November 2022
November 2022 similarly to last year, was generally much milder than average in this area, though with mainly south-westerly winds bringing a succession of Atlantic lows our way, the weather was frequently rainy and often a bit breezy, with unusually, hardly a frost or any snow..... until the final third of the month, when winter finally arrived, with our first frosts and proper covering of the white stuff on the mountain tops...
The unseasonably mild weather meant that many trees have retained their colourful autumn leaves, though the local berry stocks are now looking severely depleted after a month of attention from the winter thrushes.
Though the days are shortening noticeably now, with only around 8-9 hours of usable daylight (7am-4pm approx), a further influx of winter-visiting birds from further north, helped to boost local full-day bird day-lists into the 30's , or more if you include a trip to the nearby Moray coast, whilst mammal day-lists varied between 3 and 6 species, depending on the time of our start, and variety of habitats visited, with early starts usually proving to be more productive.
The raised water levels in the rivers caused by the autumn rains meant that the Atlantic Salmon were able to reach the spawning grounds and they provided great entertainment for the first half of the month.
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| A picturesque autumn scene in the Spey Valley |
To give you an idea of what you may realistically hope to see if you are considering a future November 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 November's will help....clicking on the picture enlarges it to full-screen.
Local speciality/upland bird species seen regularly during the month included:
Crested Tit, Red Grouse, Dipper, Golden Eagle, and White-Tailed Eagle.
Black Grouse were occasionally seen at or soon after dawn at traditional lek sites, though they were a little unreliable, but sadly, Crossbills were frustratingly elusive again, and (not unusually) we failed to see any Capercaillie...
Mammal species seen regularly included:
Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Roe Deer, Mountain Goat, Rabbit , with just a couple of sightings of (now mostly white) Mountain Hare..... a few early morning sightings of Brown Hare, a couple of brief glimpses of Bank Vole, and we also enjoyed great close-up views of Atlantic Salmon spawning in the upper reaches of our local rivers...
November 2022 bird sightings in more detail:
Up in the glens...
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| A favourite local upland glen |
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| Young White-Tailed Eagle |
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| White-Tailed Eagle - Photo from Nov 2017 |
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| Young Golden Eagle |
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| Golden Eagle by Steve Nicklin - Photo from Nov 2020 |
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| Young Golden Eagle by James Ball - Photo from Nov 2018 |
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| Golden Eagle by Jon Worthington |
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| Golden Eagle by Jon Worthington |
As I have mentioned in previous years, and with no apologies for repeating myself... November is in my opinion, THE month for raptor sightings in this area, and so it proved again this year, with my favourite local upland glens and moors providing my safari clients and I with pleasingly regular sightings, and even the odd (very rare) photo opportunity, of the iconic and much coveted Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle, with these huge, awesome and majestic 'Kings of the skies' providing great entertainment, numerous memorable 'life-ticks' for my safari clients, and putting big smiles on many faces....
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| Merlin by James Ball - Photo from Nov 2017 |
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| Kestrel by Jon Worthington |
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| Peregrine Falcon by Jon Worthington |
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| Goshawk by Jon Worthington |
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| Common Buzzard by Jon Worthington |
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| Red Kite by Rob Ellett - Photo from Nov 2019 |
Should the Eagles fail to show, the regular 'raptor back-up cast' of Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Buzzard , Red Kite, and the chance of even the occasional Merlin, Hen Harrier and Goshawk often provide good entertainment by way of consolation though....
Up on the moors....
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| A local upland heather moorland |
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| Female Red Grouse |
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| Male Red Grouse |
Red Grouse, being birds of very specific upland heather moorland habitat, are absent from much of the UK these days . Thankfully though, we have no shortage of them in this area, and sightings were pretty reliable. It was interesting to note that a few of the cock birds (identifiable by their darker plumage and red 'eyebrows') are already starting to get a bit more 'showy' and aggressive, with a few seen seemingly staking their claim to prime territory, often while uttering their characteristic cackling "go-bak, go-bak" calls..
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| Displaying Black Grouse by Ron Mitchell |
On the more remote upland moors, Black Grouse are always popular with my safari clients, probably because of their relative rarity, and sadly, declining numbers over much of the UK.
However, we are fortunate to still have decent numbers in Highland Scotland, and our dawn (7:30am approx) visits to their traditional local moorland 'lek' sites produced some good sightings of up to 10 cock birds displaying, though it should be noted that we also had a few mornings when the birds failed to show, and that the period between January and late May is far more reliable...
In the Caledonian forests...
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| Local ancient Caledonian forest |
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| Crested Tit |
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| Crested Tit by Ron Mitchell |
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| Crested Tit by Jon Worthington |
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| Crested Tit extreme close-up by Jon Worthington |
Winter is usually by far the best time of year to see Crested Tits, as the weather turns colder and snowier, with the easy pickings on offer at my Caledonian forest feeding stations, especially soon after dawn, seemingly proving to be very enticing. With only around 1200 birds in the UK, and their distribution very localised, it was a great feeling to show off these true 'Speyside specialities' to my safari clients, especially those who were seeing them for the very first time, however, probably due to the unseasonably mild weather, sightings were not as reliable as usual....
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| Crossbills |
Still in the Caledonian pine forests, rather frustratingly, Crossbills continued to be a bit of a 'bogey-bird', with (yet again) sightings mainly restricted to snatched glimpses of calling birds flying around the tree tops, us only identifying them by their characteristic "jip-jip" calls...with the exception of one group that perched nicely for just a few seconds on the 2nd....
On the rivers...
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| Autumn at a local river |
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper by James Ball - Photo from Nov 2018 |
Our local Dippers are definitely becoming more aggressive now, with much displaying, dawn singing and chasing each other around being witnessed as they presumably seek to establish winter and breeding territories, and it still makes my safari clients and I shiver every time we see them disappear under the icy water in search of food - they sure are hardy little critters!
With a similar UK distribution to Dipper, Goosander can be tricky to see in much of Britain, but we often see family groups of them in this area, though they can be very wary of humans, and I don't recall us having a decent photo opportunity this month....
On the lochs...
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| Loch Garten |
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| Whooper Swans |
With the summer-visiting water birds all gone now, our resident Goldeneyes, are now joined by winter-visiting Whooper Swans and 'grey' Geese, alongside the more common species....
Up in the mountains....
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| Autumn in the Cairngorm Mountains |
The weather was rarely suitable for taking any walks up into the hills this month, so I didn't venture up, but from previous experience, I would expect the Ptarmigan to be in their almost entirely white winter plumage now, which can make them less difficult to spot amongst the rocks, at least until the snow comes, anyway.
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Snow Buntings - Photo from Nov 2019
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With the unseasonably mild weather meaning no snow at low levels, no Snow Buntings were seen at the usually reliable sites, but I would expect this to change soon as winter arrives, as they are often driven down from the mountain tops by the snow and cold, and their numbers are likely to be swelled by visitors from Scandinavia...so I am always sure to have a bag of wild bird seed on board, as they can sometimes be tempted to come and feed at quite close range....
On local farmland:
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| Local farmland |
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| Wild Greylag Geese |
The seeds on local farmland during the autumn and winter months often attract large flocks of mixed finches and buntings, whilst the crop remains prove tempting to Geese and Whooper Swans....and of course, there is always a chance of seeing the resident Pheasants and Red-Legged Partridges....
Winter-visiting birds continued to flood into our area this month:
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| Whooper Swans |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Redwings |
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| Waxwings |
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| Waxwing by Ron Mitchell |
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| Waxwing by Ron Mitchell |
Whooper Swans, Grey Geese (Greylag , Pink-Footed and a few Barnacle and White-Fronted), and winter thrushes, first the Redwings, in particularly good numbers, then the Fieldfares, and some good sized flocks of everyone's favourite, Waxwings were seen in Moray.....but no Bramblings have been reported locally yet...
A few photos of more common birds seen locally this month:
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| Robin |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Male Chaffinch |
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| Long-Tailed Tit |
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| Treecreeper by Ron Mitchell |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Female Blackcap |
Adventures 'out of area': The Moray Coast.
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| Autumn at the Moray Coast |
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| Redshanks and Turnstones |
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| Male Eider |
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| Curlew |
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| Cormorants |
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| Teal and Wigeon |
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| Purple Sandpiper by Steve Nicklin - Photo from Nov 2021 |
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| Long-Tailed Ducks by Bob Smith - Photo from Nov 2021 |
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| Tree Sparrow |
The ruggedly attractive Moray coast is only about an hour drive north of Aviemore, and my trips to favourite reserves, lochs, bays and harbours gave good views of wintering birds such as Greylag Geese, Pink-Footed Geese, Brent Geese, Barnacle Geese, Whooper Swan, Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, Pintail, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Knot, Dunlin, Golden Plover , Grey Plover , Ringed Plover, Purple Sandpiper, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Curlew, Common Scoter, Velvet Scoter, Red-Throated Diver, Long-Tailed Ducks, Eiders, Gannets, a few Guillemots , Black Guillemots, and Razorbills, as well as bonus inland sightings of tricky to see birds such as Tree Sparrow....
November2022 mammal sightings in more detail:
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| Red Deer |
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| Red Deer stags by Ron Mitchell - Photo from Nov 2015 |
Up in the glens, although the annual autumn 'rut' is now over and apparently already forgotten by the participants!, it was still a treat to see the magnificent fully antlered Red Deer stags, seemingly now all friends again and concentrating on feeding and chilling out after the demands of October....
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| Mountain Hare - photo from Nov 2018 |
Still in the uplands, Mountain Hares , being very rare in the UK, and now they are turning 'winter white' are often voted as 'mammal of the day' by my safari clients at this time of year, and although they were pretty elusive this month, we were fortunate enough to see them on a couple of occasions, ...please be aware though, that most of our views are at long distance through a scope, and a fair bit of rough uphill walking may be required for photography purposes
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| Feral Mountain Goat - Photo from Nov 2020 |
Feral Mountain Goats always prove to be popular with my safari clients, and they were seen on most visits to their upland habitat, though they generally kept their distance, so photo opportunities were a bit limited..
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Red Squirrel |
In the Caledonian forests, Red Squirrels always prove to be popular with my safari clients , and who am I to disagree? Being rare in the UK outside of Highland Scotland, attractive, charismatic and cute, they certainly tick a lot of boxes, and thankfully, with a bit of patience, they can usually be relied upon to put in an appearance at feeding stations in the winter months (they love peanuts!)....though we also get the odd random sighting whilst on forest walks too...
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| Roe Deer |
Roe Deer, although much more common UK-wide than Red Deer , can often be overlooked due to their crepuscular nature and nervous disposition... but several were seen, usually at dawn or dusk, but also during the day in less-disturbed places...
Brown Hares, similarly to the Roe Deer, can also be very nervous and 'crepuscular' in nature, and most of our best sightings happen in the first hour of daylight, though sightings were very few and far between this month...
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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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| Spawning Atlantic Salmon by Rob Ellett - Photo from Nov 2019 |
Mid October-early December is usually the time of year to see our Atlantic Salmon spawning.
These remarkable and often very large fish spawn in the shallow waters in the upper reaches of our rivers, at the very spot where they themselves were hatched several years before, having originally spent 2-3 years in the river, then another 2-3 years feeding, growing and maturing out in the mid Atlantic, before undertaking a perilous journey many miles upriver, often involving avoiding poachers, anglers and predators and negotiating high falls and rapids on the way , an amazing migration story! However, sightings are very reliant on the rivers water levels - too little water and the Salmon cannot access the upper reaches - too much water, and they can get there... but we can't see them....fortunately, from the start of the month until around the 15th it all fell into place and we enjoyed some decent views.......
News:
All tourism/hospitality/activities in Scotland are open , are free of restrictions and 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
Highland Wildlife Park
Positive prescriptions | The RSPB
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| Nice autumn colours on a local moorland |
COVID-19
The Scottish Highlands has had very few COVID-19 cases in comparison to most of the UK, and on my safaris we tend to visit remote , wild habitats well away from the more popular tourist areas, and usually have very little interaction with other people, and this is something that I intend to continue.
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| Autumn at a picturesque local loch |
Summary:
Although, sadly, I only had a handful of safari bookings this month (November is always 'quiet'), I still managed to get out wildlife watching with friends or by myself on plenty of occasions, and by cherry-picking the best days weather-wise, some good times were enjoyed, plenty of local speciality wildlife, especially Eagles and other birds of prey, and winter visiting birds seen, and a few decent photos were achieved - perhaps suggesting that it may actually be well worth considering a visit at this time of year....
Reviews:
I know a lot of visitors to this area very wisely check out reviews of attractions/experiences at Tripadvisor before 'taking the plunge' and booking - We now have over 260 reviews online, so if you wish, you can check out our 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
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.
Gift Certificates:
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Safari gift voucher
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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 as full or part-payment for an excursion, and are valid at any time subject to my availability, with a one year from purchase expiry date.
