December started & ended cold with a brief mild spell in the middle of the month with less snow than last month, and sadly, very little over the Christmas period. Though the days are now at their shortest, there is still plenty to see.
Wildlife highlights included:
A brief glimpse of a Stoat chasing Rabbits on a roadside verge, looking splendid in its pure white winter coat with just the tip of the tail remaining dark.
Another animal that changes colour to white in winter is the Mountain hare, and these are quite easy to find on the hills - as long as there is not too much snow!
Snow Buntings were seen on a few occasions near the Cairngorms Ski centre car park, they appear to be driven down from the mountain tops by bad weather & heavy snowfall (see pic).
Ravens were seen to be displaying - wheeling around acrobatically whilst uttering their coarse "gronk-gronk" calls
Woodcocks were seen on a few occasions, usually over woodlands at dusk.
Waxwings were still in the area, often being seen around local villages, usually feeding on berry bushes.
The number of male Black grouse at traditional lek sites was seen to increase, with up to 5 seen at a time - numbers should continue to grow as the lekking season approaches.
One sad thing to report: One of the River Spey Otters was unfortunately found dead, killed whilst attempting to cross a road near the river. With no real predators, this is the biggest cause of premature death to the UK's Otters.
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