that have barricaded the entrance of the centre for the past 12 months. Did…

The montane plateau is sometimes an area that is overlooked on our reserve. Which is ironic as it sits at over 1000m and overlooks everything. If you are a keen walker, there are four Munros on Abernethy in the form of Bynack More, Cairngorm, Beinn Mheadhion, Ben Macdui. Ben Macdui is the highest peak and is the second-highest point in Scotland after Ben Nevis of course. The montane terrain has more in common with parts…

Why does Abernethy take so many peoples breath away when they first enter? Even those with little grounding in nature are able to sense a difference in this natural woodland when they first set eyes on it. Trees well-spaced with hanging bows only seen on the oldest of pines, the sunlight dapples the ground while breaking through the spacious canopy and lushest green plants grow thick on the ground below. This combination…

 Tradition would dictate that we have a round-up blog of the season where we talk about the goings-on of the centre. It doesn’t seem right to do that this year but at the same time, it feels like we have so much to tell you. This year has been a paradox; our closed centre became more open, our team couldn’t work but created more, we had fewer visitors but felt more connected, we had no ospreys but our season was longer…

Good afternoon folks, 

I can't believe that's a week gone by again! I hope you are all well and staying safe. 

An informative blog for you today, from Ewan, all about our four species of grouse on Abernethy, but before that, just to say there's still no news form our osprey nest I'm afraid - birds are in the area but no nesting action unfortunately. Now, over to Ewan...

There are four types of grouse in…

Good afternoon, folks. I hope you are all well. Do you have sunshine? We do, and boy, doesn't it make a difference!?

This week we have a blog from Anna, one of our team who has not been furloughed, but before I hand over to her, just to let you know that although ospreys are still being seen in the area by members of staff when they are out on their fire and buildings checks, I'm afraid there hasn't been any activity…

A treat for you this afternoon, with a beautifully written blog from Ewan. I hope his words resonate with you, as they did with me. And I hope you're all staying safe and keeping positive. Now, over to Ewan...

In many ways, it feels like not much has happened over the last few weeks, and like not much has been achieved. But somehow, also, it feels like my wheels have been in constant motion, spinning relentlessly…

Hi folks, like many other organisations, the RSPB has furloughed some of its staff during the Covid-19 crisis, which is why it's me who'll be posting any blogs for the foreseeable future, as Fergus has been furloughed for a wee while.

So, you've already met Rishane, and here she is again, with some of her beautiful photos of species she has seen around Abernethy since she arrived. Many of these pictures were taken…

Here is a walk that Ewan took through the forest before our season began at Abernethy. I hope his words remind us of what is still out there, waiting for us to appreciate it again.

Although it began with a wintry shower, the sun soon came out on a bright spring day over Abernethy. With visitor operations suspended here at Loch Garten and across the RSPB, the 2020 Nature Team face some of the uncertainty that many will…

Here is a wee blog from Stuart telling you about his journey into conservation. He has been with us since last year through thick and thin. Hopefully, his positivity will lift all our spirits today! 

My name is Stuart. Originally, I hail from Warrington; a large town in the north-west of England. Wedged between Manchester and Liverpool, it makes up part of a large urban sprawl that covers much of north-west England. Growing…

Next on our list, we have the wonderful Bethia of Nethia. A local lady with a worldly perspective. 

Being a student of science, it seems that writing creatively is no longer something that comes naturally to me. My imagination has been stamped out by facts, figures, and doomsday statistics. So when we were told to write introductions about ourselves, I pictured a short and to-the-point paragraph – name, background, why…

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a National Park, nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. I spent most of my childhood in the forest, building forts, wading across streams, climbing trees, and skirting elk and bison poo. I value my childhood and appreciate how fortunate I am to have grown up in an environment that invites such strong connections with nature. 

When I moved more than 5000km away to attend university…

Here is another blog to introduce one of the finest naturalists on our time. Please welcome Ewan...

In a very real way, Loch Garten is where it all began for me. I came here first as a little kid, nearly twenty years ago, and after learning about the forest creatures, seeing the red squirrels and the little birds at the feeders and above all, of course, seeing the ospreys on the nest: I was hooked. I think I went away…

Here is another fantastic little blog for you all to read. Neil is as charming as his blog suggests. 

As we wake each morning to a new and fast changing world, we are all having to adapt to a new way of living, for the short term.

For us as Visitor Experience Officers at the Nature Centre and the centre being closed, we are learning to engage with you nature enthusiasts in new way by bringing nature, and our lovely selves…

Hello bloggersphere,

  I hope you are all doing well considering the circumstances. Thought I would do my best to update you on the most current goings on at the centre. We have got most of the way through the refurbishment before the work had to stop for obvious reasons. The centre has a new lease of life with the new windows installed and the walls removed it is almost unrecognisable. For those of you who have visited…

Hello blogger’s! Hope you are all getting into the festive spirit. We are seeing our days getting colder and darker, but luckily the Christmas lights are up now and the tree in the office is keeping moral high. It has been an interesting few weeks with all the developments taking place at the centre. We had to take everything out the centre to prepare it for the refurbishment. One of the best things to come out of clearing…

Hi everyone, yes, I do still work here! It’s not often that I get let out of the office (Fergus has me well-trained) but we like to mix it up little every now and then, so here’s my first blog for a long while…

I hope you are all doing well and gearing up for a crisp winter and some festivities. I can’t believe it’s nearly December already and I’m sure it’s a sign of my advancing years that the months…

While we are all missing our ospreys. I thought I would take the time to learn more about the migration process and try to imagine what ospreys must experience when they are not breeding in Scotland. This got me digging into a treasure trove of migration techniques that probably don’t even scratch the surface on this amazing feat undertaken by birds each year. If we step right back in time, some of the earliest explanations…

Hello bloggers. I hope you haven’t been climbing the walls since the ospreys have left the country for sunnier climes. Right now there will be ospreys congratulating themselves on surviving the migration and hopefully lots of juveniles now bustling for prime fishing spots around the river systems of Senegal.

We have started to see a shift away from the warmer weather we are used to and the transition into autumn…