Highland Wildlife and Birdwatch Safaris, Guided wildlife excursions, Aviemore, Scotland
Highland Wildlife and Birdwatch Safaris, Guided wildlife excursions, Aviemore, Scotland Highland Wildlife and Birdwatch Safaris, Guided wildlife excursions, Aviemore, Scotland

Thursday, November 30, 2023

 November 2023


November 2023 was yet another very changeable month weather-wise, in this area, with daytime temperatures ranging from -6c to +12c,  just about every type of weather experienced, and wind speeds varying from flat calm to gales, though the overall feel was definitely more wintery than last month, especially at the very end of the month, when we had some good amounts of snow down to low levels.

The more frequent show showers and dropping temperatures late in the month meant that the snow level on the Cairngorm Mountains is gradually creeping lower, as autumn most definitely turns to winter.


Many trees have retained some of their colourful autumn leaves, though the local berry stocks are now looking severely depleted after a couple of months of attention from the Blackbirds, thrushes and Waxwings.


Though the days are shortening noticeably now, with only around 8-9 hours of usable daylight (7am-4pm approx), a further influx of winter-visiting birds from further north, helped to boost local full-day bird day-lists into the 30's , or more if you include a trip to the nearby Moray coast,  whilst mammal day-lists varied between 3 and 6 species, depending on the time of our start, and variety of habitats visited, with early starts usually proving to be more productive.


The raised water levels in the rivers caused by the autumn rains meant that the Atlantic Salmon were able to reach their traditional spawning grounds and they provided great entertainment for most of the month.



Late autumn near the source of the River Spey


To give you an idea of what you may realistically hope to see if you are considering a future November visit, I hope the following more detailed information, illustrated with photos taken at sites in and around the Cairngorms National Park by myself, my friends or my safari clients this month and in previous November's will help....clicking on the picture enlarges it to full-screen. 



Local speciality/upland bird species seen regularly during the month included:

Crested Tit,  Red Grouse,  Dipper,  Golden Eagle, and White-Tailed Eagle. 
Black Grouse were occasionally seen at or soon after dawn at traditional lek sites, though they were a little unreliable, but sadly, Crossbills were generally frustratingly elusive again, and (not unusually) we failed to see any Capercaillie...



Mammal species seen regularly included:


Red SquirrelRed DeerRoe DeerMountain Goat, and Rabbit , with just a couple of sightings of  (now mostly white) Mountain Hare..... a few early morning sightings of Brown Hare, a couple of brief glimpses of Bank Vole,  and we also enjoyed great close-up views of Atlantic Salmon spawning in the upper reaches of our local rivers...



All photographs of wildlife, especially Schedule 1 and other protected bird species were taken legally at long range with powerful zoom lenses, or from my vehicle on public roads, well away from nest sites,  and no disturbance was caused to any wildlife....



November 2023 bird sightings in more detail:



Up in the glens...


A local upland glen - Photo from Nov 2021 by Jan Shields


As I have mentioned in previous years, and with no apologies for repeating myself... given favourable weather conditions,  November is in my opinion, THE month for raptor sightings in this area, and so it proved again this year, with my favourite local upland glens (and moors) providing my safari clients and I with pleasingly regular sightings, and even the odd (very rare)  photo opportunity, of the iconic and much coveted Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle, with these huge, awesome and majestic 'Kings of the skies' providing great entertainment, numerous memorable 'life-ticks' for my safari clients,  and putting big smiles on many faces....





Golden Eagle



Golden Eagle



Golden Eagle  - Photo from Nov 2018 by James Ball




White-Tailed Eagle - Photo from November 2017




White-Tailed Eagle



Should the Eagles fail to show, the regular 'raptor back-up cast' of KestrelSparrowhawkPeregrineBuzzard , Red Kite, and the chance of even the occasional MerlinHen Harrier and Goshawk often provide good entertainment by way of consolation though....


Peregrine Falcon


Red Kite


Common Buzzard


Merlin - Photo from Nov 2017 by James Ball


Female Goshawk- Photo from Nov 2022 by Jon Worthington



Up on the moors....


Early morning on a local upland heather moorland


Red Grouse, being birds of very specific upland heather moorland habitat, are absent from much of the UK these days . Thankfully though, we have no shortage of them in this area, and though not guaranteed, sightings were pretty reliable. It was interesting to note that a few of the cock birds (identifiable by their darker plumage and red 'eyebrows') are already starting to get a bit  more 'showy' and aggressive, with a few seen seemingly staking their claim to prime territory, often while uttering their characteristic cackling "go-bak, go-bak" calls.. 


Female Red Grouse



Male Red Grouse - Photo from Nov 2015 by Ron Mitchell




On the more remote upland moors, Black Grouse are always popular with my safari clients, probably because of their relative rarity, and sadly, declining numbers over much of the UK.
However, we are fortunate to still have decent numbers in Highland Scotland, and our dawn (7:30am approx) visits to their traditional local moorland 'lek' sites produced some good sightings of up to 8 cock birds displaying, though it should be noted that we also had a few mornings when the birds failed to show, and that the period between January and late May is far more reliable...


Displaying Black Grouse


Displaying Black Grouse



In the Caledonian forests...


November in a local ancient Caledonian forest

Winter is usually by far the best time of year to see Crested Tits, as the weather turns colder and snowier, with the easy pickings on offer at my Caledonian forest feeding stations, especially soon after dawn, seemingly proving to be very enticing. With only around 1200  birds in the UK, and their distribution very localised, it was a great feeling to show off these true 'Speyside specialities' to my safari clients, especially those who were seeing them for the very first time, 


Crested Tit



Crested Tit - Photo from Nov 2015 by Ron Mitchell

                                       


Crested Tit - Photo from Nov 2017 by James Ball



Still in the Caledonian pine forests, rather frustratingly, Crossbills continued to be a bit of a 'bogey-bird', with (yet again) sightings mainly restricted to snatched glimpses of calling birds flying around the tree tops, us only identifying them by their characteristic "jip-jip" calls...with the exception of one group that perched nicely for just a few seconds on the 10th....



Crossbills


Male Crossbill






A bonus by-product of regular winter feeding is often (especially on colder days) being able to feed the incredibly confiding Coal Tits and (sometimes) Great Tits by hand, an experience much enjoyed by my safari clients of all ages...


Hand-feeding Coal Tits



On the lochs...


A picturesque local loch

 

With the summer-visiting water birds all gone now, our resident Goldeneyes, are now joined by winter-visiting Whooper Swans and 'grey' Geese, alongside the more common species.... 



Canada Geese


Female Goldeneye


Whooper Swans



On the marshes...


Insh Marshes


Alongside the ever-present Grey Herons, ducks like Teal and Wigeon were noted,  along with Whooper Swans and 'grey' Geese , and raptors such as KestrelBuzzard, Red Kite,  and  Hen Harrier were seen reasonably regularly, with  one sighting of Marsh Harrier, and the occasional Merlin, Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle also reported.




On the rivers...


The upper reaches of a local river


Our local Dippers are definitely becoming more aggressive now, with much displaying, dawn singing and chasing each other around being witnessed as they presumably seek to establish winter and breeding territories, and it still makes my safari clients and I shiver every time we see them disappear under the icy water in search of food - they sure are hardy little critters!




Dipper



Dipper



With a similar UK distribution to Dipper, Goosander can be tricky to see in much of Britain, but we often see family groups of them in this area, though they can be very wary of humans, and I don't recall us having a  good view or decent photo opportunity this month....



Up in the mountains....


Early winter in the Cairngorm Mountains


I only managed one walk up this month (on the 26th), which sadly, failed to provide sightings of any of the mountain speciality birds, however, from previous experience, I would expect the Ptarmigan to be morphing into their winter-white plumage now, which can make them less difficult to spot amongst the rocks, at least until the snow comes, anyway.


Ptarmigan - Photo from Nov 2017


The first snow on the tops can sometimes encourage Snow Buntings down to lower levels, and I always carry a bag of mixed seed in the colder months, as they can sometimes be quite confiding once tempted in by a free feed, though sadly,  despite them being reported a couple of times, we failed to see them this month.


Snow Buntings - Photo from Nov 2019


Snow Bunting - Photo from Nov 2017




On farmland....



Typical local farmland


Although all the waders have gone to the coast now, 'grey' Geese and Whooper Swans can often be seen feeding on crop remains , whilst the seeds on local farmland during the autumn and winter months often attract large flocks of mixed finches and buntings,  along with the winter thrushes and more common Pheasants  and occasional Red-Legged Partridges...........


Whooper Swans


Greylag Geese


Reed Bunting


Fieldfare




In local gardens;



Berry bushes and garden bird feeding stations are a real magnet for hungry  winter visiting birds from further north, and Redwings, Fieldfares  Bramblings and Redpolls were all seen locally alongside the more common tits and finches, and it was great to get our first  proper 'invasion' of Waxwings for some years .....


Bramblings


Fiefdfare


Waxwings


Waxwings



Other good/scarce birds seen/reported locally this month included:


A Marsh Harrier early in the month at Insh marshes, and a Great Grey Shrike from 7th-10th near Carrbridge....



Great Grey Shrike



A few photos of more common birds seen locally this month: 


Hooded Crow



Dunnock


Greater Spotted Woodpecker




Male Blackbird

                             

Young Starling




Coal Tit



Adventures 'out of area':




The ruggedly beautiful Moray coast


The nearby Moray Coast is always worth a visit, especially in autumn and winter, and a couple of visit  gave  us a good selection of auks, waders, wildfowl, seaducks, geese ,swans and gulls ....



Common Scoters


Slavonian Grebe in winter plumage


Black Guillemot in winter plumage


Male Teal and male Wigeon



Female Red-Breasted Merganser

                                       

Male Red-Breasted Merganser

                                       
Male Eider


Redshank


Turnstone


Curlew


Purple Sandpiper


Male Long-Tailed Duck


The freshwater lochs and nature reserves just inland from the Moray Coast can be productive too....


Nice autumn colours at Loch Oire


Greylag Geese


Mute Swans


Cormorants


Coot




Grey Heron

                                       

Little Grebe eating a perch


Male Tree Sparrow



November 2023 mammal sightings in more detail:


Up in the glens, although the annual autumn 'rut' is now over and apparently already forgotten by the participants!, it was still a treat to see the magnificent fully antlered Red Deer stags, seemingly now all friends again and concentrating on feeding and chilling out after the demands of October....




Red Deer Stags




Red Deer Stag




Still in the uplands, Mountain Hares , being very rare in the UK, and now they are turning 'winter white' are often voted as 'mammal of the day' by my safari clients  at this time of year, and although they were pretty elusive this month, we were fortunate enough to see them  on a couple of occasions, ...please be aware though, that most of our views are at long distance through a scope, and a fair bit of rough uphill walking may be required for photography purposes


Mountain Hare


Mountain Hare


Feral Mountain Goats always prove to be popular with my safari clients, and they were seen on a few of our visits to their upland habitat, though they generally kept their distance, so photo opportunities were a bit limited..




Feral Mountain Goat - Photo from Nov 2020



In the Caledonian forests, Red Squirrels  always prove to be popular with my safari clients , and who am I to disagree? Being rare in the UK outside of Highland Scotland, attractive, charismatic and cute, they certainly tick a lot of boxes, and thankfully, with a bit of patience, they can usually be relied upon to put in an appearance at  feeding stations in the winter months (they love peanuts!)....though we also get the odd random sighting whilst on forest walks too...


Red Squirrel


Red Squirrel


Roe Deer, although much more common UK-wide than Red Deer , can often be overlooked due to their crepuscular nature and nervous disposition... but several were seen, usually at dawn or dusk, but also during the day in less-disturbed places... 



Roe Deer




Brown Hares, similarly to the Roe Deer, can also be very nervous and  'crepuscular' in nature, and most of our best sightings happen in the first hour of daylight, though sightings were very few and far between this month...









Hairy Highland Coo's always prove to be popular with my safari clients, especially those who do not have them close to home, so don't be afraid to ask me if you fancy going to see them, and maybe even get to feed and 'pat' them,  as I have a couple of great sites....


Hairy Highland Coo


Carrot time for Murdo



Marine mammals:


The Moray coast is pretty reliable for sightings of Seals,, with a decent chance of Harbour Porpoise and Dolphins, and,  even a slim chance of Whales.....





Rare/nocturnal mammals:


I get a few enquiries about the possibility of seeing  Badgers and  Pine Marten from my safari clients, many of whom I suspect are unaware that they are actually a largely nocturnal creature, and although we do get the occasional (maybe one or two a year) dawn glimpse of one, you would definitely have a much higher chance of seeing them at a specific dusk Badger/Pine Marten watching hide - Please contact me for more information.


Similarly, our inland Otters too are mainly active during the hours of darkness, and again, although we do get a few early-morning sightings on local lochs and rivers each year, looking for them feeding in a suitably quiet, kelp - filled bay on the coast on a rising tide, but at any time of day, would give you a much better chance.


Whilst we are still on the 'tricky to see stuff', the Scottish Wildcat too, as well as being incredibly rare now, is also generally nocturnal, and the fact that I have had a mere handful of  (dawn or dusk) sightings in 17 years of providing wildlife safaris should give you an idea of how difficult they are to see.





Other wildlife:


Mid October-early December is usually the time of year to see our Atlantic Salmon spawning. These remarkable and often very large fish spawn in the shallow waters in the upper reaches of our rivers, at the very spot where they themselves were hatched several years before, having originally spent 2-3 years in the river, then another 2-3 years feeding, growing and maturing out in the mid Atlantic, before undertaking a perilous journey many miles upriver, often involving avoiding poachers, anglers and predators and negotiating high falls and rapids on the way ,  an amazing migration story! However, sightings are very reliant on the rivers water levels - too little water and the Salmon cannot access the upper reaches - too much water, and they can get there... but we can't see them....fortunately, for most of the month, it all fell into place and we enjoyed some decent views.......


Spawning Atlantic Salmon


Spawning Atlantic Salmon - Photo from Nov 2019 by Rob Ellett



News:

I am very pleased to announce that Highland Wildlife & Birdwatch Safaris has recently been awarded - for the second consecutive year -  a Travelers Choice accreditation from Trip Advisor, for being ranked in the top 10% of visitor attractions worldwide based on customer reviews and feedback.

This achievement would not have been possible without the support of all my family, friends, safari clients, social media followers, regular blog readers , the Visit Scotland 'mystery shoppers', and everyone else who has helped and encouraged me along the way to ‘living my dream’ of being a wildlife safari guide, since 2004, especially over the last few very difficult  COVID affected years, so a big THANK YOU to you all :)


All tourism/hospitality/activities in Scotland are open , are free of restrictions  and I have now completed two years of  (thankfully!) increasingly busy and extremely enjoyable safaris with clients with no major issues arising.

With all national travel restrictions lifted too, Scotland is officially 'open for business' for visitors from all over the UK, and from abroad, and already this year, I have enjoyed meeting my first ever clients from Chile, and Singapore....


For those considering a visit, these wildlife/outdoor tourism websites may prove useful:


June - September is midge season - But thankfully, this area is not usually affected too badly - This link explains why: 

Bumper midge hatch alert after warm spell - BBC News


https://www.gov.scot/collections/coronavirus-covid


NatureScot (outdooraccess-scotland.scot)


Can Nature Help Health? | Nature Prescriptions - YouTube


Scotland, Yours to Enjoy. Responsibly. - YouTube


Cairngorms National Park Authority


Highland Wildlife Park



Positive prescriptions | The RSPB


www.scotlandbigpicture.com





COVID-19

The Scottish Highlands, being very sparsely populated, has had very few COVID-19 cases in comparison to most of the UK, and on my safaris we tend to visit remote , wild habitats well away from the more popular tourist areas, and usually have very little interaction with other people, and this is something that I intend to continue.





On safari in a wild and remote location



Summary:

Well, looking through my notes and photos for this month, despite the shortening days and changeable, and sometimes challenging weather conditions, I reckon it turned out to be very decent  for wildlife-watching,
With lots of great wildlife enjoyed, some of our 'local speciality species' at their easiest to see, the chance of a few rarities, spectacularly picturesque and often snowy scenery, and plenty of hot chocolate and shortbrtead,  the 'winter blues' were well and truly kept at bay....




Nice autumn colours at Strathdearn


Reviews:

I know a lot of visitors to this area very wisely check out reviews of attractions/experiences at TripAdvisor before 'taking the plunge' and booking - We now have over 300 reviews online, so if you wish, you can check out our clients comments at the link below....



https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186537-d3335134-Reviews-

Highland_Wildlife_Birdwatch_Safaris-Aviemore_Aviemore_and_the_Cairngorms_Scottish.html



Autumn reflection at Loch Garten


Gift Certificates:


Safari gift voucher

If you think you know someone who may enjoy a taste of what I do, why not treat them to a safari gift certificate? They make a thoughtful and imaginative present, are available for any amount and are valid for a whole year from date of purchase........














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