July 2010 was a very changeable month, weather-wise, with just about every combination of sun, rain, cloud & wind that you could imagine, though with the days still long, it's still a great month for wildlife watching. Bird day-lists topped 60+ species at the start of the month, though they dropped a little at the end as some of our wader species began to depart the area. Mammal day-lists remained strong at 6-9 species depending on our luck.
Wildlife highlights included:
Osprey action! July is 'Osprey month' (see pic) in my opinion, with the early part of the month seeing the adult birds working frantically to feed the ever-growing youngsters as often as possible, making it the best month for seeing the amazing spectacle of Ospreys fishing and delivering fish to the nest. With the added bonus later in the month, of seeing the youngsters perched on the edge of the nest flapping their wings furiously, and then ultimately fledging, making their first ever flights... great stuff!
Another dawn close-encounter with a female Capercaillie, on a forest track, with her happily taking grit quite unperturbed by us sitting quietly close by in my safari vehicle - a great start to the day - making the early start worthwhile.
Our closest ever views - down to 4ft away! - of a family of Crested Tits feeding at our eye level for a good 10 minutes, giving my safari clients the rare opportunity of getting some close-up photos.
Butterflies! July is our best month for butterfly spotting, with all the common species showing well, and our local speciality species such as Mountain Argus being spotted for the first time this year.
The first sunny day after a couple of rainy days giving us the rare & very enjoyable sight of 5 different species of raptor ( Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Peregrine & Red Kite) all seen from the same spot in a beautiful upland glen in a 20 minute spell - magic!
Most of the 'local speciality' bird species (Dipper, Red & Black-Throated Divers, Slavonian Grebe, Red Grouse, Osprey, Crested Tit, Crossbill etc, all with well-grown young, continued to show well & delight my clients, with the occasional sighting of Capercaillie, Black grouse & Golden Eagle sometimes putting the icing on the cake!
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