The Loch Lomond Bird Of Prey Centre
wildlife such as otters and osprey. In the spring there are many species of flowers associated with the woodlands and large areas are carpeted in daffodils and bluebells.”
The priory was founded in 1238 by the Earl of Monteith, Walter Comyn, for a small community of Augustinian monks. The Comyn family were one of the most powerful families in Scotland at that time and had a house on Inch Talla, a neighbouring island in the lake.
The priory flourished until the Reformation when it soon ceased to be in ecclesiastical hands, with ownership eventually passed to the Erskine family and later to the Marquess of Montrose. The sixth Duke of Montrose passed it into the care of the state in 1926.
“The Priory welcomes more visitors than other similarly remote sites due to its location not far from a main tourist route,” says Dean. “It also benefits from being on an island with the associated boat trip as part of the visitor experience.”
THE Loch Lomond Bird Of Prey Centre has had a sort of nomadic existence, only really settling down when owner Stewart Robertson relocated to Loch Lomond Shores in 2012.
It was an opportunity to build a centre that would provide welfare for the birds and an educational experience for visitors.
It’s a marvellous chance to get close-up and personal to Orla, the golden eagle, and Birkita, the great grey owl. There are also hawks and kestrels, buzzards and falcons, making a total of more than 30 birds of prey representing 26 species.
Sizes range from Keema, the 22cm (8.5 inch) tall white faced scops owl, to Orla, who has a wingspan of 240 cm (96 inches).
Stewart came into the lives of birds of prey in 2004, and he’s still learning something new.
“The more I have learned, the more I realise how little I knew at the beginning,” he says. www.llbopc.co.uk
“The wildlife is a significant attraction visitors” to