Highland Wildlife & Birdwatch Safaris

September 2019 saw summer turn to autumn in this area, but with no snow yet and a mixture of sun and rain , and thankfully no real extremes of bad weather apart from a couple of very windy days courtesy of Storm Dorian, it was a decent month in the Cairngorms National park.
Temperatures are considerably cooler at dawn and dusk now though and the first frosts are surely not too far away...
The regular rainfall has helped the rivers to maintain their normal levels for autumn, which is good news for the Atlantic Salmon on their way to the spawning grounds in the upper reaches.
The days are shortening noticeably now, with only around 12 hours (7am-7pm) of usable daylight , but by way of consolation, the heather is still a lovely purple in places, many trees are full of colourful berries, and the leaves and ferns are now in their attractive autumnal hues.....
I was away on holiday 'recharging my batteries', and in southern England visiting relatives and friends for a good part of the month, so my report will be shorter than usual, and will contain some typical general observations and pictures from previous Septembers.....
With just about all the summer visiting bird species gone by mid-month, and the winter visiting bird species only just arriving, full-day local safari bird lists dropped down to their lowest levels of the year (in the 30's), though this could be upped considerably by a trip to the nearby Moray coast, whilst mammal day lists varied between 3 and 7 species, depending on the time of our start and the number of different habitats visited, with early starts usually proving to be more fruitful...

Early autumn in a beautiful local upland glen

To give you an idea of what you may realistically hope to see if you are planning a future September 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 September's will help...clicking on the picture enlarges it to full-screen.

Wildlife highlights included:

Local speciality/upland bird species seen regularly during the month included: Osprey (first week only), Dipper, Red Grouse, Goosander and Goldeneye, we also had a couple of good sightings of Golden Eagle and a few fleeting glimpses of Crested Tit and Crossbill.....
Ptarmigan and Snow Bunting were both reported on local mountain tops, though suitable days and opportunities were rare, and I did not venture up myself this month.
Sadly, Black Grouse and Capercaillie were not seen at all this month, though this is not unusual away from late winter/springtime....

Mammal species seen regularly included: Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe Deer, Mountain Goat , Brown Hare and Rabbit......with just one brief glimpse each  of  Weasel and Bank Vole...



September 2019 bird sightings in more detail:

Osprey with fish

A few of our local juvenile Ospreys lingered around their now redundant nest sites and local lochs and rivers for the first week of the month, giving us our last chance to admire these attractive and impressive raptors and their fishing skills, until they return in the spring. It always amazes me to think that these young birds will attempt to undertake a 5,000 odd mile migration unassisted by their parents at the age of around 3 months!!

Female Red Grouse

The Red Grouse on our local upland moors,  still in large family groups, continued to entertain my safari clients, and with seemingly little or no shooting going on in this area this autumn, they were actually easier than usual to see... long may it continue.....

Dipper

Dipper sightings were still a little 'random' early on this month, as the birds seemed to range wide and far, but later in the month we witnessed some more 'territorial' behaviour (loud singing and aggressive posturing) near to some of their favourite nesting bridges....



Goldeneyes only breed in the UK in northern Scotland, and their numbers have increased greatly in recent years, mainly due to the RSPB providing nest boxes on trees around many local lochs, and we again got to see many large families of these very attractive little ducks this month...though it should be noticed that the males are still in their brown-grey 'eclipse' plumage which is very similar to that of the females and youngsters...

Crested Tit

Crested Tit is always high on my safari clients 'wish-lists', with it being a UK rarity and Speyside speciality, but it can be a difficult bird to see in spring and summer,  and although they are now mainly to be found in mixed flocks roaming around the Caledonian pine forests, we also managed to get  a few decent views of them at my favourite feeding stations, especially soon after first light on the colder mornings later in the month...and they should get a little easier to see in the coming weeks...

Still in the forests, despite my best efforts, Crossbills sightings were ( yet 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 parts of the forests...so sadly, there were no photo opportunities this month...

Soaring Golden Eagle

Golden Eagles are more commonly seen on my safaris during the shorter days of  autumn and winter, when they have less hours of daylight in which to hunt, and all of the family are active,  but we actually had a pretty good 'strike-rate' on the few safaris I did provide this month, with a favourite upland glen giving us decent sightings on a number of occasions.

Red Kite

Common Buzzard

Kestrel

In fact, raptors in general seemed to be pretty active , with us seeing Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel regularly ...with one bonus sighting of a Goshawk too...

Wheatear

Golden Plover

Golden Pheasant

Lady Amherst's Pheasant

Other good birds seen or reported locally this month included: Wheatear (early in the month), Golden Plover,  Golden Pheasant, Lady Amherst's Pheasant , Marsh Harrier, a very late Ring Ouzel,  some very early Pink-Footed Geese , Barnacle Geese, Redwings and Fieldfares....

Birders prepared to travel away from Speyside a little this month, especially to reserves on the Moray or Aberdeenshire coasts would have noticed plenty of incoming waders and wildfowl and a good influx of 'grey' Geese from mid-month... and the first Whooper Swans later in the month...and a little further north  there were a number of reports of Yellow-Browed Warblers....

A local Caledonian pine forest

September 2019 mammal sightings in more detail:

Red Squirrel

As I mentioned last month, with the summer visiting local speciality birds departing this area, mammals become more of a focus on my safaris, and we were fortunate to see a good variety again this month. The  'mammal of the day' award was invariably won by the cute and ever popular Red Squirrel - with many of my safari clients , especially those from outside of Europe seeing these very characterful and attractive 'Highland speciality' animals for the first time..

Red Deer

The end of September usually sees the start of the Red Deer rut, with the stags beginning to 'check-out' and assemble their 'harems' of hinds, sharpen up the tips of their antlers on rocks and trees, and partake in a little light 'sparring' with likely rivals, often accompanied by a tremendous 'roaring', which echoes round the glens... a marvelously atmospheric spectacle....

Still up in the glens, our Mountain Hares, though still in their browny-grey summer coats are gradually turning whiter from their feet upwards as autumn progresses, in preparation for the snow to come, though actual sightings of them were not as frequent, or as good as I would have liked... but that is not unusual outside of the winter months..

Feral Mountain Goats

Our local Feral Mountain Goats however, were a little more obliging...with plenty of decent views of large family groups being enjoyed..with many of my safari clients seeing them for the first time...

Young Roe Deer

Although not as physically impressive as their larger Red cousins, Roe Deer are probably more often described as cute - like Bambi even, but they always prove popular with my safari clients, and we were fortunate enough to see them on several occasions this month, especially soon after dawn, or in remote, quiet areas...

The River Spey

Summary:

Similarly to August, although in all honesty it's probably not the best month for the hard-core birder or 'twitcher' to visit, September in the Cairngorms National Park would still appear to have plenty to offer the more casual or beginner nature-watcher or those looking for a less intense or 'taster' wildlife safari experience, with the chance of a migrating 'rarity' turning up, less tourists around and no early starts needed, in arguably, one of the most colourfully scenic months of the year....

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

A moody looking local upland moor

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....