Highland Wildlife & Birdwatch Safaris

August 2019 was, with the exception of a late-month mini-heatwave,  yet another very changeable month weather-wise in this area, with temperatures again ranging wildly between 6c and 22c,  a fair variety of weather types being experienced, including some very unseasonal early-month floods!.. and a generally cooler, more autumnal feel than normal, with cagoules, hats, gloves, scarves, and sun cream all being needed  at some stage - and sometimes all in the same day!

The days are noticeably shortening now as autumn approaches, but we still have 14-15 hours of usable daylight this far north, with dawn at around 5:30am and dusk at around 8:30pm...

With many of our summer visiting bird species departing here for their wintering areas throughout the month, it was inevitable that local full-day bird lists would reduce down into the 30's, though this could be increased considerably if you visited the Moray coast.

Mammal day lists varied between 3 and 8 species, with earlier starts generally proving more successful, especially for the shyer species.

August is often our best month for Butterflies and day-flying moths, and a good variety of species were seen on the few calmer, sunnier days, though sadly, in lower numbers than I would usually expect.

The Highland scenery is extremely picturesque now, with the heather at it's beautiful purple best, one or two ferns turning coppery gold, a few leaves beginning to morph into their autumn hues, lots of varieties of fungus appearing, and the Rowan trees now fully laden with bright red berries.

Late summer in a beautiful upland glen

To give you an idea of what you may realistically hope to see if you are planning a future August visit, I hope the following more detailed information, illustrated with photos taken at sites in and around the Cairngorms National Park by myself, my friends or my safari clients this month and in previous August's, will help...clicking on the picture enlarges it to full-screen.

Local speciality/upland bird species seen regularly included:
Osprey, Red Grouse, Dipper,  Goldeneye, and unusually Slavonian Grebe , whilst Red-Throated Diver, and Black-Throated Diver were both seen regularly early in the month but sightings became noticeably less frequent after mid-month as they presumably departed for the coast, and we also had a few brief views of Crested Tit  and  Crossbills and just one view of Golden Eagle and Hen Harrier ...and very unusually, a brief glimpse of a family of  Black Grouse... sadly,  Capercaillie were not seen at all this month, though that is not unusual at this time of year....

Mammal species seen regularly locally included:
Red Squirrel, Roe Deer, Red Deer, Reindeer, Mountain Goat and Rabbit with just a few sightings of  Brown Hare and a solitary view of a Bank Vole...


August 2019 bird sightings in more detail:

Osprey with Trout

Juvenile Osprey

Osprey was most frequently voted as 'bird of the day' by my safari clients this month,  understandable  I guess when you consider that these impressively large and attractively marked raptors can also provide additional "wow" factor when seen plunge-diving, eating or carrying fish!... and although the parent birds appeared to have departed by mid-month, the now fully independent youngsters could occasionally be seen near the nest site right up to the end of the month....

Red Grouse

Red Grouse 'hiding' on the moor... how many can you spot?

Red Grouse, still in family groups, continued to show well on our local heather moorlands, and similarly to last year, with their nesting being a little later than usual, and  brood sizes being smaller than normal, we had the bonus of the start of the shooting season being delayed , or even shooting being cancelled altogether on some estates...

Crested Tit

Crested Tits have now joined the 'mixed winter flocks' of  many different bird species 'working' through our local Caledonian pine forests... so... to see the 'Wee Cresties' you first have to  find one of these roving flocks , then listen out for their distinctive chuckling trill , then try and pick them out as they move in annoyingly flitty style through the branches - not an easy task! , but, satisfyingly for myself 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'... and on the cooler mornings there were even a few reports of one or two visiting peanut feeders for the first time since late winter.......

Still in the forests, with the exception of a couple of reasonable but sadly all too brief views, Crossbills sightings were (again!) usually of the rather frustrating 'fly-over' variety, with them only being identified by their characteristic 'jip' 'jip' calls as they flew overhead between different areas of the forests...so sadly, there were no photo opportunities this month...

Slavonian grebe with well-grown youngster

Our local pair of Slavonian Grebes have usually departed for the coast by late July, but fortunately for us, having had a (very rare) second brood this year, they hung around well into the month, and it was great to see all 3 chicks from both broods growing well and fishing independently..

Family of Red-Throated Divers

Black-Throated Diver

Still on the lochs, as I reported previously, Red-Throated Diver bred successfully locally this summer, and although sightings reduced a little and became less predictable as the juveniles became more mobile, we still saw them, and the sadly, less successful Black-Throated Divers reasonably regularly until late in the month...





Our local Goldeneyes seem to have no problems breeding in this area, the only place in the UK where they do so, and it was good to see them still in large family groups all fishing together throughout the month..

Dipper

On the local rivers, sightings of Dippers were a little 'random', as the adults presumably show the youngsters around their territory, so I would recommend familiarizing yourself with their distinctive 'zit zit' calls to give you more chance of spotting them...

Common Buzzard

Peregrine Falcon

Red Kite

Female Sparrowhawk

Birds of prey are always popular with my safari clients, and visits to favourite local glens and moors produced regular sightings of Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard,  Red Kite and Peregrine Falcon, often in family groups,  with just a couple of views of Golden Eagle and a solitary one of Goshawk and Hen Harrier...


Other good birds seen locally this month included: 

Juvenile Spotted Flycatcher

Mistle Thrush

Goosander family

Spotted Flycatcher, Wheatear, Goosander and Honey Buzzard.....

Caledonian pine forest

August 2019 mammal sightings in more detail:

With bird sightings 'slowing down' a little, mammal sightings  always become more important at this time of year, and we are fortunate to have such a good selection to go for in this area....

Red Deer stags

A frequent winner of my safari clients 'mammal of the day' award is the iconic Red Deer, and although they can be seen in more places all round the UK these days, it is still great to see them in their 'proper' home environment of upland glens and mountainsides....and although they are mainly still in their large same-sex groups at the moment, that will be sure to change in a few weeks time....

Feral Mountain Goats

Still up in the glens,we also have feral Mountain Goats, interesting animals that come in a wide variety of colours from white, through grey and brown to black, or any combination of some or all of these colours, and many of my safari clients saw them in the wild for the first time whilst out on safari with me...

Roe Deer buck

Roe Deer are actually fairly common throughout most of the UK, but due to their crepuscular nature, most of my safari clients rarely see them, and they are easily disturbed by human noise and activity...but July and August is their 'rutting' time, and early starts, and quiet drives and walks round secluded areas gave us a few decent views this month..

Red Squirrel

We are fortunate to have Red Squirrels in our local forests, a species sadly absent from most of the UK now, due largely to invasion by the introduced Grey Squirrel (and the Squirrel pox virus they carry), so they are always popular with my safari clients - often getting voted as 'mammal of the day', and forest walks and visits to my favourite Caledonian pine forest feeding stations produced lots of good sightings, often with decent photographic opportunities...though we did have a couple of days when none showed at all...

Being largely nocturnal, and with their summer coat perfectly matching their upland surroundings,  Mountain Hares can prove very difficult to see in the summer months, and we only managed a couple of brief views...with no decent photo opportunities...

Brown Hare

Thankfully, our local Brown Hares were a little more obliging, especially early in the morning, though they rarely stick around once they become aware of us watching them...



Other wildlife:

Scotch Argus

Pearl-Bordered Fritillary

Small Tortoiseshell

Butterflies showed reasonably well, on the few still, warm and sunny days at least!, with the more common species regularly being joined by our 'local speciality' the much sought-after Scotch Argus ......





Summary:

So, although maybe not a favourite month for the hard-core birder or 'twitcher' to visit, August in the Cairngorms National Park would still appear to have quite a lot to offer the more casual  beginner or 'improver' nature-watcher or those with a young family looking for a less intense or 'taster' wildlife safari experience, with no need for an early start, in arguably, one of the more scenic months of the year....

The purple heather at it's best

I know a lot of visitors to this area very wisely check out reviews of attractions at tripadvisor before 'taking the plunge' and booking - if you wish, you can check out my clients comments at the link below....

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186537-d3335134-Reviews-Highland_Wildlife_Birdwatch_Safaris-Aviemore_Aviemore_and_the_Cairngorms_Scottish.html

Grass of Parnassus flower by Mark Keighley

If you think you know someone who may enjoy a taste of what I do, why not treat them to a safari gift certificate? They make a thoughtful and imaginative present, are available for any amount and are valid at any time within a year from date of purchase....