Loch of Lowes

Lunch with son#1 and family, minus Liv who was at nursery. Leo continues to be a very relaxed baby and snoozed through a dog walk in the rain waking up occasionally to look about.
I left them to drive to Dunkeld and spent the rest of the afternoon at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s reserve Loch of Lowes. In spite of the poor weather there was quite a lot of activity, and an interesting conversation about otters on Bute which I intend to act on when I have a couple of free days.
I returned to Loch of Lowes in the evening for a SWT beaver watch with an excellent talk. Against the odds on account of the weather we saw one beaver exiting the water canal and swimming around in the loch. Beavers are very fond of Himalayan Balsam, amongst many other of their biodiverse habits.
The blip is the 34 year old osprey nest, now empty until next spring. No young this year after the male died a natural death before the eggs hatched. Staff hopeful that new male and established female will both return in 2025.
Glad I decided to overnight in Birnham.