December 2024
Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!!
I hope you all had a lovely festive season, and I would like to wish you all a healthy, happy, and wildlife-filled 2025
December 2024 really was a very changeable month weather-wise in the Cairngorms National Park, with wind speeds varying from flat calm to gale force, just about every type of weather experienced at some stage, and temperatures ranging from -9c early in the month, to a balmy +12c towards the end of the month, though thankfully, without anything too extreme or long-lasting to deal with.
Despite the days being at their shortest now, with only around 7 hours of usable daylight, by 'cherry-picking' the best ones, we still enjoyed some memorable adventures, with plenty of exciting wildlife sightings, and often against dramatic and picturesque snowy Highland backdrops.
With all our winter-visiting birds now here, full-day local safari bird lists topped-out in the 30's, or more if you include a trip to the nearby Moray Coast whilst mammal day lists varied between 3 and 7 depending on the time of our start and number of habitats visited, with earlier starts, as usual, proving to be best....
I always think that winter time gives some of the best opportunities for scenic landscape photography in this area, and I felt very priviledged to enjoy some beautiful vistas again this month, so I have scattered a few of my photos around this report...
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| A suitably festive scene at a local loch |
To give you an idea of what you may realistically hope to see if you are considering a future December 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 December'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:
Red Grouse, Golden Eagle , White-Tailed Eagle, Goldeneye, Goosander and Dipper, whilst Black Grouse were occasionally seen at or soon after dawn at traditional lek sites, and we also had a few decent sightings of Crested Tit and Snow Buntings.....and a couple of views of Crossbills....
Local winter visiting birds were represented by Redwings and Fieldfares, family groups of Whooper Swans, several species of 'grey' Geese, and a few Redpolls and Bramblings were also reported...
Mammal species seen regularly included:
Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe Deer, Mountain Goat , Rabbit and (white) Mountain Hare.....with just a few (mainly dawn) views of Brown Hare and a few brief glimpses of Bank Vole and Wood Mouse underneath forest bird feeders...
December 2024 bird sightings in more detail:
Up in the glens:
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| A local U-shaped glacial valley |
As I have mentioned before, the short daylight hours, and no breeding season distractions, mean that winter is definitely the best time of year for raptor sightings in this area, and this month again proved very fruitful, with my favourite local upland glens providing us with pleasingly regular sightings, and even the occasional (and rare) photo opportunity, of the much sought after Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle, with views of these magnificent and truly huge birds always putting a smile on our faces, and filling us with awe.....
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| Sub-Adult Golden Eagle |
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| Sub-Adult Golden Eagle |
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| Young Golden Eagle by Ron Mitchell - Photo from December 2017 |
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| Perched young White Tailed Eagle - Photo from December 2022 |
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| White Tailed Eagle by Steve Nicklin - Photo from December 2017 |
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....
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Common Buzzard |
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| Red Kite |
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| Kestrel |
Up on the moors....
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| A local upland heather moorland |
Pre-dawn starts - a relatively user friendly 8am at this time of year - gave us decent views of up to 5 displaying male Black Grouse on local moorland 'lek' sites, though rather frustratingly, they proved to be a little unpredictable, with seemingly no obvious pattern to whether they would show or not - they are more reliable from Feb-May - so it should be noted that we did fail to see them on a few occasions...
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| Displaying Black Grouse |
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| Displaying Black Grouse |
By using my safari vehicle as a stealthy and slow-moving 'mobile hide', our local Red Grouse were often reasonably easy to see, and sometimes photograph on their favoured upland heather moorlands this month, as some of the cock birds already seem to be getting a little aggressive and territorial, with a few individuals seen perching prominently on the few higher points and occasionally even being heard uttering their guttural 'go-back, go back' calls, with their red 'eyebrows' aglow....
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| Female Red Grouse |
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| Male Red Grouse |
Upland moorlands can also produce bird of prey sightings, and this month we were lucky enough to see Kestrel, Common Buzzard, Hen Harrier and Red Kite ....
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| Kestrel |
In the Caledonian pine forests...
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| A local Caledonian Pine Forest |
Crested Tits are always a joy to see (and hear - they have a characteristic chuckling trill)), being a true local speciality , and during the winter months they can often be relied upon to put in an appearance at my favourite Caledonian forest feeding stations, especially on the colder days, though they are not totally reliable, and it should be noted that, being extremely 'flitty' and quick, they rarely give good photo opportunities...
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| Crested Tit |
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| Crested Tit - Photo from December 2017 |
Still in the Caledonian forests, sadly, Crossbill sightings were, as usual, mainly restricted to the fly-over variety, and we usually only identified them by their characteristic 'jip jip' calls.....except for one obliging family who perched nicely atop a larch tree for us on the 11th....though as they are early nesters, we now have a chance of some better views of singing and displaying birds over the next couple of months...
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| Sub-Adult Crossbills |
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| Female Crossbill |
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| Male Crossbill |
A bonus by-product of regular winter feeding is sometimes (especially on colder days) being able to feed the incredibly confiding Coal Tits and (sometimes) Great Tits and Robins by hand, an experience much enjoyed by my safari clients of all ages...
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| Hand feeding a Coal Tit |
As is usual, sadly, we failed to manage any sightings of Capercaillie this month......and to be honest, even if we did get a sighting of one, in the interests of conservation, I am inclined to keep it quiet these days.... sorry...
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/
On the lochs..
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| A small local loch |
Star birds on the lochs during the winter are probably Goldeneyes, with the males now in their dapper breeding plumage, and the winter-visiting Whooper Swans, with a back up cast of Goosander, Teal, Wigeon and Tufted Ducks......
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| Greylag Geese |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Male Goldeneye |
On the marshes...
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| Insh Marshes |
Alongside the ever-present Grey Herons, ducks like Teal and Wigeon were noted, along with Whooper Swans and 'grey' Geese , and raptors such as Kestrel, Buzzard, Red Kite, and Hen Harrier were seen reasonably regularly, and the occasional Merlin, Goshawk, Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle also reported.
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| Grey Heron |
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| Greylag Geese |
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| Ring-Tail Hen Harrier (Library pic) |
Up in the mountains....
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| The Cairngorm Mountains |
Snow Buntings can often be seen well during the winter as they usually begin to frequent known lower altitude sites, possibly driven down from the mountain tops by the snow and cold, and with their numbers likely to have been swelled by visitors from Scandinavia...and 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....as was the case several times this month....
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| Snow Buntings |
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| Snow Buntings |
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| Snow Bunting by Steve Nicklin |
With the Cairngorm Funicular Railway still closed for repairs, the weather rarely being suitable, and the days so short now, I didn't venture up into the mountain-tops myself this month, but for future reference, a few Ptarmigan , now almost totally white, can sometimes be seen, up around the 'snow-line', usually sheltering and feeding on the leeward sides of ridges, out of the cold wind...
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| Ptarmigan - Photo from December 2015 |
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| Ptarmigan by Paul Sharman - Photo from December 2018 |
On the rivers...
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| A local stretch of the River Spey |
On our local rivers, the Dippers are usually pretty reliable in December, with much aggression, singing and displaying being witnessed especially soon after dawn, and usually near to favoured nesting (and viewing) spots, particularly bridges....which is very useful , as it gives us much more chance to see and photograph them....
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
Grey Herons and Goosanders are sometimes seen on our local rivers too...
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| Female Goosander |
On farmland...
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| Typical local farmland |
Although all the waders have gone to the coast now, 'grey' Geese - mainly Greylags, with a few Pink Footed -and Whooper Swans can often be seen feeding on crop remains , whilst the seeds on local farmland during the autumn and winter months often attract large flocks of mixed finches and buntings, along with the winter thrushes and more common Pheasants and occasional Red-Legged Partridges...........
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| Greylag Geese |
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| Whooper Swans |
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| Male Pheasant |
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| Red Legged Partridge |
In local gardens:
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| My garden on the outskirts of Aviemore |
Berry bushes and garden bird feeding stations are a real magnet for most birds, especially the hungry winter visiting birds from further north, and lots of Redwings and Fieldfares were seen locally alongside the more common tits and finches, though I have yet to see any Bramblings and there are no reports yet of any Waxwings....
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| Male Bullfinch |
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| Fieldfare by Steve Nicklin |
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| Lesser Redpoll by Steve Nicklin |
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| Redwing by Steve Nicklin |
Other good/scarce birds seen/reported locally this month included:
A Green Sandpiper on the 8th at Insh Marshes, a Kingfisher near Kingussie on the 11th, an unseasonal Lesser Black Backed Gull near Newtonmore on the 18th....
A few photos of more common birds seen locally this month:
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| Coal Tits |
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| Great Tit |
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| Male Chaffinch |
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| Greater Spotted Woodpecker by Steve Nicklin |
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| Starling by Steve Nicklin |
Adventures 'out of area':
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| Lossiemouth East Beach |
The nearby Moray Coast is always worth a visit, especially in autumn and winter, and a visit at this time of year should give a good selection of waders, wildfowl, seaducks, Scoters, Divers, gulls etc, and winter visiting Pink Footed Geese and Whooper swans, with the chance of rare gulls and wind-blown Little Auks....
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| Female Long Tailed Duck by Steve Nicklin |
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| Male Long Tailed Duck by Steve Nicklin |
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| Cormorant by Steve Nicklin |
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| Female Common Scoter by Steve Nicklin |
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| Male Eider by Steve Nicklin |
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| Little Auk by Steve Nicklin |
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| Rock Pipit by Steve Nicklin |
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| Purple Sandpiper by Steve Nicklin |
The freshwater lochs and nature reserves just inland from the Moray Coast can be productive too....
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| The view from Loch Spynie Hide |
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| Tufted Ducks |
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| Male Wigeon |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Male Goldeneye by Steve Nicklin |
December 2024 mammal sightings in more detail:
Mountain Hares, now they are in their most attractive winter-white outfits, are probably the most exciting mammal to see at this time of year, and with them now having protected status in Scotland, with less persecution, I am hoping to see a gradual reversal of their decline in numbers . If you fancy seeing them, we can often manage that, at distance, with my telescope from just outside my vehicle, but please be aware that some considerable rough uphill walking, often in snow, may be required to get close enough for photography purposes...
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| Mountain Hare |
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| Mountain Hare |
Also up in the glens, Red Deer, now mostly back in their same-sex herds, the October rut seemingly ancient history, were seen reasonably frequently, though often at long range, and we struggled on some days as some estates were culling the old, injured or unhealthy animals, and the disturbance, not surprisingly, made them a little more easily spooked than normal...
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| Red Deer Stags |
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| Red Deer Hind |
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| Red Deer Stag |
Britain's only free-roaming Reindeer can be found in the Cairngorms National Park, and we are sometimes lucky enough to get good views of them around Cairngorm Mountain .......
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| Reindeer - Photo from December 2022 |
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| Reindeer |
Feral Mountain Goats also frequent our local upland glens, and although we saw them a few times, they were a bit elusive this month, which may well be because many of the females appear to be heavily pregnant, and keeping away from perceived dangers....
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| Feral Mountain Goat - Photo from December 2017 |
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| Feral Mountain Goat - Photo from December 2017 |
Red Squirrels are always a joy to see, with their relative rarity and very localised distribution in the UK, cute looks and cheeky nature, and they are pretty reliable visitors to forest feeding stations, and if you avoid sudden movements and keep quiet, you can sometimes creep fairly close for photos.....
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Red Squirrel |
Roe Deer are actually nowhere near as rare as most people think, being present throughout most of the UK, it's just that their nervous disposition and crepuscular nature tends to make them less obvious, and I tend to get most sightings in very undisturbed areas or at dawn and dusk..
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| Roe Deer |
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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| Brown Hare - Photo from December 2022 |
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....though sadly, lovely old Murdo, and his mate Buster the friendly Sheep, are now no longer with us, having both recently succumbed to old age and poor health :(
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| Hairy Highland Coo |
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| Hamish and Dougal - 4 year old brothers |
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| And they both love carrots! |
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| Yum yum! |
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, with a decent chance of Harbour Porpoise and Dolphins, and, in the summer months, even a slim chance of Whales....
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| Grey Seal by Steve Nicklin - Photo from December 2022 |
Other wildlife:
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, for the first week or so, it all fell into place and we enjoyed some decent views, though they had gone by the second week ...
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| Spawning Atlantic Salmon |
News:
I am very pleased to announce that Highland Wildlife & Birdwatch Safaris has 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 financial recovery years, so a big THANK YOU to you all :)
We have also 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 2024 |
All tourism/hospitality/activities in Scotland are open, are free of restrictions and I have now completed well over three 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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| The Cromdale Hills |
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 wintry scene at the River Spey |
Summary:
I am really pleased to announce that, although not quite matching the highs of the last two years, 2024 saw me booked for my 3rd best number of safari days, meaning that we, thankfully, look to be well on the way to financial recovery after the dark days of the COVID lockdowns - So it's a big thank you to all my clients, social media followers, and everyone else who has supported me in so many ways again this year, as I am very aware that I could not do this by myself.....
Looking back through my reports and photos at the end of the year is always a joy, and once again, it looks like 2024 for me, was a year filled with varied, ever-changing and beautiful highland scenery, exciting and awe-inspiring wildlife sightings, and happy times spent with lots of friendly and interesting like-minded people from all over the world - some new, some post-COVID returnees, and some valued 'regulars' who have become friends - special memories that have kept me - hopefully them, and maybe you - somewhere near sane during what has apparently again been a bit of a difficult and depressing year globally, if you watch the news - Thankfully I don't!!
I hope you have enjoyed viewing my photos and reading my safari updates as much as I have whilst experiencing and writing about them throughout the year.....And I am already looking forward to even more wildlife-filled adventures in 2025...and sharing them them with you all.....
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| A 'fiery' sunrise at a local loch |
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 making a booking - We now have over 350 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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