Highland Wildlife & Birdwatch Safaris

Merry Christmas!! I would like to wish a happy and wildlife-filled new year to all my readers!
And a big "thank you" to everyone who used my safari guiding services during 2015......

December 2015 was a very strange month weather-wise in the Cairngorms national Park, with us experiencing heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures, our worst rain and floods on record, gale force winds, and our warmest December days since records began!!!
Despite the very 'changeable' and challenging conditions, and the days being at their shortest now, with only around 8 hours of daylight, we still enjoyed some memorable days out with plenty of good wildlife sightings against often dramatic Highland backdrops.
Bird species day-lists averaged mid 30's, and mammal day-lists ranged between 4 and 8 species, depending on the start time, length of safari and number of venues visited.
I was away down in England visiting relatives and friends for the final third of the month, so my report is a little shorter than usual....

A favourite local upland glen

Wildlife highlights included:

Local/upland speciality bird species seen regularly during the month included:  Crested Tit, Black Grouse, Red Grouse, Dipper and Golden Eagle,..though Crossbills yet again proved frustratingly elusive, with our brief views being limited to the 'fly-over' variety....Whilst a couple of mountain-top adventures gave us sightings of Ptarmigan and Snow Bunting....

Mammals seen regularly during the month included:
Red Squirrel, Red Deer,  Roe Deer, Reindeer, Rabbit, Brown Hare, and Mountain Hare (most now fully white) with just a few sightings of Mountain Goat.

Crested Tit by safari client Paul Renshaw

Our local Crested Tits continued to show well at my favourite forest feeding stations, especially soon after dawn, when they are presumably at their hungriest. There are probably only around 1,200 - 1,500 of these charismatic little birds in the whole of the UK, and they are all to be found in the Caledonian forests of Highland Scotland, so you can imagine that many of my safari clients are delighted to see them for the first time.

Displaying Black Grouse too proved very popular with my safari clients again this month, with our dawn visits to their traditional moorland 'lek' sites allowing us to enjoy the spectacular 'show' of up to 13 of these increasingly rare birds strutting their stuff, though the poor weather and light conditions meant that a decent photo eluded us...

Red Grouse by safari client Paul Renshaw

In stark contrast, Red Grouse were actually surprisingly easy to see and photograph on their favoured upland heather moorlands this month, as many of the cock birds seem to be getting all territorial, with some seen perching on the few higher points and heard uttering their guttural 'go-back, go back' calls...

Dipper

Similarly, our local Dippers too are definitely already planning for the spring breeding season, with much singing and displaying being witnessed , especially near to favoured nesting spots such as bridges....which is good , as it gives us much more chance to see and photograph them....

Overhead shot of Golden Eagle by safari client Paul Renshaw

As I mentioned last month...the short daylight hours mean that mid-winter is definitely the best time of year for raptor sightings in this area, and this month again proved very fruitful, with my favourite local upland glens providing my safari clients and I with regular sightings, and even the occasional (and rare)  photo opportunity, of the much sought after Golden Eagle, with views of these magnificent and iconic birds providing great entertainment,  numerous 'life-ticks'  and putting big smiles on many faces....The regular 'raptor back-up cast' of Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Buzzard , Red Kite, and even the occasional Hen Harrier and Goshawk, should not be forgotten though, as all were seen at least once.....

Male Bullfinch

Although not really a 'local speciality' bird, it is always nice to get good views of a Bullfinch, and we were lucky enough to get several good sightings of these beautifully coloured, and increasingly rare birds at forest feeding stations.. where another very welcome by-product of regular feeding is the incredibly confiding behaviour of the hungry Coal Tits and Great Tits, who in the colder months are often happy to feed from our hands! 

Coal Tits and Great Tits feeding from the hand

Flock of Greylag Geese with 'mystery' white Goose 

Winter visiting birds continued to show well, with Whooper Swans, 'grey' Geese, Teal, Wigeon, Redwings and Fieldfares all being seen, and just a few reports of Waxwings, though we did not get lucky with them.....

Ptarmigan by safari client Steph Cottell

The changeable weather meant that suitable and safe opportunities for 'mountain adventures' in search of the mountain top species - Ptarmigan and Snow Bunting - were very limited! However, by using my Cairngorm Mountain Birdwatching Guide licence to allow access from the normally 'closed system', and braving windchill temperatures down to -18c,  we did manage a couple of walks that provided views of both species..though it is fair to say we definitely earned them!!

Raven by safari client Paul Renshaw

Although Ravens are seen frequently in this area, and I probably take them for granted a little bit, I am aware that they are much rarer over most of the UK, and I thought this excellent photo showed their 'diamond' shaped tail - a major i.d. tip, very well....

Onto mammals now....

Mountain Hare in winter coat

Mountain Hares, generally being creatures of remote uplands, are not easily seen by most UK wildlife watchers on their local patches, so always prove popular on my safaris. They are now in their finest white winter coats , and visits to my favourite sites provided us with some decent views and a few photo opportunities...

Red Deer stags

The same could probably be said of Red Deer, and it is very unusual for us not to see at least one herd of these impressive animals, when visiting suitable habitat...

Red Squirrel by safari client Steph Cottell

Likewise, Red Squirrels are generally confined to Highland Scotland, and their liking for peanuts at forest feeding stations always gives us a decent chance of seeing them....



So despite the weather, December 2015 once again turned out to be another splendid month for wildlife watching in this area. I hope you have enjoyed reading this, and my other sightings blogs throughout the year as much as I have enjoyed experiencing them......And I am already looking forward to even more wildlife-filled adventures in 2016.........

Sundown at a local loch by Steph Cottell