August 2022
August 2022 started very warm and summery in this area, but ended with a slightly autumnal feel about it, with average temperatures down on last month and a lot less sun, and though it was generally dry, it was often very cloudy, occasionally showery, and a little breezy at times, so a layered approach to clothing and a waterproof/windproof cagoule on stand-by is recommended..
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 5am and dusk at around 9pm...
With many of our summer visiting bird species departing here for their wintering areas from mid 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 included a visit to the Moray coast.
Mammal day lists varied between 3 and 7 species, with earlier starts generally proving more successful, especially for the shyer, more crepuscular species.
August is often a good month for Butterflies, dragonflies and day-flying moths in this area - weather permitting - and a good variety of species were seen on the calmer, sunnier days, though sightings tailed-off noticeably later in the month...
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, the wild Blaeberries ripe for picking, and the Rowan trees now fully laden with bright red or orange berries.
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| A nice reflection at a picturesque local loch |
To give you an idea of what you may realistically hope to see if you are considering a future August visit, I hope the following more detailed information, illustrated with photos taken at sites in and around the Cairngorms National Park, and sometimes further afield, 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 during the month included:
Osprey, Red Grouse, and Goldeneye, and they are definitely the most reliable local speciality species in August...
Red-Throated Diver and Black-throated Diver were both seen a few times, though sightings tailed-off late in the month ....
Crested Tit and Crossbill sightings were a bit random and infrequent...
Dippers proved frustratingly elusive this month, with just a few brief views...
Golden Eagle sightings increased a little, with 4 sightings this month...though we only managed one view of White-Tailed Eagle....
Sadly, but not unusually, we failed to see Capercaillie or Black Grouse at all this month....
Mammal species seen regularly included:
Red Squirrel, Roe Deer, Reindeer, Red Deer, Rabbit, Brown Hare, and feral Mountain Goat, with just one brief glimpse of a Bank Vole....and typically, we failed to see a Mountain Hare this month...
August 2022 bird sightings in more detail
On the lochs...
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| A local loch |
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| Juvenile Ospreys |
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| Young Osprey |
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| Flying Osprey |
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| Adult Osprey posing beautifully |
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| Young Osprey with a Pike |
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| Adult Osprey |
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| Osprey fish delivery by Manda Simmons |
Osprey would probably take the crown as 'bird of the month' as voted by my safari clients this month, understandable I guess when you consider that these impressively large and attractive looking 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 about the 25th, the now fully independent youngsters could occasionally be seen near the nest site right up to the end of the month, though they too will soon depart for warmer climes, so I am making the most of every sighting now...
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| Slavonian Grebe |
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| Slavonian Grebe by Manda Simmons |
Our small numbers of the very rare Slavonian (Horned) Grebes have usually departed for the coast by late July, but having had their first brood predated, they attempted to nest and raise a second brood, but unfortunately, and rather cruelly, the newly hatched chicks succumbed to a night of unseasonably hard rain and cold temperatures, a sad end for months of effort by the parent birds.....
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| Goldeneyes (photo from August 2020) |
Our local Goldeneyes seem to have no problems breeding in this area though, the only place in the UK where they do so, and it was good to see them still in family groups on local lochs and rivers, all fishing together throughout the month, though a decent photo escaped me....
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| Black-Throated Diver family |
Still on the lochs, as I reported previously, Black-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 reasonably regularly until mid-month, when they presumably departed for the coast, where they will stay until next spring....
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| Red-Throated Diver |
Our local Red-Throated Divers were seen occasionally too until mid-month, though sadly, I cannot confirm any local breeding success, and they too now appear to have departed for the coast.....
Up on the moors....
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| Purple heather on a local upland moorland |
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| Adult female Red Grouse with a youngster |
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| Female Red Grouse in the purple heather |
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| Young Red Grouse by Jimmy Ito |
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 due to the cold, wet spring, 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...
In the Caledonian forests...
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| Early morning light in a local Caledonian forest |
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| 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.......
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| Female Crossbill with a 'streaky juvenile |
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| Male Crossbill |
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 very few photo opportunities this month...
On the rivers...
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| A local river |
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| Dipper |
Sightings of Dippers were a little 'random' this month, 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, as they can be frustratingly elusive outside of breeding season...
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| Goosander family |
Family groups of Goosanders were encountered reasonably frequently, though they are always very wary of humans, and don't usually stick around for too long....
Up in the glens...
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| A local upland glen |
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| Common Buzzard |
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| Red Kite |
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| Golden Eagle (photo from August 2018) |
Birds of prey are always popular with my safari clients, and sightings definitely increased this month, with visits to favourite local glens and moors producing regular encounters with Kestrel, Common Buzzard, Red Kite, Sparrowhawk and Peregrine Falcon, often in family groups, and pleasingly, we also managed a handful of views of Golden Eagle, and one sighting of a White-Tailed Eagle....
Up in the mountains....
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| Above the clouds on Cairngorm Mountain |
Being really busy with safaris, I didn't have time to take a walk up to the mountain tops this month, but I'm not sure I missed much, as it would appear that Ptarmigan and Dotterel were very elusive, and our Ring Ouzels appear to have already departed...
On farmland....
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| Local farmland |
Sadly, our local farmland is always a little 'quiet' at this time of year, with most of the summer-visiting waders now returned to the coast, bird sightings were restricted to just the odd Lapwing or Oystercatcher....
Other good/scarce birds seen/reported locally this month included:
It appeared to be a pretty quiet month for rare birds in this area, with a Lady Amherst's Pheasant at Strathdearn, a Marsh harrier at Insh Marshes, and a Mandarin Duck at Loch Garten being the only rarity sightings of note.... though we did manage a few sightings of Spotted Flycatcher early in the month, and a couple of random views of Bullfinch....
A few photos of more common birds seen locally this month:
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| Lesser Redpoll |
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| Chaffinches |
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| House Sparrows |
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| Red-Legged Partridges |
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| Meadow Pipit by Manda Simmons |
Adventures 'out of area':
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| Cory's Shearwater |
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| Cory's Shearwater |
Being really busy with safaris, I didn't have many opportunities to venture far this month...though a day on the Black Isle on the 30th produced one really good bird in the shape of a Cory's Shearwater at Chanonry Point.
August 2022 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 lucky to have such a good selection to go for in this area....
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| Red Squirrel by Jimmy Ito |
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| Red Squirrel by Jimmy Ito |
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| Red Squirrel by Jimmy Ito |
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| Red Squirrel by Jimmy Ito |
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 few days when none showed at all...
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| Red Deer stags |
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| Red Deer hind |
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| Red Deer stag by Bob Smith |
A frequent winner of my safari clients 'mammal of the day' award is the iconic 'monarch of the glen' - the 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....
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| 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 this month...
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| 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..
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 so it proved this month, as I don't recall us getting a single sighting .....
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, so it's rare to get a decent photo opportunity...
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| Carrot time for Murdo |
Hairy Highland Coo's always prove to be popular with my safari clients, especially those who do not have them close to home, so don't be afraid to ask me if you fancy going to see them, and maybe even get to feed and 'pat' them, as I have a couple of great sites....
Rare/nocturnal mammals:
I get a few enquiries about the possibility of seeing Badgers and Pine Marten from my safari clients, many of whom I suspect are unaware that they are actually a largely nocturnal creature, and although we do get the occasional (maybe one or two a year) dawn glimpse of one, you would definitely have a much higher chance of seeing them at a specific dusk Badger/Pine Marten watching hide - Please contact me for more information.
Similarly, our inland Otters too are mainly active during the hours of darkness, and again, although we do get a few early-morning sightings on local lochs and rivers each year, looking for them feeding in a suitably quiet, kelp - filled bay on the coast on a rising tide, but at any time of day, would give you a much better chance.
Whilst we are still on the 'tricky to see stuff', the Scottish Wildcat too, as well as being incredibly rare now, is also generally nocturnal, and the fact that I have had a mere handful of (dawn or dusk) sightings in 18 years of providing wildlife safaris should give you an idea of how difficult they are to see.
Other wildlife:
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary |
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| Scotch Argus |
Alongside a few lingering individuals of the more common species, we seemed to have an 'explosion' of our local speciality butterfly - the Scotch Argus early in the month, when the weather was warm and dry, with some sites having unusually high numbers. It was short-lived however, as the cooler, windier weather later in the month saw them all promptly 'disappear' again....
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| Scabious or Globe Thistle close-up |
News:
All tourism/hospitality/activities in Scotland are open , are now free of restrictions and that I have now completed well over a year of (thankfully!) increasingly busy and extremely enjoyable safaris with clients with no major issues arising.
With all national travel restrictions lifted too, Scotland is officially 'open for business' for visitors from all over the UK, and from abroad.
For those considering a visit, these wildlife/outdoor tourism websites may prove useful:
https://www.gov.scot/collections/coronavirus-covid
NatureScot (outdooraccess-scotland.scot)
Can Nature Help Health? | Nature Prescriptions - YouTube
Scotland, Yours to Enjoy. Responsibly. - YouTube
Cairngorms National Park Authority
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| Early morning at a picturesque local loch |
Summary:
Reviews:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186537-d3335134-Reviews-
Buying my photos:
Prints of any of the photos (taken by myself) shown on this blog, going right back to 2015, reproduced on high quality photographic paper, with a choice of sizes up to A3, and satin pearl or glossy finishes available, can now be purchased from me at very reasonable prices. So if you see an image that might look nice in a frame (provided by yourself) on your wall, please make a note of the year and month of my blog in which it appeared, and email me for more information.
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| Safari gift voucher |
