Loch of the Lowes

Driving back from Butterstone via the Loch of the Lowes this evening I stopped to blip the setting sun and the stunning colours of the trees across the Loch.

Loch of the Lowes is all about ospreys. From April to September a pair of ospreys usually breed here and there is an observation hide just 150m from their nest, as well as a TV camera so visitors can watch close up pictures of the birds.

This year a 24-year-old osprey famed as the oldest breeding bird of its kind to be recorded in the UK, has exceeded the expectations of experts by surviving this year's breeding season to see that her latest chicks successfully take their first flight from the nest.

Taking to the skies on July 11, the most recent chick to fledge from the osprey nest at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve and Visitor Centre is the 47th chick of the famed female bird. With ospreys living an average of eight years and producing 20 chicks during that time, experts are calling the Loch of the Lowe's osprey "a real record-breaker."

Osprey chick hatching

How many miles has she flown in her life?
How does she find her way to and from here and the west coast of Africa each year?
Amazing!