December started & ended cold with a brief mild spell in the middle of the month with less snow than last month, and sadly, very little over the Christmas period. Though the days are now at their shortest, there is still plenty to see.

Wildlife highlights included:

A brief glimpse of a Stoat chasing Rabbits on a roadside verge, looking splendid in its pure white winter coat with just the tip of the tail remaining dark.

Another animal that changes colour to white in winter is the Mountain hare, and these are quite easy to find on the hills - as long as there is not too much snow!

Snow Buntings were seen on a few occasions near the Cairngorms Ski centre car park, they appear to be driven down from the mountain tops by bad weather & heavy snowfall (see pic).

Ravens were seen to be displaying - wheeling around acrobatically whilst uttering their coarse "gronk-gronk" calls

Woodcocks were seen on a few occasions, usually over woodlands at dusk.

Waxwings were still in the area, often being seen around local villages, usually feeding on berry bushes.

The number of male Black grouse at traditional lek sites was seen to increase, with up to 5 seen at a time - numbers should continue to grow as the lekking season approaches.

One sad thing to report: One of the River Spey Otters was unfortunately found dead, killed whilst attempting to cross a road near the river. With no real predators, this is the biggest cause of premature death to the UK's Otters.

November was a wintry month in the Cairngorms National Park, with regular falls of snow and temperatures dropping down as low as -9c towards the end of the month.

Wildlife highlights included:

A Waxwing 'invasion', with several hundred of the berry-munching beauties from across the North Sea visiting our area, bringing a welcome splash of colour to the dark Winter days (see pic).

Several dawn & dusk sightings of Barn Owls hunting over fields, seeing one of these almost ghost-like creatures in the half-light is surely one of British nature's most enjoyable sights.

Regular sightings of Crested Tits on bird feeders sighted near to Caledonian Forest. They only seem to come to feeders regularly when conditions turn really wintry.

A brief visit to our area by a Snow Goose in it's pure white plumage, it mingled with a flock of Greylag Geese for a few days.

October saw the arrival of Winter to our area (we don't seem to get a proper Autumn anymore!). The transition is quite dramatic with temperatures significantly lower than September and the Cairngorms having snowy tops for much of the month.

Wildlife highlights included:

Rutting Red Deer stags: This has to be one of British nature's "must see" (& hear!) experiences, with the dominant stags attempting to secure their 'harem' of up to 20 hinds by roaring loudly, thrashing at trees and bushes and occasionally actually coming into spectacular antler to antler contact - an impressive sight! (see pic)

Numbers of Winter wildfowl such as Teal & Wigeon increasing on our local lochs.

Good views of Whooper swans, both in flight (when you can hear their distinctive "whooop whoop" calls, and quietly feeding in the margins of our larger local lochs.

Increasing numbers of visiting 'Winter' Geese being noted feeding on suitable fields.

Large flocks of Redwings & Fieldfares were seen , often covering a berry laden bush and soon stripping it of its crop.

Great views of a ring-tail (female) Hen Harrier, seen hunting low over heather moorland. We see many more Hen Harriers ( & Short-Eared Owls) in Winter due to an influx of birds from even colder climes to the North & east.

September,s weather could also , surprise, surprise!, be described as changeable. Temperatures ranged from a sunny 22deg c, down to 0deg c with a light dusting of snow on the hills at the end of the month. Most of the Summer visiting bird species have now left the area, and are being replaced by our Winter visiting bird species.

Wildlife highlights included:

Mountain Ash or Rowan trees becoming fully laden with their bright red berries, and the Thrush species wasting no time in enjoying this bountiful harvest.

The arrival in our area of Winter visitors from further North such as Greylag & Brent Geese & Whooper Swans.

The mixed woodland flocks grew noticeably larger, with some having 100+ birds of up to 9 different species.

Lots of sightings of 'purple poo' in the forests - the result of many different species of birds and animals feasting on the abundant crop of blaeberries.

Dippers started to sing again along the riverbanks - very noticeable & enjoyable as not many species of birds sing at this time of year (see pic)

The Red Deer began to 'roar' towards the end of the month, in preparation for the forthcoming 'rutting season''.

August saw the changeable weather continue, with seemingly no two consecutive days the same! This far North Autumn comes early, and later in the month the first signs were noted; shorter days, cooler mornings & evenings, Rowan trees full of their vivid red berries , a few leaves changing colour.

Bird day-lists remained around the 45-50 mark with many of the migrants now gone , and mammal day-lists were still good at 6-9 depending on our luck.

Wildlife highlights included:

An amazing close encounter with a very bedraggled-looking Scottish Wildcat one drizzly dawn - the fierce glare it gave us with it's wild orange eyes had to be seen to be believed!

A brief visit to a garden in our area by a Rose-Coloured Starling, a rare visitor to the UK, normally found much further East, it was enjoyed by a small number of keen birders , but sadly, not by me, as I missed it!

Our local juvenile Ospreys, now deserted by their parents, initially seemed lost without them & spent many hours calling in vain for them , but eventually seemed to accept their situation & knuckled down to some self-sufficient fishing.

A pair of lost/disorientated Sperm Whales turning-up in the Moray Firth, the initial joy & amazement soon turning to sadness, however, when one of them stranded, and sadly, despite the best efforts of many good people, died.

Also in the Moray Firth, the resident Dolphins delighted many with their super acrobatic displays , sometimes coming amazingly close to the shore.

Many of the local speciality birds such as Crested Tit, Scottish Crossbill, Red-Throated Diver, Black-Throated Diver, Slavonian Grebe, Osprey ,Red Grouse, Goldeneye & Golden Eagle continued to show, some more regularly than others of course, though all were seen during the month.

Mammals featured well during the month with the following all being seen at some stage;

Red Deer, Roe Deer (see pic), Reindeer, Sika Deer, Red Squirrel, Brown hare, Mountain hare, Mountain Goat, Stoat, & Bank Vole.

Late July saw the weather remain changeable, though temperatures were generally quite high, with plenty of sunshine & 16hours+ daylight. Bird day-lists dropped a little into the low 50's due mainly to the exodus from our area by most of the wader species, though mammal day-lists still hit 6+ most days. Another sign of Autumn approaching was the early forming of 'winter flocks' by our resident small birds.

Wildlife highlights included:

Visits to our local Osprey nests gave us good views of the nearly full-grown youngsters furiously exercising their wings in readiness for their 'maiden flight', while their parents sat nearby screeching encouragement.

Super views of a Black-Throated Diver family all fishing together on a beautiful upland loch, their dapper black, white & grey plumage never failing to impress my safari clients (see pic).

Regular sightings of whole families of Spotted Flycatchers eagerly catching insects.

Great views of a Slavonian Grebe family, with the parents seen feeding the still stripy , but rapidly growing youngster.

Regular sightings of Crossbills, their loud 'glip -glip' calls betraying their presence as they fly from tree to tree in search of pine cone seeds.

The Roe Deer rut is now in progress, with the bucks frequently being seen chasing after the does, and their rasping, barking calls being heard from some distance.

Early July saw a slight improvement in our weather though it was still a bit changeable. Although we have now had the longest day, we still have 18 hours of daylight available for wildlife-watching, and bird day-lists still regularly hit 60+ and mammal day-list still average 7+.

Just about all bird species now have fledged young, making them easier to find as they feed in family groups.

Wildlife highlights included:

An amazing and rare close encounter one early morning with a female Capercaillie and her 2 chicks, seen taking grit from the edge of a track (see pic - courtesy of Alan Everest).

Good views of a Peregrine Falcon family on a craggy cliff, the fluffy grey chicks growing rapidly, with the adults often perched nearby.

Regular sightings of Scottish Crossbills in our local Caledonian Pine forests, their presence often being betrayed by their chunky 'glip - glip' calls and the sound of pine cones dropping.

Good views of a Golden eagle in a beautiful upland glen, first over a high ridge, and then the very rare opportunity to see it well through the scope when it landed on a rock in the heather - magic!

A new 2008 record mammal day-list of 11 species! namely: Rabbit, Roe Deer, Brown hare, Bank Vole, Red Squirrel, Reindeer, Brown rat, Red Deer, Mountain Goat, Sika Deer and Mountain Hare.

Regular sighting of Crested Tit families - these real 'local specialities' always proving popular with my clients.

A short, but very enjoyable trip to the Isle of Mull produced superb views of Sea Eagle & Golden Eagle (both adults & youngsters), and a very close loch-side encounter with an Otter - marvellous stuff!