Cottage Diary - Aspenwood self catering luxury Holiday Cottage overlooking Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland.

The bird table is a busy place at the moment. There are more robins than before and they fly down from the nearby trees as soon as I put something tasty out on the table - today it was bacon fat. They also like the hanging ball of mixed food and are quite agile and acrobatic for their size. They are quite verbal in their appreciation. Also sighted quite a few siskins, chaffinches and blackbirds. The predatory sparrowhawk swoops down so fast but he is usually unlucky although he did give one of the cats quite a scare by zooming just over her head.

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Had a mixture of sunshine and showers this week which has made everything grow profusively. The Highland cattle and their calves enjoy being out in the sun eating the lush green grass in the fields although their thick coats are very well adapted for the winter weather. I have not had to water the garden at all which is great and all the plants in the tubs and hanging baskets are doing very well. A few deer have been wandering around eyeing up the plants but luckily only munching on the grass. Philip the pheasant has been giving us an early morning call outside the bedroom window so I will have to have words with him next time I see him !! Mind you it does get light at 3 in the morning and does not get dark until about 11 at night so we do have lengthy daylight hours during the summer months which is absolutely fabulous.

Coming back from Inverness we were lucky enough to see a young pine marten run across the road at the bottom of the hill leading up to Inverfarigaig village and Aspenwood cottage. This was at 2 p.m. which was unusual as they are nocturnal creatures. Possibly been down for a refreshing drink in Loch Ness and back home for tea and the afternoon World Cup match. To see photos of the local pine martens and much more of the wildlife around the area take a look at Creatures great and small around Loch Ness.

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For the last week we have had glorious long bright sunny days plus the added advantage of a breeze which makes the temperatures very pleasant. The warm and sometimes wet westerly winds have caused white water on the surface of Loch Ness and brought out the yachtsmen to tack their way across the choppy water. Urquhart Castle stands out quite clearly on the opposite bank when the sun beams down on the ancient walls and is well worth a visit. If you cannot visit the castle in person then gain more information about Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness in general by visiting the Loch Ness Guide to Urquhart Castle.

Philip the pheasant has a new ladylove and they both have been seen walking round their estate. This is good news as Philip was behaving rather strangely by chasing alongside cars on the track. He especially took a fancy to the red Post Office mail van and would run alongside it up the driveway, wait for the mail to be delivered and then run with it down the track. We were all concerned about his well being. He can now be heard calling to the new love of his life somewhere in the grounds which brings a smile to our faces.

Labels: birds

Went to the RSPB [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds] Osprey Centre at Loch Garten not far from the bustling village of Aviemore, a journey of about 45 miles from Aspenwood. The osprey is a magnificent fish-eating bird of prey with a wingspan of approximately 150cms and about 60cms in length. They were once widespread in the UK but its numbers decreased dramatically as it was persecuted by egg collectors and hunters. In 1959, after an absence of almost 40 years, a pair nested near Loch Garten and raised three young chicks with the help of special protection from the RSPB. Since then ospreys have returned to nest at Loch Garten every year and more than 80 young have fledged successfully.
From the Osprey Centre building you can watch these spectacular birds of prey from close quarters using binoculars, telescopes and also watch the closed circuit television screens that shows live pictures from the nest. Through the windows we could clearly observe the nest perched on the very top of a tall tree and saw the adult female osprey feeding the chicks with fish provided by the male bird. The pair mate for life and always return to the same nest every year. The male arrives first during late April after spending the winter in West Africa and rebuilds the nest in preparation for the female to follow a few days later. They mate and the three eggs are laid over a period of a few days and incubated for about 37 days. By late May the eggs hatch and the young ospreys grow rapidly on a diet of fish. By the middle of July the young begin to learn how to fly but remain around the nest for another month. They should have developed their flying and fishing skills by mid August and they all leave on their migration back to West Africa.
This nature reserve is not only important for ospreys. The rare native pinewoods are home to some of Scotlands rarest wildlife including Scottish crossbills, crested tits, otters, pinemartens and red squirrels. You can also stroll along the various forest walks and gaze across beautiful Loch Garten.
For more detailed and up to date information on the development of the osprey chicks visit the osprey diary at Loch Garten .
This has recently been featured on the very popular TV programme called Springwatch where they show live coverage of wildlife happenings in various parts of the UK. Later in the evening I was sitting out on the bench with the cats generally keeping an eye out for the monster when lo and behold I spotted an osprey gliding high above Loch Ness and I could not believe that either.