What we did on our holidays
by Chris and Alison
We hadn't visited our friends since they moved from Pitlochry, so we were pleased to find that Murthly, where they've moved to, isn't a suburb of Perth; instead it's a village barely 5 miles from the Loch, so there was no question of us not visiting. We got there about 9 o'clock on Thursday morning. The Visitor Centre didn't open until 10.30, but they had generously left the gate and the door to the upper hide open, so we could start watching. We had good views of the birds. The highlights were them exchanging a fish, and one of them chasing off a buzzard.
About 10 o'clock a ranger fixed up 2 telescopes for public use. When we visited the lower hide we found 5 more. An odd experience here - we could watch the birds out of the window, then turn round and see the same scene on the video feed!
We went in and paid (I also made a donation), and chatted to one of the rangers. Something to look out for is the ongoing evolution of the nest. Currently there's a depression for the eggs. When they hatch, the parents make a kiddie-proof palisade of twigs around the side of the nest. Once the young have fledged, they lay these twigs down to make a flat surface.
(The rest of the break was great too. After the ospreys we walked into Dunkeld for lunch, then did the "Big Trees" walk along the Tay. On Wednesday we had been to Cluny House Garden - lovely place, with loads in flower, including lots of rhododendrons already! Yesterday we went up Ben Vrackie. 32 Whooper Swans on a lochan, and the limestone cliffs plastered with
Saxifraga oppositifolia.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rogerwasley/25365760130
)