Anna Jemmett, Assistant Warden at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven, gives us an update on this year's breeding season and other news from the reserve.

We are approaching the end of the breeding season here at RSPB Loch Leven. Although we don’t have our final numbers yet, at this point it is looking like the waders are doing well. With plenty of lapwings around and broods of oystercatcher, redshank and snipe we are optimistic…

This year RSPB Scotland Loch Leven is celebrating 50 years of connecting children with nature, volunteering and creating homes for nature. Throughout the year we'll be marking this special anniversary by uncovering stories and memories, working with local groups, creating a limited edition pin badge and hosting a celebration event at the end of October. 

Education room, early 1970s

Share your Loch Leven story with…

RSPB Scotland Loch Leven's writer in residence Anita John brings us news from the reserve along with wildlife sightings and upcoming events. Anita is a poet and author who is helping to gather stories of the reserve in 2017 as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations.

Delighted to discover the woodland trail this morning and to view tree pipits for the very first time! The pipits were sighted where the woodland…

RSPB Scotland Loch Leven's writer in residence Anita John brings us news from the reserve along with wildlife sightings and upcoming events. Anita is a poet and author who is helping to gather stories of the reserve in 2017 as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations.

Delighted to have my first-ever sighting of a lapwing chick at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven today. So far ten lapwing chicks have been spotted in the…

Pupils from Kinross High School were at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven yesterday to take part in a very special event. Kirsty Nutt, Regional Communications Manager, explains more.

As you may have heard already, our Loch Leven nature reserve celebrates its 50^th anniversary this October. Unusually the main reason for buying the reserve in 1967 was its potential as a centre for outdoor education – the RSPB’s first – and although…

RSPB Scotland Loch Leven's writer in residence Anita John brings us news from the reserve along with wildlife sightings and upcoming events. Anita is a poet and author who is helping to gather stories of the reserve in 2017 as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations. 

The swallows are definitely back! Returning with the sunshine (after a snowy start to the week!) and small clouds of black flies along the Heritage…

RSPB Scotland Loch Leven's writer in residence Anita John brings us news from the reserve along with wildlife sightings and upcoming events. Anita is a poet and author who is helping to gather stories of the reserve in 2017 as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations. 

Recent sightings to stir excitement at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven include a female ruff, eleven black-tailed godwits, eight greylag goslings, two great…

My favourite sound of the week has got to be the drumming of the greater spotted woodpecker that has been hammering on a nest box in the wildlife garden almost constantly. A close second has to be be the sound of large numbers of pink-footed geese on the reserve as they stop over on their way back north. Last night we had at least 700 flying in and they are feeding by the Carden hide this morning, the last opportunity…

RSPB Scotland Loch Leven's writer in residence Anita John brings us news from the reserve along with wildlife sightings and upcoming events. Anita is a poet and author who is helping to gather stories of the reserve in 2017 as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations. 

A spell of glorious blue-day skies has put a spring in everyone's step at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven - including the wildlife!

A buzzing has…

RSPB Scotland Loch Leven's writer in residence Anita John brings us news from the reserve along with wildlife sightings and upcoming events. Anita is a poet and author who is helping to gather stories of the reserve in 2017 as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations. 

The wind and the curlew's whaup, the song of skylarks and the kleep of oystercatchers could all be heard at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven this morning…

RSPB Scotland Loch Leven's writer in residence Anita John brings us news from the reserve along with wildlife sightings and upcoming events. Anita is a poet and author who is helping to gather stories of the reserve in 2017 as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations. 

Today is a beautiful bright blue day at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven. The first hawthorn leaves are open and green leaf buds are clearly visible on many…

RSPB Scotland Loch Leven's writer in residence Anita John brings us news from the reserve along with wildlife sightings and upcoming events. Anita is a poet and author who is helping to gather stories of the reserve in 2017 as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations. 

Thanks to our fabulous volunteers there have been two exciting developments at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven this week. The first is the building and installation…

The snowdrops are out, the first leaves have opened and the red squirrels are busy foraging at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven. Today they entertained visitors with their dash and daring, their sudden leaps from one tree to another and their spasmodic movements. Happy enough to scamper two metres in front of me, these resident red squirrels took it in turns to climb to the feeders and pop their heads under the wooden lids…

Another bright and beautiful day at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven with much activity on the loch beginning with the 'ung-unk' of pink-footed geese flying low across the water.

There were flocks of wildfowl enjoying the first warmth of the sun with many species moving around in pairs. I watched a pair of goldeneyes in courtship: the male intermittently stretching his neck and bill towards the sky, the female following…

A beautiful day at Loch Leven! And it's good to be here on my first day as writer in residence for the reserve. The residency is part of a year-long celebration of the 50 years since the RSPB first took the land here into its care. Throughout the year we'll be sharing visitor's memories, stories and photos from 1967 to the present day. So if you have any stories you'd like to share from your visits to Loch Leven please…

Loch Leven has been transformed into a winter wonderland with snow storms, sunshine and bright nights with venus showing well. We had our January pink-footed goose count this morning, the reserve team along with folk from Scottish Natural Heritage got up at 5.30am to arrive before first light in time to count the geese before they head off on their daily foraging trip. The total count was 1026 which is significantly lower…

A great start to our 50th anniversary year with lots of excitement on the reserve this week. We've had a mix of stunning crisp sunny days and misty mornings which lift in time for the afternoon. We've had flocks of curlew calling over the wetlands settling in the bumblebee meadow and then back to the pools, the biggest group was sixty but they have also been in groups of fifteen or so.

On the main loch today…

It was great to start the day at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven with a visit from a cheerful flock of redwings darting through the trees in the picnic area, there were about thirty in total. The day ended with a beautiful sunset while we unpacked the shop delivery in the dark and felt like Christmas elves.

Today we had our first sighting of the juvenile white-tailed eagle on St.Surf's Island for over a week, the last report…

Well, firstly despite a nip in the air we've had some stunning views from the reserve this week - pink skies and crispy frozen leaves underfoot. 

Our photography volunteer Paul Ashcroft managed to get an excellent shot of the little egret which has been visiting us the past few weeks. The ringing information has come back from BTO and it turns out it was ringed 368 kilometers away in mid-Lincolnshire as a nestling…

Amazing light for detail today on the frozen loch and we had a great array of sightings with pretty frosty scenes like this:

and this...

In the bay we had a greenshank, two redshanks and a dunlin. Over the loch we had peregrines and a stonechat was seen on the fence posts on the wetland trail. Five long tailed ducks,  a hundred and fifty gooseanders and a male scaup were spotted on the loch. There was also…

Another brilliant week at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven. We've had a white tailed eagle sighted on St.Serfs island on Sunday and again on Tuesday, both times visible from the telescopes in the cafe. Most of the radio trackers which were fitted as part of the reintroduction programme have run out of steam (as expected) which does make it all the more challenging to confirm the identity of individual birds. If you manage to…

We've had plenty of great wildlife sightings this week at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven and continue to get some excellent photos sent in, many thanks for sharing. The pink-footed geese are roosting in the bay and just off St.Serfs island so have made for great dawn and dusk spectacles. Due to popular demand we've decided to put on an additional date for the morning goose watch event next Wednesday 16 November at 7.15am. There…

Today's wildlife highlight was probably the water rails by the Carden hide. They have been around all week and have been hanging around just outside the hide giving many people the chance to see their first ever water rail, including our Assistant Warden Anna. Also around the wetlands we've had an impressive 182 gooseanders, 32 lapwings, a kestrel, 5 shovelers, 21 curlews, an oystercatcher, herons…

Pink-footed geese are here in full force and are are brilliant sight at sunset. We've also had groups of whooper swans by the Carden hide on the wetlands. 

Also on the flood we've has plenty of pochards, teal, wigeons, pintails, tufted ducks, goosanders, golden eyes, mallards and gadwalls. Thirty curlews were seen yesterday along with lots of herons. 

A waterail and a few snipes have also been spotted. Peregrines…

Crunchy leaves, berries on trees and fantastic autumn wildlife mean that RSPB Loch Leven is a brilliant place to explore this half term. Harry Hedgehog has already had lots of adventures around the nature reserve, why not follow his footsteps?Most of what you need is just waiting for you in the woodlands but pop into the visitor centre for ideas or to grab any extra materials you might need. 

1. Make a leaf or bark r…