May 2024
Weather-wise, May 2024 was, thankfully, much more spring-like than April in this area, with temperatures rising , the winds mainly calm, plenty of sunshine and although we did have a few rainy days, we had many more good days than bad , making for pretty much ideal safari conditions, which I was very grateful for, as it's always my busiest and best month for wildlife-watching.
With around 16 hours of usable daylight, and most of our summer visiting birds arrived by mid-month, our local full-day bird species day-lists climbed ever higher, with 50+ species a regular occurrence, and the early starts - when animals are more active - (now 4am or earlier) for the Black Grouse 'leks', also helped us to see up to 7 different mammals in a day too!!
With the 'dawn chorus' still in full swing, the wild flowers in full bloom, and butterflies, bees and other insects on the wing, a day out in the wilds, visiting a huge variety of habitats, in May in this area really could truly be described as a 'whirlwind of wildlife'
A few day-trips further afield to various favourite places, including the Aberdeenshire Coast, the West Coast, and the Moray Coast, gave me my annual 'fix' of seabirds , including Terns, Skuas, sea ducks and Auks including Puffins, and some decent rare birds, and sea mammal sightings.
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| An atmospheric early morning scene in the Cairngorms |
To give you an idea of what you may realistically hope to see if you are considering a future May 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 May's will help....clicking on the picture enlarges it to full-screen.
All photographs of wildlife, especially Schedule 1 and other protected or vulnerable bird species shown on this website were taken legally at long range with powerful zoom lenses, or from my vehicle on public roads, well away from nest sites, and no disturbance was caused to any wildlife...
Local speciality/upland bird species seen regularly during the month included:
Black Grouse (at or soon after dawn only), Red Grouse, Osprey, Ring Ouzel, Slavonian Grebe, Red-Throated Diver, Black-Throated Diver, Goldeneye and Dipper, with a chance of Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher...
We also had a couple of half-decent local sightings of Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle - usually sub-adult birds, though, as is normal for this time of year, they are definitely getting harder to see...
It should be noted that, due to their very secretive and almost silent nature at nesting time , Crested Tits continue to be extremely difficult to see during their breeding season (April-May), and we usually struggle to see them until they fledge their young late in the month....and Crossbill sightings, are usually largely restricted to brief fly-over glimpses...
With the snow largely restricted to the mountain tops by May, that's where you have to go to have a chance of seeing Snow Bunting, Ptarmigan (and from mid-month) Dotterel....please be aware that this would usually take a good part of a day, and a lot of strenuous hill walking to achieve, and would need to be a separate adventure from a 'normal' safari excursion.....
Summer migrant birds continued to flood in throughout the month, with Common Swift, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher , Wood Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, and Whinchat, joining Wheatear, Common Sandpiper, Sand Martin, House Martin, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Redstart, and Tree Pipit, to name just a few....
Mammal species seen regularly included:
Rabbit, Brown Hare (mainly very early in the day) , Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Roe Deer, Reindeer, and feral Mountain Goat, with just a couple of views of Mountain Hare (now a mottled blue-grey), and we also had one brief glimpse each of Weasel and Bank Vole, and unusually in daylight, a Pine Marten at around 06:30am on the 27th....Whilst trips to the coast usually provided both types of Seal.
May 2024 bird sightings in more detail:
On the lochs..
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| A picturesque local loch |
Our local Ospreys continued to entertain and excite my safari clients, often being voted as 'Bird of the day', though it should be noted that, with the female birds spending much of the month deep in their nests incubating eggs with just their heads visible, and later in the month, brooding young, sightings could be a bit frustrating, as we needed a bit of luck to coincide our visit with the male birds being 'at home' or delivering a fish or more nest-building materials.....though we did also see birds fishing local lochs and rivers on a few occasions, and sometimes we even witness a successful 'plunge-dive'!! always a treat....
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| Osprey |
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| Ospreys at their nest |
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| Osprey delivering nest material by Steve Hubbard |
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| Osprey delivering fish by Ron Mitchell - Photo from May 2023 |
Slavonian Grebe, Red-Throated Diver and Black-Throated Diver UK-wise, are only usually found breeding, and in their dapper summer plumage, on suitable secluded lochs in northern Scotland and it's islands, and we are very fortunate to get a handful of nesting pairs locally. Though the Slavonian Grebes can be quite obliging, due to the Divers' general wariness of humans, and in order to avoid disturbing them, most of the views we get of them are through a scope at a fair distance, and any decent ripple on the water makes finding them very difficult to find, but on a few occasions, and with a little persistence, we got lucky and obtained a slightly closer look, without risk of disturbing them, and even managed a few rare photo opportunities....
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| Slavonian (Horned) Grebe |
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| Slavonian (Horned) Grebe by Sue Hubbard |
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| Slavonian (Horned) Grebe by Sue Hubbard |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver - Photo from May 2023 |
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| Black Throated Divers |
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| Black Throated Divers by Steve Hubbard |
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| Black Throated Diver by Steve Hubbard |
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| Black Throated Diver by Sue Hubbard |
The same could be said of our Goldeneye, with this attractive tree-nesting duck (yes, really!!) being a north of Scotland breeding speciality too, and late in the month we often get to see a few females with their ridiculously cute youngsters too... nice!
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| Female Goldeneye |
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| Male Goldeneye |
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| Female Goldeneye with young |
Goosanders too, are a bit of a northern/upland UK speciality, and we managed a few decent sightings this month.
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| Male Goosander |
Up on the moors....
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| A local upland heather moorland |
Black Grouse 'lekking' is surely one of British wildlife's top 10 sights (and sounds), and our local birds continued to 'perform' throughout the month, with up to 8 cock birds seen fighting it out, though usually not quite as vigorously as in April, except for when female birds were seen 'checking out' the lek, though with dawn at around 4 am, and the performance only lasting for around 90 minutes on average, it should be noted that a very early start is needed if you want to see them...and please be aware that we have to view from a respectful distance to avoid disturbance........but with a quality spotting scope, this is still a highly recommended and memorable experience, especially as on a few occasions whilst watching the lek, we can have a supporting cast of hunting raptors, displaying Curlew and Snipe and calling Cuckoo, and up to 5 different mammal species including Mountain Hare , all in the first hour and a half of daylight!!
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| Lekking Black Grouse |
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| Lekking Black Grouse |
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| An unusually close view - from my vehicle! - of a male Black Grouse |
Please note though, that by the end of May the Black Grouse lekking season is usually over, with the birds seemingly losing interest, numbers at the lek decreasing, and them then generally 'disappearing' until the winter....
Please be aware that Black Grouse lek sites are very rare and precious and can easily be ruined by selfish behaviour, disturbance and encroachment - we have lost 2 previously well-established sites locally due to poor human behaviour in recent years - And I was shocked to arrive at one site at dawn in mid-April - where we view safely from several hundred metres away - to find a 'photographer' literally standing on the lekking area, having spooked the birds away!! Unbelievable!! I took photos of the 'intruder; and his vehicle, and reported the incident to the Police Wildlife Crime Officers, and they are dealing with the culprit.... but lets hope this incident hasn't ruined the lek, and did not prevent breeding taking place this year, as the females only visit the lek for mating for a few days each spring.
Also on our local upland heather moorlands, the much more common and 'birder-friendly' Red Grouse continued to show well, with some cock birds even still displaying and calling whilst defending their territory and nesting female, their guttural 'go bak go bak' calls echoing across the moor, and from mid-month we began to see the hen birds with their newly fledged families of very cute fluffy youngsters...
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| Male Red Grouse |
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| Male Red Grouse by Sue Hubbard |
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| Female Red Grouse by Jan Shields |
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| Red Grouse chick by Jan Shields |
Still on the moorlands, we occasionally see birds of prey taking advantage of the abundant prey items to be found there, with Merlin, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Red Kite and Golden Eagle all sighted at least once....
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| Golden Eagle |
In the Caledonian pine forests...
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| A local Caledonian pine forest |
Crested Tit sightings are usually very difficult to obtain in May, with the birds nesting very secretively, rarely visiting feeders, and only occasionally heard singing or calling. To give you an example, one May we spoke to a party of birders who had spent 10 hours one day, walking round several local pine forests without a hint of a sighting...though with a lot of persistence, we can sometimes manage a glimpse, though you really do need to be familiar with their distinctive calls and song...
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| Crested Tit by Paul Hodgson - Photo from May 2022 |
As I have mentioned previously, it is well worth noting that the colder winter months (October-Feb), when they regularly visit feeding stations, are actually the best time of year for seeing the 'wee Cresties', as these characterful little birds can be frustratingly secretive, unobtrusive and almost silent during the breeding season, with sightings being much more difficult to obtain between March and September....
Continuing the forest theme, Crossbills are all too often the cause of much frustration on my safaris, with me regularly hearing their distinctive 'jip' jip' jip' calls overhead, and my safari clients getting just a brief glimpse of the birds flying away, usually never to be seen again! But occasionally they can actually be more obliging, with us getting some good views, sometimes even through the scope, of family parties feeding together on pine cone seeds, giving us the chance to admire the brick-red males, greeny-yellow females and streaky youngsters, Photographic opportunities are usually a rare occurrence though...
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| Female Crossbill |
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| Male Crossbill |
As is usual, sadly, we failed to manage any sightings of Capercaillie this month......
Please note that Capercaillie numbers would still appear to be alarmingly low, they are now very rare and elusive, possibly on the brink of extinction, and I would only rate our chances of seeing one on my safaris as "very slim" at best, and we are now requested not to go in search of them, for fear of disturbing them.....and please be aware that Police Scotland and the Cairngorms National Park Authority Rangers patrol 'known' Capercaillie areas for the first few hours of light throughout April and May in an attempt to dissuade anyone from entering the forest and potentially disturbing the birds during lekking season.....with prosecution an option if you fail to heed their 'advice'....you have been warned....
https://cairngormscapercaillie.scot/lek-it-be/
In the birch woods:
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| A local birch wood |
Although Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher are more usually found in the ancient Atlantic oak woods on the west coast of the UK, we are usually fortunate to get a few in our local birch woods from May-August, and with a bit of persistence, and by using our ears to follow their distinctive calls and songs, we managed to get some decent views and even a few photos this month. We also get decent numbers of the slightly more common, but still very attractive Spotted Flycatcher , Tree Pipit, and Common Redstart too...
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Female Pied Flycatcher |
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| Male Pied Flycatcher |
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| Wood Warbler - Photo from May 2019 |
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| Wood Warbler - Photo from May 2020 |
On the rivers...
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| The local River Spey |
Dippers always prove to be popular with my safari clients, being absent from large parts of the central, eastern and southern UK, many struggle to see them, but we are fortunate to have healthy populations in this area. Most of our sightings recently, were of males collecting and delivering food for the females in the nest, but from mid-month, we got to see the first newly-fledged, pale looking youngsters being fed by both parents.
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| Young Dipper |
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| Dipper by Steve Hubbard |
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| Dipper by Sue Hubbard |
Common Sandpipers and Grey Wagtails can also be seen on our local rivers in spring and summer...
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Common Sandpiper |
Up in the glens...
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| A local upland glen |
Bird of prey sightings usually become less frequent during the longer days of spring and early summer, with many of the adult female birds now nesting, often with the adult males in close attendance, and many more hours of daylight available for hunting, and that proved to be the case this month. However, we still managed reasonably regular sightings of Osprey , Common Buzzard , Red Kite, Peregrine, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk, and there is always a chance of Goshawk, Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle, and maybe even a Merlin ......
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| Kestrel - Photo from May 2021 |
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| Common Buzzard |
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| Red Kite |
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| Sub-adult Golden Eagle |
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| White Tailed Eagle - Photo from May 2022 |
Up in the mountains....
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| The view from the summit of Cairngorm Mountain |
Although I did not walk up to the the summit area myself this month - the Cairngorm Funicular railway is still out of action and the ATV not running - fellow birders who made the effort, sadly, usually reported struggling to find the target species - Snow Bunting Ptarmigan and Dotterel - which is a little worrying...so I have included a few photos from previous May visits...
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| Snow Bunting - Photo from May 2023 |
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| Male and female Ptarmigan - Photo from May 2018 |
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| Male Dotterel - Photo from May 2023 |
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| Female Dotterel - Photo from May 2023 |
I am planning to have a couple of walks up myself in June, hopefully with better luck... so watch this space...
Please be aware though, that several miles of strenuous hill-walking on steep gradients is required, so a good level of physical fitness is needed, and some basic survival/navigation skills preferable, as well as suitably friendly weather,
At slightly lower levels, but generally still above 1,500ft/450m, Ring Ouzels can sometimes be seen in their upland and mountainside habitat, especially early in the day, though when compared to April, they now become a little harder to find, as most will no longer be singing or calling, and sightings are mainly restricted to male birds collecting beakfuls of worms, as the females will presumably mostly be still on nests.....
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| Male Ring Ouzel |
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| Male Ring Ouzel |
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| Male Ring Ouzel |
On farmland...
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| Typical local farmland |
Lots of waders have now returned to their spring/summer breeding grounds on local farmland, with Oystercatcher, Lapwing, and a few Curlew all being noted.....
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| Lapwing |
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| Oystercatcher by Jan Shields |
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| Curlew |
A few more newly-arrived summer visiting migrant birds:
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| Cuckoo |
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| Wheatear |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Barn Swallow |
Other good/scarce birds seen/reported locally this month included:
A few Grasshopper Warblers from various locations, a Yellow Wagtail at Insh marshes on the 3rd, a Rough-Legged Buzzard at Dava Moor on the 8th, a Great white Egret at Loch Insh, on the 10th, 7 Snow Geese and a few late Pink-Footed Geese at Boat of Garten Flood mid-month, a Hobby over Dava Moor on the 25th, a Bee-Eater at Tulloch Moor on the 26th, a Lesser Whitethroat at Dalraddy on the 27th.....
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| Snow Geese by Bob Smith |
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| Grey Partridge (rare locally) |
A few photos of more common birds seen locally this month:
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Red Legged Partridge |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Male Stonechat |
Adventures 'out of area':
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| Burghead Harbour on the Moray Coast |
The Moray coast is only about a one hour drive north of Aviemore, and trips to favourite reserves, sea cliffs, lochs, bays and harbours gave good views of birds such as Razorbill, Common Guillemot, Black Guillemot, Fulmar, Kittiwake, Gannet, Greylag Geese, Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, Black-Tailed Godwit, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Golden Plover , Grey Plover , Ringed Plover, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Curlew, Common Scoter, Eiders, and Red-Throated and Great Northern Divers, with the chance of rare/scarce birds such as White-Billed Diver, Tree Sparrow , Grey Partridge, and rare gulls.....
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| Common Scoters |
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| Common Tern |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Razorbills by Bob Smith |
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| Black Guillemots by Bob Smith |
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| Common Guillemots by Bob Smith |
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| Shag by Bob Smith |
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| Kittiwake by Bob Smith |
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| Fulmar by Bob Smith |
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| Female Eider by Bob Smith |
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| Male Eider by Bob Smith |
The freshwater lochs and nature reserves just inland from the Moray Coast can be productive too....
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| Loch Spynie |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Goosanders |
May 2024 mammal sightings in more detail:
Red Squirrels can be surprisingly elusive, but a walk or slow drive through Caledonian forest always give you a chance, and we did manage a few 'random' sightings this month, though perhaps unsurprisingly, feeding stations still tend to be a 'hotspot'....
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Red Squirrel |
Red Deer are most commonly encountered up in the hills and glens, but during late May it is not uncommon to see the hinds (females) assemble in rough fields with long grassy tussocks, in preparation for giving birth soon. Here, the new-born youngsters can be hidden, making them much less likely to fall prey to patrolling Eagles, who tend to stick to higher altitudes.
We also saw several large herds of stags, most 'in velvet', with their new antlers growing rapidly.
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| Red Deer by Jan Shields |
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| Red Deer - Photo from May 2023 |
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| Red Deer Stag - Photo from May 2023 |
Feral Mountain Goats too, can often be seen in my favourite upland glens, often in large extended family groups, and always prove to be popular with my safari clients, as, being largely a remnant of the 'crofting' communities, they are not found in many places in the UK...
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| Feral Mountain Goats |
Mountain Hare sightings tend to be few and far between in the spring and summer months, and true to form, we only managed a couple of brief glimpses .......
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| Mountain Hares - Photo from May 2021 |
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| Mountain Hare |
Roe Deer can be encountered just about anywhere, except for the high tops, but being very wary, nervous animals, they are usually quite 'crepuscular' in their behaviour, but we saw plenty whilst out on our early morning adventures...
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| Roe Deer Buck |
Brown Hares too can be a bit elusive away from dawn and dusk, and tend to 'spook' easily, so, as usual, most of our sightings this month, were during the first couple of hours of daylight..
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| Brown Hare |
Reindeer were reintroduced to Cairngorm Mountain in the 1950's, and as most of them are 'free-roaming', we sometimes get to see them on our travels....
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| Reindeer |
As I mentioned earlier, both types of seal can be seen at the nearby Moray coast and Aberdeenshire Coast at a number of well known 'haul-out' sites. Please give them plenty of space though, and avoid disturbing them....
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| Seals |
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....
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| Murdo The Magnificent, and Buster the friendly sheep |
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| Carrot time for Murdo |
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 over 20 years of providing wildlife safaris should give you an idea of how difficult they are to see.
Marine mammals:
The Moray coast is pretty reliable for sightings of Seals of both types, with a decent chance of Harbour Porpoise and Dolphins, and, even a slim chance of Whales....
Other wildlife:
The sunnier, warmer days saw more species of butterfly join the early flyers, with Red Admiral , Orange Tip, Meadow Brown, Small White, and Speckled Wood all noted...there are also lots more Bees around now, taking advantage of the abundance of wild flowers coming into bloom....we also see lots of Bats feasting on insects at dawn/dusk, and in the forests the Wood Ants nests are now becoming more active.....
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| Small White |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Wood Ant nest |
News:
I am very pleased to announce that Highland Wildlife & Birdwatch Safaris has been awarded - for the second consecutive year - a Travelers Choice accreditation from Trip Advisor, for being ranked in the top 10% of visitor attractions worldwide based on customer reviews and feedback.
This achievement would not have been possible without the support of all my family, friends, safari clients, social media followers, regular blog readers , the Visit Scotland 'mystery shoppers', and everyone else who has helped and encouraged me along the way to ‘living my dream’ of being a wildlife safari guide, since 2004, especially over the last few very difficult COVID affected years, so a big THANK YOU to you all :)
We have also recently (late January) upgraded our safari vehicle to a slightly newer Land Rover Discovery5 HSE LUX 7-seater, and this one has, along with excellent off-road and all-weather ability. 7 heated seats, and all the usual luxuries such as rear-seat entertainment DVD screens, a panoramic sunroof, and height-adjustable air suspension, and it is also more spacious and 'greener' than my previous versions with (ULEZ compliant) ultra-low emissions and improved fuel economy....
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| My new(er) safari vehicle on it's 'debut' outing in February |
All tourism/hospitality/activities in Scotland are open , are free of restrictions and I have now completed well over two years 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:
June - September is midge season - But thankfully, this area is not usually affected too badly - This link explains why:
Bumper midge hatch alert after warm spell - BBC News
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
www.scotlandbigpicture.com
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| Bluebells |
COVID-19
The Scottish Highlands, being very sparsely populated, 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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| An early Orchid |
Summary:
Wow! Similarly to previous years, what a marvelous May that was! It feels like the saying "tired but happy" could have been invented especially for me this month, as it seems to have flashed by in a whirlwind of pre-3am alarms, spectacular sunrises, picturesque backdrops and memorable wildlife sightings!
After all those early starts, epic adventures and long days, I think it is definitely fair to say that I am feeling a little mentally and physically tired... but also very happy that by being out almost every day, I definitely feel that we managed to really make the most of my favourite month of the year!
As well as being a very busy month for safaris (a big thank you to all my clients!) in mostly decent weather, now I have finally had time to sit back and reflect, whilst putting together this report, I reckon that it will definitely rate as one of my most memorable too... for the sheer enjoyment of being in such a beautiful part of the world, at (in my opinion) the best time of year, in majestic , incredibly varied, and largely unspoilt scenery, sharing special wildlife sightings with fellow wildlife enthusiasts from around the globe... as far as 'job satisfaction' goes, I may never be a rich man, but this'll do very nicely for me, thank you!
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| A wild flower meadow |
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 well over 300 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
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 and are valid for a whole year from date of purchase........
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