Another exciting week for sightings here at RSPB Loch Leven as we creep into September and the heather and blaeberry look lovely.
Hundreds of Pintails have arrived from their breeding grounds in Iceland and northern Europe. A nice reminder of RSPB's first connection to Loch Leven when in 1901 special "watchers" were positioned to protect them from shooters who were keen on making them into hats. There are also hundreds of greylag geese, these are our local breeding population but the migrant pink-footed geese should be arriving late September so watch this space.
Paul Ashcroft (rspb-images.com)
We've had daily osprey sightings with four seen today, clearly visible from the visitor centre for all to see. Also seen today were two greenshanks (there were five on Wednesday), wigeons, gadwalls, curlews, two willow warblers, two kestrels, teals, a woodcock, three dunlin, seven black-tailed godwits, eight ruffs, six ringed plovers, eight shovelers, a snipe, two blackcaps and a raven over the hill. Phew!
Alex Gilfillan (rspb-images.com)
Don't forget our autumn introduction to birdwatching course is just around the corner, get in touch if you'd like to find out more.