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| Wildlife / Nature Reserve |
During my time with Alan Lauder and Paul Brooks,
I learnt about the loch and its importance as a nature reserve. In
particular, they told me all about the different types of birds which
live on the islands and in the marshes around the loch. St Serf's
Island holds 90% of all the loch's wildlife. The loch itself is fourteen
square kms in area and is home to wide variety of birds.
- stay on the loch
all year round. St Serfs Island has the biggest colony of Tufted
Duck in Europe, and around 4,000 live there in winter.
- breed around Loch Leven for most of the year.
There are 2,000 of them and the end of the summer because as the
water goes down, mud is revealed and they feed on the small invertebrates
they find there.
- live near Coast Lines, Shores
and Estuaries. They are most numerous in the autumn but there aren't
as many of them as Lapwing (under 2,000).
- live on the
loch all year round. They tend to be sedentary birds and so they
don't move around a lot.
- - There are not many pairs
of Grey Heron on the loch. The Herons build their nests in trees
on Castle Island, on which there are about 20 nests. They stay here
all year round but if the loch freezes over than they move south.
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are most numerous in summer when there can
be up to 5,000 pairs on St Serfs Island. Ducks nest amongst the
gulls and benefit from their aerial defence.
- - Flocks
of up to 1,000 Widgeon live on Loch Leven in winter. During winter,
the colourful males can be heard whistling to the less attractive
females.
- - Up to 50 pairs of Great-Crested
Grebe can be seen in the spring, performing their courtship dances.
They rear the most young when there are lots of fish (Stickleback)
around.
- - There are two different kinds
of geese that live on the loch during the winter and spring months,
Greylag Geese and Pink-Footed Geese. The Greylag Geese are bigger
than the Pink-Footed geese and can be recognised by their loud call.
- lives in the marshy grassland around the loch, where the
rushes provide cover for their nests. In autumn, up to 2,000 visit
the loch to feed on the stubble fields on the shore.
- - There
are two different types of Swan on the loch, the Mute Swan and the
Hooper Swan. Up to 12 pairs of Mute Swan breed on the loch but they
are most numerous in summer.
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- In spring and autumn, migrating Greenshank stop at the loch to
feed. The exposed mud provides an attractive meal on their way to
the far north.
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Moorhen
Grey Heron
Mallard
Great-crested Grebe
Greenshank
Oystercatcher
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Moorhen
Grey Heron
Mallard
Great-crested Grebe
Greenshank
Oystercatcher
Swift
Curlew
Lapwing
Mute swan
Tufted duck
Black-headed gull
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Moorhen
Grey Heron
Mallard
Greenshank
Swift
Curlew
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Moorhen
Grey Heron
Mallard
Widgeon
Greylag goose
Pink-foot goose
Peregrine
Short-eared owl
Reed bunting
Golden eye duck
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Tufted duck
Great crested grebe
Mute Swan with cygnets
Loch Leven Brown Trout
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