January 2025
January 2025 started with a real 'Arctic blast' in this area, with temperatures down to -16c in Aviemore, and lots of snow too, turning it into a real 'winter wonderland', but the cold spell was fairly short-lived, and by mid-month, temperatures had risen into double figures, and all the snow at low levels had melted. We then had a brief wild and stormy spell courtesy of Storm Eorwyn, before the month ended with some calm but cold conditions courtesy of a high pressure system...
The days are lengthening noticeably now, with up to 8-9 hours of usable daylight, and dawn (for the Black Grouse) is still a relatively sociable 7:30-8:00 am, with dusk at around 5pm.
Full-day local safari bird lists usually top-out in the 30's or 40's at this time of year, though a trip to the nearby (one hour by car ) Moray Coast can boost this total considerably, whilst mammal day lists can vary between 3 and 8 species, depending on the time of our start and number of habitats visited, with early starts usually 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 spectacular January sunrise at a local loch |
To give you an idea of what you may realistically hope to see if you are considering a future January 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 January'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, Crested Tit, Snow Bunting, 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 Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle...
Local winter visiting birds were represented by a few Redwings and Fieldfares, family groups of Whooper Swans, several species of 'grey' Geese, and large flocks of Redpolls were spotted too, though Bramblings seem to be very few and far between again this winter....
Mammal species seen regularly included:
Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe Deer, Rabbit and (white) Mountain Hare.....with just a couple of (mainly dawn) views of Brown Hare , and a few brief glimpses of Wood Mouse and Bank Vole underneath bird feeders....whilst sadly, our local feral Mountain Goats again proved to be very elusive....
January 2025 bird sightings in more detail:
Up on the moors....
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| A wintry sunrise on a local upland moor |
Black Grouse are one of my favourite local speciality birds, and always prove popular with my safari clients, especially from January to May when they often display and lek at dawn. However, our early morning visits to their traditional 'lek' sites gave 'patchy' results this month, with a few 'no shows' offset by up to 7 cock birds showing beautifully on one occasion...please be aware though, that they are not totally reliable, are easily 'spooked' and are legally protected from disturbance, so we have to keep a respectable (and lawful) distance away...
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| Displaying Black Grouse |
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| Displaying Black Grouse |
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| Black Grouse by Ian Dennis |
Still on the moors, and with no early start needed, the Red Grouse are becoming a little easier to see each week now, as the cock birds become ever bolder, often posturing aggressively from a raised position, and calling 'go-bak, go- bak' loudly to establish a territory and attract a mate, often with their red 'eyebrows' bulging impressively.
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| Female Red Grouse by Ian Dennis |
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| Female Red Grouse by Ross Newnham |
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| Male Red Grouse by Ross Newnham |
Upland moorlands can also produce bird of prey sightings, and this month we were lucky enough to see Kestrel, Common Buzzard, and Red Kite reasonably frequently.......but sharp-eyed birding mate Ross Newnham got really lucky, when he witnessed two Golden Eagles interacting, then actually mating on a local upland moorland!!
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| Red Kite |
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| Golden Eagles by Ross Newnham |
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| Mating Golden Eagles by Ross Newnham |
Up in the glens:
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| A local U-shaped glacial valley |
Although sightings of Eagles were a little less frequent when compared to the usual annual peak viewing time of October-December, both Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle were seen in favoured local glens this month, and It was great to get my 'year-tick' of both species, and they are always always an awesome sight, even though they were often some distance away.......
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| White Tailed Eagle |
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| White Tailed Eagle |
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| Golden Eagle by Ross Newnham |
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| Golden Eagle by Bob Smith - Photo from Jan 2024 |
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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| Kestrel (Library pic) |
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| Peregrine Falcon |
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| Red Kite |
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| Common Buzzard |
In the Caledonian pine forests...
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| A local Caledonian pine forest |
In the Caledonian pine forests, although we did have a few 'no-shows', our local Crested Tits occasionally showed well at my favourite forest feeding stations, especially soon after sunrise, and particularly on the colder days, when they are presumably at their most desperate for food, and they are often a 'life tick' for my safari clients, though a decent photo was hard to come by this month....
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| Crested Tit |
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| Crested Tit |
It is well worth noting that the winter months (November-February) are actually the best time of year for seeing the 'wee Cresties', as these characterful little birds can be frustratingly secretive and unobtrusive during the breeding season, with sightings being much more difficult to obtain between March and September....
Crossbills however, were actually reasonably cooperative this month, and although the vast majority of sightings were still 'fly-overs' identified by their calls or songs, with it being their breeding season, we also managed a few decent views of perched birds singing and interacting too...
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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, these days, in the interests of conservation, I am inclined to keep it quiet .... 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 wintry scene at a local loch |
Though they were frozen and almost devoid of birds at times this month, when they did thaw, star birds on the lochs during the winter are probably Goldeneyes, with the males now in their dapper breeding plumage, and some even seen performing their elaborate 'head-banging' courtship displays, and the winter-visiting Whooper Swans, with a back up cast of grey Geese, Goosander, Teal, Wigeon and Tufted Ducks.
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| Whooper Swans |
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| Male Goldeneye |
On the marshes...
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| A frozen Insh Marshes |
Although the marshes were frozen for the first half of the month, raptors such as Kestrel, Buzzard, and Red Kite were seen reasonably regularly, and the occasional Hen Harrier, Merlin, Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle also reported. and once they began to thaw, alongside the ever-present Grey Herons, ducks like Mallard, Teal and Wigeon were noted, along with Whooper Swans , several species of 'grey' Geese , and the first few returning waders, in the form of Lapwings and Golden Plovers were noted....
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| White-Tailed Eagle by Bob Smith |
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| Ring-Tail Hen Harrier |
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| Greylag Geese |
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| Whooper Swans |
On the rivers...
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| A local stretch of the River Spey |
Our local Dippers are now most definitely in territorial mode, and we were lucky enough to see them posturing and displaying and sometimes singing their distinctive 'scratchy' song from a prominent rock on several occasions, often near a bridge, where they are likely to nest...
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper by Ian Dennis |
We sometimes get to see Goldeneyes and Goosanders on our local rivers too....
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| Male Goldeneye by Ian Dennis |
Up in the mountains....
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| Midwinter in 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 during the month....
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| Snow Buntings |
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| Snow Buntings |
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| Snow Bunting by Bob Smith |
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 , still almost totally white, can sometimes be seen, up around the 'snow-line', usually sheltering on the leeward sides of ridges, out of the cold wind...
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| Ptarmigan by Ross Newnham |
On farmland...
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| Typical local farmland |
Although most of the waders are still at the coast - but due to return soon - 'grey' Geese 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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| Linnets |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Whooper Swans |
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| Greylag Geese |
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| Male Pheasant |
In local gardens:
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| My garden on the outskirts of Aviemore |
Berry bushes, fruit trees and garden bird feeding stations are a real magnet for hungry winter visiting birds from further north, and Redwings, Fieldfares, Redpolls and a few Bramblings were all seen locally alongside the more common tits and finches....
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| Coal Tit |
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| Male Bullfinch |
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| Robin |
Other good/scarce birds seen/reported locally this month included:
A Barnacle Goose at Laggan on the 5th, an exceptional low-level report of 2 Ptarmigan over Dava Moor on the 8th, unseasonal Stonechats and Meadow Pipits at Ruthven Barracks on the 10th, a Nordic Jackdaw at Nethybridge on the 11th, a Green Woodpecker heard calling at Grantown On Spey on the 22nd, one or two Jack Snipe from the Drumguish/Insh Marshes area, and a few reports of Bramblings at various sites throughout the month...
A few photos of more common birds seen locally this month:
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| Two Coal Tits and a male Chaffinch |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Bullfinches |
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| Treecreeper by Ian Dennis |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker by Ian Dennis |
Adventures 'out of area':
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| Sunrise at Findhorn Bay on the Moray Coast |
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, at this time of year, wind-blown Little Auks....
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| Sanderlings |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Oystercatchers |
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| Redshanks |
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| Purple Sandpipers |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Eiders |
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| Long Tailed Ducks by Bob Smith |
The freshwater lochs , nature reserves and farmland just inland from the Moray Coast can be productive too....
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| A partly frozen Loch Spynie |
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| Mute Swans |
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| Cormorants |
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| Tufted Ducks |
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| Goosander |
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| Male Goldeneye |
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| Grey Partridges by Bob Smith |
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| Tree Sparrows |
January 2025 mammal sightings in more detail:
Star mammal for January is usually that much sought-after local speciality the Mountain Hare, and rightly so, as Britain's only native 'lagomorph' and with their UK distribution being restricted to just a few remote upland areas, seeing one is always a treat.
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| Mountain Hare |
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| Mountain Hare |
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| Mountain Hare by Steve Nicklin - Photo from Jan 2018 |
Seeing them is often actually easier said than done though, with snow making the job of finding a white animal on a white background pretty tricky, with using a thermal imager, or following their pawprints in the snow proving to be the best methods of finding them...
It should be noted though, that most of our views are at range through my telescope, and that a closer view or photo opportunity usually involves some considerable rough uphill walking, often in deep snow....
In the same upland glens, Red Deer, mainly in large same-sex herds, can usually be seen, although a number of factors such as the weather, in particular the wind strength and depth of the snow, and whether there is any local shooting activity , can dictate whether we get nice close-up views, or distant views through the telescope....
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| Red Deer Stags by Ian Dennis |
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| Red Deer Stag by Ian Dennis |
Still up in the glens, another local speciality mammal, our Feral Mountain Goats can often seen on the same sheltered sides of the ridges as the Red Deer , and, although we struggled to see them this month, at this time of year it is not unusual to see them with the first , very cute, new-born youngsters ....
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| Feral Mountain Goats - Photo from Jan 2020 |
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 |
Red Squirrels are a true Highlands speciality, and we are usually fortunate enough to see at least one on most of my safaris, mainly chomping on peanuts at forest feeding stations, but with the occasional random sighting whilst walking or driving in suitable forest habitat.
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Red Squirrel by Steve Nicklin |
Roe Deer are most commonly seen at dawn or dusk and generally at the quieter, more remote sites well away from human disturbance, their shy, nervous nature making them much harder to see than Red Deer, despite being considerably more numerous and widespread than their larger 'cousins'...
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| Roe Deer |
Although we managed a few early morning sightings of Brown Hare this month, mainly on the quieter farmland areas, they were very fleeting glimpses, in poor light, and sadly, I failed to get a decent photo ..
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| Brown Hare (library pic) |
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 love carrots! |
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 |
Other wildlife:
I can't recall seeing any other wildlife this month.....but I will be keeping my eyes peeled for my first sightings this year of bees, bats etc, in the weeks to come...
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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| Nice reflections at a local loch |
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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| It can get a tad 'cool' here in midwinter.... |
Summary:
Similarly to last January, though I was only booked for 2 safaris this month - sadly, January is always 'quiet' - I am pleased to report that I managed to get out and about in the wilds to enjoy the spectacularly scenery and wildlife of the Cairngorms National Park on a regular basis by myself, or with friends and family, not so good for my bank balance, but great for my physical and mental health, general well-being , and my ever-increasing 2025 bird 'year-list', and thankfully, my safari bookings diary is filling - up nicely for future months....
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| An adventure on a snowy local upland moor |
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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