Loch Garten

It was a duller morning and we decided to visit the RSPB site at Loch Garten as my sister-in-law hadn't been there before. The dogs had a good walk first in the forest near the apartment and we foraged enough chanterelles for our supper.

It was raining when we arrived but the Loch was looking calm and serene and the reflections, as you see here, were crystal clear. The tree on the right hand side is a Scots Pine and I thought the lovely colour on its bark added to the composition given that there was no sunshine to create colour or shadows. When we arrived at the hide we were disappointed that the Ospreys were all busy hunting for fish and we didn't see any sight of them, although there was pre-recorded footage for us to enjoy. Both chicks this year are female and they have now been tagged. They fledged a while ago and I think are expected to leave home for Africa anytime in the next two weeks, probably when the weather improves. I do find it astonishing that such young birds take flight for such an enormous and difficult journey, and they do it alone. I followed tagged juveniles two years ago and it was fascinating, especially when they crossed the desert to reach their new home in the Gambia.

We spent a really pleasant afternoon painting one of the scenes we had enjoyed the other day.