February 2012 started cold with a little light snow & some sharp frosts , but soon became milder & less wintry, and actually ended with near -record high temperatures for February!All this almost spring-like weather made life much easier for me as a safari guide than the previous two winters, with us able to access all the best wild, remote areas in search of wildlife. The days are growing longer now, with almost 12 hours of daylight, winter is nearly over.....Bird day-lists increased into the mid-upper 30's , while mammal day-lists were steady at 5-9.
Wildlife highlights included:
Most of our 'local speciality' species continued to show frequently - with Dippers, Crested Tits, Crossbills, Black Grouse, Red Grouse, Capercaillie, Goldeneye, Whooper Swan, Golden Eagle, Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Mountain Goat, Mountain Hare etc all being enjoyed by my safari guests, along with many other more common species.
Our winter visitor bird species remained in the area, with Whooper Swans, several species of 'grey' Geese & wildfowl all frequenting local lochs & rivers...
Otters! We were fortunate enough to have several sightings at dawn of not just the more usual lone Otter, but on 2 occasions a family group of 1 adult & 2 youngsters. A magic start to the day!!
Our local 'rogue' male Capercaillie continued to entertain, with with him still occasionally putting on an occasional lekking display! - still several weeks ahead of their more usual breeding season - surely one of British nature's 'must-see' events?
Our local Dippers continued to sing & display at dawn on the rivers, with much male-female interaction and we witnessed possible nest-building occurring under bridges.
Male Black Grouse were noted at or near to traditional 'lek' sites, though not yet in the numbers of previous years at this time....
Male Red Grouse however, seem to be doing very well on the moors, with good numbers seen posturing aggressively at rivals.
Crested Tits continued to delight my customers at forest feeding stations, especially photographers, who took the rare opportunity to get good close-up shots of this rare & 'flitty' species....
Several species of raptor were seen displaying & heard calling in upland glens, with Buzzards, Peregrines & Golden Eagle all noted, along with the accompanying Ravens!
With the weather being reasonably kind, mountain-top species such as Ptarmigan & Mountain Hare (see pic) were easier to see than normal at this time of year, though it should be noted that a fair amount of physical effort & stealth is still required......
The last week of the month saw waders returning to our area from their coastal wintering grounds, with lapwings & a few Oystercatchers being the earliest arrivals....
To summarise, it really does feel like winter is almost over (early for this area!!) & that spring may be just around the corner....
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