Wildlife highlights included:
Local speciality bird species seen regularly included:
Dipper, Red Grouse, Crested Tit, Goldeneye and Goosander, whilst Osprey, Slavonian Grebe, Red-Throated Diver, and Black-Throated Diver were all seen early-month but sightings became less frequent after mid-month, and we also had a few views of Crossbills and Golden Eagle...sadly, Capercaillie and Black Grouse were not seen at all, though that is not unusual at this time of year....
Mammal species seen regularly included:
Red Squirrel, Roe Deer, Red Deer, Reindeer, Mountain Goat, Stoat and Rabbit, with just a few sightings of Brown Hare, Mountain Hare, Sika Deer and Bank Vole...and one memorable early morning encounter with a fishing Otter!
Osprey was again probably most frequently voted as 'bird of the day' by my safari clients in the first half of the month - hardly surprising I suppose when you consider that they are impressively large and attractively marked, and provide additional "wow" factor when seen plunge-diving or carrying fish! (see pic above)
As I mentioned last month, Slavonian Grebe is a very rare breeding bird in this area, so it was a real treat to be able to see at least 2 pairs with youngsters learning to fish and fly on our local lochs before they departed around mid-month.... (see pic above)
It was the same story with our local Red-Throated Divers (see pic above) and Black-Throated Divers, both species of which were seen to have bred successfully, but they too appeared to have vacated this area by the end of the month....
Our local Red Grouse showed well in large family groups on suitable heather moorland early in the month (see pic above), though not surprisingly, those on 'managed' moors became noticeably more wary of humans after the 'glorious' 12th......
Crested Tits, as I explained last month, are now in their 'mixed winter flocks' of 6 or more different bird species 'working' through our local Caledonian pine forests... so to see the 'Cresties' you have to first find a flock, then listen out for their distinctive chuckling trill , then try and pick them out as they move annoyingly flittily through the branches - not an easy feat! , but, satisfyingly for me as a guide, we managed it on a good number of occasions, with many of my safari clients obtaining a difficult and much sought after 'life-tick' (see pic above)
Dipper sightings were a little up and down, rather like the rivers, as water levels fluctuated in height so much, but we managed a reasonably good success rate by employing my favourite tactic of using a raised bridge vantage point to stake-out a likely looking stretch with plenty of exposed rocks...
Golden Eagle sightings were a bit scarce, and mostly of the very distant variety, apart from one memorable close encounter on the 29th with a juvenile bird seen at quite close range and unusually low to the ground 'duelling' with a Common Buzzard in a secluded upland glen, it's white wing patches and tail base showing well against the 'solid' background....
Raptors in general were seen more frequently than last month, with Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine (see pic above) and Sparrowhawk all regulars , and Red Kite and Hen Harrier sighted at least once....
Although our Dotterel appeared to have vacated the mountain tops by early August, it was still possible to see large family groups of Ptarmigan and small groups of Snow Buntings with a bit of persistence, although there were very few days that were good enough weather-wise to attempt a 'mountain mission'....
With some of the summer visiting local speciality birds departing this area, mammals became more of a focus on my safaris, and we were fortunate to see a good variety throughout the month. The winner of my guests 'mammal of the day' award was invariably the Red Squirrel (see pic above) - with many of my safari clients getting their first ever sighting of these very endearing and attractive 'Highland speciality' animals.
The Red Deer often ran a close second though, especially when a stag was seen on the ridges of a beautiful upland glen in true 'Monarch of the glen' style (see pic below)
We had a number of good sightings of Stoats this month, especially groups of playful youngsters, including the amazing spectacle of a 'ball' of several 'wrestling' youngsters rolling down a moorland road in front of my safari vehicle! You will be pleased to hear that they 'exploded' off safely in different directions when they finally noticed us approaching!
Butterflies showed well early in the month, including our local speciality the Scotch Argus (see pic above), although sightings reduced noticeably as the temperatures dropped later in the month....
One good thing about the floods this month was the rising rivers finally giving the Salmon the chance to make their way upstream towards their spawning grounds, with trips to a couple of known 'Salmon leaps' (see pic above) providing decent views of these iconic fish completing their amazing migration....
So August 2014 turned out to be a pretty good month for wildlife-watching in the Cairngorms National Park, with lots of good sightings, many memorable experiences, great scenery and a few nice surprises like the Otter and the Stoats, putting smiles on the faces of my safari clients who were visiting Scotland from all around the world......
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