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Wildlife and Nature Loch Lomond
 Loch Lomond Wildlife and Nature
If you're interested in nature and wildlife Loch Lomond is the place to be. And whatever the season there’s plenty to see. Explore Loch Lomond’s mountains and forests, bens and glens and see what you can spot.
In this precious environment, a rich diversity of plant and animal life can be found. Loch Lomond has more species of fish than any other loch with the freshwater fish, the powan, being found in one other loch. With 200 species of birds and over 25% of Britain's wild plants being recorded in this area it is a naturalists paradise.| Red Deer | Capercaillie | Wallabies (!) | Wildcat | | Pike | Buzzard | Golden Eagle | Geese | | Osprey | Ptarmigan | Perigrine | Falcon |
Guided walks around Loch Lomond and Scotland
There is no better way to see Loch Lomond and surrounding area than to take a walk in the company of an experienced guide. Come and enjoy the beautiful scenery that the area has to offer with the assistance of a person with invaluable local knowledge. Half day, full days and walking holidays available. Individuals and small groups catered for.
For further information visit Walking Loch Lomond
Angus McIver on Loch Lomond
Angus is a retired qualified mountain guide who has a great affinity for Loch Lomond. If anyone knows about the wildlife and flora in the area Angus does. We would like to thank him for the following narration of the seasons on Loch Lomond"His interest in birds and plants added an extra dimension to the walks he led" Ian & Betty Clark Bristol.
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| Springtime on Loch Lomond
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| High on a crag overlooking the Luss Water the female Raven sat on her nest of sticks and heather-stalks. It was late March and the 4 eggs she had been sitting on for two weeks would soon be hatching. |
Her mate flew high over the ridges of the Luss Hills scouring the ground on the lookout for a meal that he could take back to the nest site to share with his partner. These often quiet hills and glens form a barrier between Loch Lomond and Loch Long. They offer delightful hill walking to the person who prefers the solitude of hill days as the mountains reach to 2,000ft and are therefore shunned by the munro-baggars of today.
Early April is a busy time of the year for all the bird species that inhabit the lochside and it's environs. None more so than the male Osprey who on returning from wintering in West Africa will spend much time on the wing in display flight hoping to attract a mate. A sight worth looking for when walking on the southern shores of the loch.
This time of year brings a splash of colour to the oak woodlands around the loch as the early flowering woodland plants push their heads up into the sunshine Lesser Celandine, Wood Anemone, Wood Sorrel and the Bluebells make up a carpet of colour that the walker can enjoy.
by Angus Maciver
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| Summer on Loch Lomond
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At the northern end of the loch you will find Glen Falloch. In the past, the ancient woodlands that lie on the east side of the river were visited by few people and it was near here that the Pied Flycatcher began to increase it's breeding range in the west of Scotland.
Once a rare bird in Scotland, its appearance in the Loch Katrine oak woodlands announced its arrival as a resident summer visitor. It was whilst walking in Glen Falloch on the West Highland way one spring that I first heard the delightful song of this bird. I'm sure many of the hundreds of people who trek the West Highland Way through Glen Falloch fail to see or hear this little gem of a bird.
In summer, those who manage to gain the high ground on Ben Lomond should look out for the Ptarmigan. This arctic resident bird recolonised Scotland at the end of the ice age 11,000 years ago.
It lives most of the year in the boulder-strewn corries and survives in winter by feeding on heather and blueberry shoots protruding through the thinner snow on the windswept ridges. White as the snow itself in winter and mottled as the lichen-covered rocks in summer, the colour and texture of the ptarmigan's seasonal plumages blend perfectly with their background. Loch Lomondside is at the southernmost end of the ptarmigan's breeding range in Britain.
by Angus Maciver
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| Autumn on Loch Lomondside
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A cold wind blew from the north and made the Greenshank a little unsettled. He and his mate had reared a family successfully on the northern moors of Scotland but his attention was now drawn to moving south for the winter. His normal route south, was through the great glen to Fort William, then high over Glencoe and the Moor of Rannoch. He would fly high over the Crianlarich mountains and look out for his next navigational aid - Loch Lomond.
Tucked away in it's south east corner was the Endrick Mouth, a well known stop over haunt of many waders who found a rich food source in the shallow water of the lochside. He would spend a day or two here feeding actively in the company of other waders before heading off south on his long migration to southern Africa.
The migrant birds here at this time have to be very wary and keep a close lookout for predators. Peregrine, Merlin and Sparrowhawk find it a rewarding area in which to hunt as many juveniles on their first trip south will be inexperienced and easily caught by these fast flying birds.
Wildfowl too, gather in this area, some to winter, others to move on south. The autumn skies often reward the birdwatcher with skeins of geese flying south to winter. Some stay locally others at nearby Flanders Moss or to the east at the carse of Stirling. The Endrick Mouth is a National Nature Reserve, and access is by minor roads which leave the A811 near Gartocharn.
Autumn in the oak woodlands is a time of beauty, and a visit to the area on a sunny day can be particularly rewarding. Many a photographer can be lured to the area at this time of the year
by Angus Maciver
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| Winter on Loch Lomondside
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The early morning light filtered across the Aber Bog as the Hen Harrier lifted into the air from his roosting place out on the marsh. The first snow of the winter had appeared overnight and had frozen much of the ground. To the watcher the scene was idyllic but to the wintering Harrier it meant that he had to hunt in earnest for his first meal of the day.
In winter, birds from the Arctic Circle take up residence in this southeastern corner of Loch Lomond and large flocks of Wigeon, Mallard and Teal can be seen. When the temperature drops below zero this area attracts wildfowl from the surrounding small lochs and reservoirs which often freeze up. Numbers of birds including geese can often rise to 2,000 - 3,000 birds.
The flock size of Greylag Geese early in the winter are often dependent on the availability of cereal stubble but as the winter progresses they turn their attention to the spring flush of sown grass. Pink-footed Geese that have passed through the area in autumn often return if the weather elsewhere becomes too cold. The other bird to look out for is the Greenland White-fronted Goose. The flock numbering about 300 birds can often be found grazing in and around the village of Croftamie. Access to this area, which is a National Nature Reserve, is via the minor roads near the village of Gartocharn.
by Angus Maciver
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