June 2024
June 2024 got off to a very strange, and not very 'summery' start weather-wise in this area, with the mainly northerly winds bringing more of an unseasonably wintry feel, overnight frosts, a few light dustings of snow on the mountain tops, and temperatures struggling to hit double figures, though at least the weather was mainly dry...
The second half of the month saw us enjoy more typical weather for June though, with temperatures increasing into the mid-high teens and low twenties, and most days seeing a combination of sunshine and occasional showers, with just the odd cooler day...
With nearly 20 hours of usable daylight and all of our summer visiting bird species on territory, bird day-lists are usually just below the highest in the year now, with full-day (8-10 hours with starts no earlier than 6am needed) multi-habitat safaris regularly producing 40 - 50 species - many with youngsters - and June is definitely 'fledgling month' up here - so if you enjoy seeing baby birds, this is definitely the month to visit!
The combination of of sun and occasional rain this month gave the spectacular highland scenery a lush, green, almost spring-like appearance, and helped keep the rivers topped-up, whilst the wild flowers, especially Orchids, are really starting to bloom now, and a few patches of pink and purple heather began to appear on south-facing banks towards the end of the month.
A few more butterfly and day-flying moth species were noted on the sunnier days, and the Wood Ant nests are now very active...
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| Mountains, moorland, Caledonian forest and a glacial loch |
To give you an idea of what you may realistically hope to see if you are considering a future June 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 June'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:
Osprey, Red Grouse, Slavonian Grebe, Red-Throated Diver, Black-Throated Diver, Goldeneye and Dipper, with a few hard-earned sightings of Ring Ouzel, Pied Flycatcher, Wood Warbler, and Crossbills, just a couple of glimpses of Crested Tits and sadly, but not unusually now, Capercaillie was not seen at all, and , as is normal for this time of year, we only managed a couple of brief distant views of Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle....
Mammal species seen regularly included
Rabbit, Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Roe Deer, Reindeer, and feral Mountain Goat, and we also had a few early-morning sightings of Brown Hare and Mountain Hare
June 2024 bird sightings in more detail:
On the lochs..
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| A picturesque local loch |
Osprey is usually the 'star bird' of the mid-summer months in this area, and that proved to be the case this month, with my safari parties often fortunate enough to see them sat in, on or around their nest, occasionally plunge-diving spectacularly to catch a fish, or delivering a fish on several occasions, and from mid month we started to see the rapidly growing 'downy' youngsters stretching their wings for the first time this year....a marvelous and heart-warming sight!
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey family |
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| Osprey by Steve Nicklin |
Slavonian Grebes, in their beautiful summer plumage, were seen and enjoyed from a safe, legal and respectable distance, on their favoured quiet lochans, the males frequently observed delivering food to the female birds on their nests hidden deep in the sedge beds , and we were delighted to confirm much-needed breeding success for this (UK-wise) rare and threatened species, when we got to see the incredibly cute humbug-striped youngsters early in the month...though as we know from previous years, they are not totally safe from predation yet.....
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| Slavonian (Horned) Grebe family - Photo from June 2021 |
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| Slavonian (Horned) Grebe |
Black-Throated Divers in their strikingly beautiful summer plumage, were seen reasonably regularly on suitable secluded local lochs, though they were not totally reliable, and it should be noted that generally we had our best views on calmer days, with little or no ripple on the water, and usually had the closest encounters early in the day, when human disturbance was it it's lowest...
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| Young Black Throated Divers - Photo from June 2022 |
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| Black Throated Diver |
Red-Throated Divers were seen reasonably regularly on local lochs this month, with early mornings proving to be most fruitful, and although most of the views were through a telescope at long distance, we also got lucky with a couple of closer sightings, where the birds drifted closer...and from mid-month, we were pleased to witness evidence of local breeding success, when we saw a youngster with it's parents....
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| Red Throated Divers |
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| Red Throated Diver |
Goldeneye too are a 'local speciality' breeding bird, with Highland Scotland their only UK breeding area, and our local nest boxes proving popular, we enjoyed good views of families of these very attractive little ducks throughout the month.
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| Female Goldeneye |
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| Young Goldeneye |
Common Sandpipers and Redshanks can be seen around the shorelines of local lochs during spring/summer too....
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Redshank |
Up on the moors....
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| A local upland heather moorland |
Red Grouse were unusually difficult to find in suitable areas of heather moorland this month, not that surprising I suppose, when you consider their impressive camouflage, but if you could be persistent, and eventually spot the heads of the adults popping up like periscopes above the dense heather, waited patiently, and looked carefully, you then usually got to see their brood of very cute, fast-growing youngsters too...
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| Male Red Grouse with well grown chick - Photo from June 2023 |
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| Female Red Grouse |
Cuckoos were seen regularly on local moorlands again this month....often being harassed by Meadow Pipits....
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| Cuckoo |
In the Caledonian pine forests...
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| A local ancient Caledonian pine forest |
Crested Tit (finally!!!) became a little less difficult to see on our Caledonian forest walks, though they could still not be described as 'easy', as the recently-fledged youngsters learned to forage for food with their parents in family groups, but please be aware that they are extremely 'flitty', rarely sitting still for photo opportunities, often only alerting us to their presence in the Caledonian pine forests with their distinctive rippling trills.... and you need to be able to hear and recognise this to have a decent chance....don't worry, I will use the apps on my ipad and mobile phone to train you up!!
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| Crested Tit by Ian Dennis |
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| Crested Tit by Colin Mount - Photo from June 2017 |
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....
The same could definitely be said of Crossbills, usually one of the more tricky species to see well regularly due to their unpredictable 'irruptive' behaviour, but by listening out for their trademark 'jip jip' calls and for falling pine cones....although most of our sighting were still of the frustrating fly-over variety, we actually got lucky and managed decent sightings on a few occasions this month,
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| Female Crossbill |
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| Male Crossbill by Ian Dennis |
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 the spring/summer in an attempt to dissuade anyone from entering the forest and potentially disturbing the birds during lekking/breeding 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 woodland |
Although Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher are more commonly 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 although they are much more difficult to spot now the trees are fully leafed, with a bit of persistence, and by using our ears to follow their distinctive calls and songs, we managed to get a few half-decent views of both species on and off throughout the month, and although I haven't actually seen any fledglings, their behaviour suggested that they are feeding young...
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| Male Pied Flycatcher - Photo from June 2022 |
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| Wood Warbler by Steve Nicklin - Photo from June 2019 |
On the rivers...
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| A local stretch of the River Spey |
Dippers featured reasonably frequently on my safaris this month, although they weren't totally reliable, but our local rivers produced a few decent views of adults with beaks full of food, and the fast-growing families of these characterful and endearing little birds, that always prove to be popular with my clients, many of whom do not have them on or near their local patch, as they are generally restricted to upland areas in the north and west of the UK.
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| Young Dipper begging for food from parent |
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| Dipper |
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| Adult Dipper by Ian Dennis |
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| Young Dipper by Steve Nicklin |
With a UK distribution similar to Dipper, Goosanders too, are a bit of a local speciality, and we were fortunate to see some good sized family groups .....
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| Goosanders |
Common Sandpipers and Grey Wagtails can also be seen on local rivers from April - August....
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Common Sandpiper |
Up in the glens...
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| A spectacular local upland glen |
Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle are iconic 'Scottish' birds which always seems to be on visiting birders 'wish-lists', and we are fortunate to have a number of suitable upland glens nearby, however.... it should be noted that, with most females still with young chicks, and 20+ hours of daylight available for the males and sub-adults to use for hunting, the chances of us just happening to be in the right place at the right time to see them are fairly low during spring and summer (when compared to the autumn/winter months) and generally raptor sightings in this area were pretty hard to come by this month...but we did manage to get a couple of distant views of sub-adult examples of Golden and one of White-Tailed....
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| Golden Eagle |
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| White Tailed Eagle by Steve Nicklin |
Similarly to the Eagles, and for the same reasons, other birds of prey are also less easy to see at this time of year, but we did manage to get views of Osprey, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Goshawk and Red Kite , with a couple of glimpses of Peregrine, and one of a Merlin....
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| Common Buzzard |
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| Red Kite |
Up in the mountains....
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| The Cairngorm Mountains |
June is probably the best month to have a chance of seeing all 3 of our mountain top bird species in one trip - Ptarmigan, Dotterel and Snow Bunting , and although I didn't manage a hike up myself this month- the Cairngorm Funicular railway is STILL out of action - a few birding friends did, but sadly, with very little to show for their efforts....and in my opinion they have all got more difficult to find in recent years.....so I have included a few photos from previous June's to show what may - or maybe what used to be - possible....
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| Female Dotterel by Bob Smith - Photo from June 2016 |
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| Ptarmigan by Malcolm Fincham - Photo from June 2015 |
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| Snow Bunting by Malcolm Fincham - Photo from June 2015 |
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 before human disturbance, though when compared to April and May they are now definitely harder to find, as most are no longer be singing or calling, and sightings are mainly restricted to adult birds collecting beakfuls of worms to take to their newly fledged youngsters.
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| Female Ring Ouzel |
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| Male Ring Ouzel by Steve Nicklin |
On farmland...
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| Typical local farmland |
Plenty of Oystercatcher and Lapwing families were seen, though Curlews seem to be in smaller numbers than in previous years....
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| Lapwing |
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| Curlew |
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| Oystercatcher |
A few summer visiting migrant birds seen locally this month:
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| Barn Swallow |
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| Male Redstart |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| House Martin by Steve Nicklin |
Other good/scarce birds seen/reported locally this month included:
Regular reports of singing Quails throughout the month, a Long-Tailed Skua at a local loch on the 4th, a few Garden Warblers at various locations, a group of 14 feral Snow Geese at several sites locally mid-month, a Lesser Whitethroat at Glenfeshie on the 23rd, and rather unusually this far north, a Nightjar near Duthil late in the month.....
A few photos of more common birds seen locally this month:
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| Female Blackbird |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Male Chaffinch |
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| Blue Tits |
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| Greater Spotted Woodpecker by Ian Dennis |
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| Sky Lark by Steve Nicklin |
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| Male Mallard |
Adventures 'out of area':
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The ruggedly beautiful Moray Coast
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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, Common Tern , Arctic Tern, 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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| Razorbill |
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| Common Guillemots and a Shag |
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| Black Guillemots |
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| Male Eider |
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| Arctic Terns by Steve Nicklin |
June 2024 mammal sightings in more detail:
Red Squirrels often feature on my safari clients 'wish-lists', not surprising I suppose as they are sadly largely absent from most of the UK now, and just happen to be very attractive, entertaining and endearing little animals that can usually (with a little patience) be relied upon to appear at forest feeding stations for a free meal, though we often get more 'natural' random sightings whilst on forest walks and drives too...
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Red Squirrel |
My clients always love to see Red Deer too, with the iconic 'Monarch of the glen' stags being a sought-after sighting, and although they are not at their magnificent best as they are still growing new antlers at this time of year, they still proved popular, as did the large groups of hinds gathered in their favourite birthing areas, with the first new-born youngsters....
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| Red Deer Stags |
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| Red Deer hinds with a youngster |
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| Red Deer Stags |
Feral Mountain Goats are rare across much of the UK, being a living remnant from the crofting age, and largely confined to remote upland areas, but we managed to see them on several times this month, with this year's young now almost as big as their parents..
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| Feral Mountain Goats |
Roe Deer are actually reasonably common across much of the UK, but their nervous, wary, crepuscular nature, means that they are rarely seen well, unless you are out and about early or late in the day....
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| Roe Deer family |
Brown Hare sightings were a little less frequent this month, probably because we were not out and about quite as early as in April and May, but we still managed a few decent views in quieter locations...
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| Brown Hares |
The few Mountain Hare sightings we managed too, were largely restricted to early mornings, and it doesn't help that their mottled blue-grey, brown and white coats provide great camouflage against the lichen-covered rocks in their upland habitat..
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| Mountain Hare |
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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| Carrot time for Murdo |
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| Murdo The Magnificent |
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 and Aberdeenshire coasts are 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....
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| Seals |
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| Bottlenose Dolphins by Steve Nicklin |
Other wildlife:
Midsummer is peak time for butterflies and wild flowers in this area, and a typical June, given some sunny and calm days, usually sees us enjoying sightings of Red Admiral, Peacock. Pearl-Bordered Fritillary, Small Copper, Common Blue and Orange Tip among others, and a splendid range of wild flowers including several types of Orchids....and our local Wood Ants are now very active....
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| Wood Ant nest |
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| Heath Fragrant Orchid |
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| Greater Butterfly Orchid |
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| Heath Spotted Orchid |
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| Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary |
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| Small Copper by Bob Smith |
Midsummer is the best time to see Atlantic Salmon leaping on Highland rivers, on their way upstream to the spawning grounds, and visits to known 'hot-spots' can be very entertaining....
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| Leaping Atlantic Salmon by Margaret Holland - Photo from June 2016 |
News:
I am very pleased to announce that Highland Wildlife & Birdwatch Safaris has recently been awarded - for the third 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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| Wild Lupins at the local River Spey |
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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| A Scottish thistle coming into bloom |
Summary:
Looking back through my photos whilst compiling this blog report, although it never quite hit the 'highs' of May, I think it is fair to say that June 2024 was definitely another excellent and busy month of wildlife watching, with a splendid variety of wildlife seen, despite the 'changeable' weather. It was certainly great to see the much-needed breeding success of some of our local speciality and rarer bird species , lovely to utter a few "ahhhs" at the cute fledglings of so many common birds, and enjoy the general feelgood factor of just spending time out and about enjoying the long summer days in the huge variety of habitats in the beautiful Cairngorms National Park among all the lovely wild flowers and spectacular scenery.... but... the real highlight for me , as always, was sharing it with other like-minded people from all round the world, seeing their smiles and hearing the occasional sharp intake of breath, or "wow" as they saw something special, or something they had always wanted to see.....
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| A rainbow over the Cairngorm Mountains |
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 330 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
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| Giant Poppies |
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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