Chicks galore at David Marshall Lodge Wildlife Watch!



New buzzard chicks head just visible above the nest

 It's all go at the Wildlife Watch at David Marshall Lodge. First we had a buzzard chick hatch yesterday and if that wasn't enough, a second appeared today. Not to be outdone, our ospreys also got in on the act with a chick hatching this morning!

On our live cameras here at DML the osprey mother has been seen giving her new arrival it's first feed with some freshly caught rainbow trout.

Meanwhile in the buzzard nest, which is in close proximity to the visitor centre, the new family are settling in, mum is female A9 whilst dad who is untagged, is doing a great job bringing in fresh food for his young. It is possible there may be more eggs in the nest as mum is still showing signs of incubating, however we cannot be certain at this time.

We will keep you updated on the progress of our new arrivals and pictures of the chicks will be available via the FC Scotland Facebook page.

DML gears up for Wild about the Forest Week

David Marshall Lodge hosts a fantastic week of events and activities starting this Saturday to celebrate Scottish Biodiversity Week.

The week long showcase entitled Wild about the Forest Week will see Forestry Commission Scotland and partners present an action packed array of activities and events to highlight the wild goings on in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park.

As well as week long activities including "Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels", the "Children's Discovery Trail" and displays from Great Trossachs Forest and other local conservation projects within David Marshall Lodge, each day will have a themed event taking place in the forest park.

Monday sees a Trossachs Water Vole Minibus tour giving visitors and insight into the reintroduction of these bank dwelling creatures into the forest park. This is followed on Tuesday by "The Great Trossachs Forest Project" where visitors will be given the opportunity to find out more about this groundbreaking project.

The week continues with "Guide in the Hide" wildlife activities on Wednesday and Friday, followed by "The Great Trossachs Minibus Tour" on Saturday, where visitors will experience stories past, present and future about the woods around Loch Katrine.

This varied programme of events will give visitors with an interest in nature, wildlife, woodlands and the environment a chance to see evidence of the fantastic biodiversity work being undertaken in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit the event listing on the FC Scotland facebook page.

Buzzard Cam now up and running, whilst Ospreys hopeful of chicks



An image from our buzzard cam showing
the female A9 incubating

 Great news from the Wildlife Watch @ The Lodge. We now have the Buzzard Cam up and running, beaming fantastic quality images into the viewing area. The buzzards have been busy with the female A9 now incubating eggs (see left).

The Ospreys have also been in breeding mode and we have been viewing images of our birds on nest 3 incubating also. All being well we could see the first chicks of 2012 around the end of May, so fingers crossed.

Not so much happening on our other nests 1 and 2. Although ospreys have been spotted at the nest sites, none have laid claim to them as yet.

Closer to The Lodge we have had lots of visits from our resident pine martens who are more than happy to take advantage of the well stocked squirrel feeders around the visitor centre.

We hope to get the Osprey Cam up and running shortly to add to the images being viewed from the buzzard cam and we will keep you posted on progress.