February 2011 was surprisingly mild throughout, with only the occasional overnight frost & just a little hill snow, temperatures were well above average, & some decent wildlife-watching weather was enjoyed.

Bird 'day-lists' remained steady in the 30's or low 40's, with mammal 'day-lists' fluctuating between 5&9 depending on our luck.

Wildlife highlights included:

Birdsong! A weak dawn chorus was enjoyed on sunnier days, with more & more species joining in as the month progressed.

Dippers were seen to be performing their bizarre bobbing, wing waggling mating displays, accompanied by a distinctive scratchy song.

Goldeneyes too were spotted displaying, the attractively plumaged males cocking their heads sharply back & skywards whilst uttering their croaking calls.

Cock Black Grouse numbers increased at traditional 'lek' sites, and they were even seen (& heard) lekking on frosty mornings.

Cock Red Grouse too, were getting into mating mode, with some aggressive posturing & calling, with their bright red 'eyebrows' visibly growing - (see pic - courtesy of Greg Morgan)

Several Stoats, still in their white winter coats, were seen chasing rabbits or eating roadkill.

Mountain Hares were very popular with my guests, they too, still sporting their fantastic white winterwear, the lack of snow on the slopes making it easier to spot them!

Crested Tits remained pretty easy to see, often at close range , coming to forest feeding stations.

Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard 'drumming' for the first time this year.

Crossbills, too, were frequently seen & heard as they too, displayed , called & were even singing - quite a rare occurrence.

Whooper Swans & other wildfowl remained on local lochs, grateful for the lack of ice, no doubt!

The Great Grey Shrike still showed regularly, though a good photo still eludes me!!

There were several more sightings of the Gyr Falcon at the Southern end of the Spey Valley - sadly, still not for me, though!

Pine Marten was seen at my baited site on several occasions, though he was not totally reliable, with us having about a 50% 'hit-rate'.

January 2011 started very cold, with December's snow lingering, but the rest of the month saw a gradual thaw and the unusually mild weather was most welcome, as it allowed access to my favourite remote wildlife-watching areas. The days grew noticeably longer, and a few sunny mornings were enlivened by a hint of a dawn chorus! Bird day-list averaged high 30's & low 40's & mammal day-lists were 5-8 depending on our luck.

Wildlife highlights included:

A flying start to my 2011 'year-list' included New year's day sightings of Bittern & Great Grey Shrike.

Local specialities such as Dipper, Red Grouse, Black Grouse, Crested Tit, Golden Eagle, Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Reindeer, Mountain Goat & Mountain Hare continued to show regularly, giving many of my safari clients good 'year-ticks' & for some , memorable 'life-ticks'.

A trip to the Moray coast gave excellent views of many species of of sea birds including good numbers of Long-Tailed Ducks & Eiders (see pic) - though I failed to see the King Eider, or Glaucous or Iceland Gulls that were reported to be in the area.

A few Waxwings lingered in the area , though many seem to have travelled south throughout the rest of the UK in search of berries.

The first 'proper' birdsong of the year came courtesy of our local Dippers, their loud squeaky, scratchy song even audible over the fast flowing water.

Birdfeeders close to coniferous woodland continued to give regular sightings of Crested Tits.

Winter is the best time to see Golden Eagle in this area - the short days giving them less hours of daylight in which to hunt.

Mountain peaks gave sightings of our most sought-after 'winter-white' species - Ptarmigan, Snow Bunting & Mountain Hare, to those hardy enough to venture out!

Both Black Grouse & Red Grouse males became easier to see & hear as they became noticeably more active & vocal, especially in the early mornings.

There was an unconfirmed report of a Gyrfalcon at the south end of the Spey Valley, most winter's see one or two brief sightings of this huge Northern falcon over mountainous areas, but I've yet to be lucky!

Merry Christmas & a happy & wildlife-filled new year to you all. December 2010 was cold & snowy throughout, with a slight thaw at the end of the month at last allowing access to some of the more remote wildlife-watching areas. Bird day-lists remained in the 40's, with mammal day-lists ranging between 5 & 9 depending on our luck.

Wildlife highlights included:

Most of our 'local specialities' - Dipper, Red Grouse, Black Grouse, Crested Tit, Crossbill, Golden Eagle, Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Mountain Hare, Mountain Goat etc, continued to show well, when the weather permitted.

The very cold weather tempted many 'garden rarities' such as Brambling, Yellowhammer & Bullfinch, as well as huge numbers of more common birds, into 'bird-lovers' well-stocked gardens - & accordingly, Sparrowhawks too, were seen much more frequently!

Crested Tits were seen regularly coming to feeders in areas near forests.

Snow Buntings were seen on a few occasions in & around the Cairngorms Ski Area car park.

Wildfowl & seaduck numbers continued to increase round our coastline.

Inland, rarities in our area included a Great Grey Shrike & a Bittern, both around Insh Marshes & both good 'ticks' for this area.

Coastally, rarities in our area included a King Eider & Glaucous & Iceland Gulls, all seen in the Moray area.

A trip down to the South coast of England gave me sightings of bird species never, or rarely seen this far North, such as Green Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Jay, Magpie & Ring-Necked Parakeet!

November 2010 started cold, wet & windy &..... deteriorated from there really!, ending with massive snowfalls & temperatures well below zero, which made access to remote areas very difficult. With all the winter visitor birds now here, bird day lists remained at 30-40, with mammal day lists steady at 4-8.

Wildlife highlights included:

Most of the 'local speciality' species (Black grouse, Red Grouse, Dipper, Crested Tit, Crossbill, Goldeneye, Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Mountain Hare, Mountain Goat etc) continued to show regularly - weather permitting!

Good views of Whooper Swans on large local lochs, their mainly yellow bills & much straighter necks making i.d easy.

Close-up sightings (& good photo opportunities for a change!) of Crested Tits coming to bird feeders near suitable forest habitat.

Several decent views of Crossbills in local forests, including a rare opportunity to view one group through the scope for over 10 minutes.

Regular sightings of Golden Eagle in secluded upland glens - this is one species that is actually easier to see in Winter, as they only have a limited number of daylight hours & thermals in which to hunt.

Woodcocks. These normally very elusive crepuscular birds were spotted probing in the leaf litter at dawn & dusk on forest tracks on several occasions.

Black Grouse numbers increased further, with up to 4 males being seen at or near 'lek' sites on local moorlands.

Stoats were spotted eating roadkill on several occasions, their coats now almost totally white except for the black tail tip.

Also now almost totally white are the Mountain Hares, they were very conspicuous & easy to see on the snowless hills, until the snow came, now they are almost invisible! (see pic. courtesy of Greg Morgan)

A first sighting, in this area for me, of a Jay - they, along with Magpies & Nuthatches are very rarely, if ever, seen this far north.

October 2010 was changeable weather-wise, starting unseasonably mild with temperatures into double figures, with a few frosts & bit of hill snow mid-month, but ending wet & windy. Autumn is possibly one of the most scenic times of year in this area , with the woods ablaze with beautiful coppers, golds, reds & yellows. Incoming winter birds boosted bird day-list up into the 40's, with mammal day-lists still steady at 5-9 depending on our luck.

Wildlife highlights included:

The Red Deer rut is always an October highlight, with these magnificent 'monarchs of the glen' guarding their 'harems' of hinds, with much roaring & strutting & occasional actual brutal antler to antler contact - awesome stuff - a 'must-see' of British wildlife!

Winter thrushes flooded into our area from further north, first the Redwings, their 'seep-seep' calls overhead betraying their presence, followed soon after by the larger Fieldfares. Not surprisingly, local berry crops were soon depleted!

Waxwings! The end of the month saw a huge influx of these beautiful berry-chomping 'viking invaders' a bird guaranteed to put a smile on your face, with their amazing colour scheme & confiding nature! (see pic)

Other winter visitors noted were good sized flocks of yellow-billed Whooper Swans on local lochs & the first Bramblings on farmland.

Otters were seen on several occasions on local loch & rivers, usually, and most typically, at dawn, though one obviously hadn't read the rule book, and showed well at midday!

Crested Tits began to visit bird feeders at venues near to forests, making it much easier to see them than wandering round a wood searching for them in roving tit flocks!

Golden eagle sightings became more frequent, as the birds now have less available hours of hunting time, with the first dry day after a couple of rainy days being particularly good.

Other 'local specialities' such as Dipper, Black Grouse & Red Grouse were seen regularly, though Capercaillie proved more elusive.

September 2010 started with a warm, summery feel with us continuing to enjoy seeing some of the remaining summer birds, but soon became autumnal, and ended with a taste of winter, with a few frosts and even a little snow on the higher tops as the first winter birds arrived.

Bird 'day-lists' dropped down into the 40's, but mammal 'day-lists' remained steady at 6-9.

Wildlife highlights included:

Early Sept gave us our last sightings of local speciality summer visitors such as Osprey, Black-Throated Diver & Red-Throated Diver, and we also got to see a Hobby - a rare bird this far north - hawking dragonflies, and a number of Lapland Buntings were noted in coastal areas.

Another rarity noted early in the month was a frustratingly short visit by a Black stork - seen by only a few, and sadly, not by myself!

September was one of our best months for Golden Eagle sightings, most birds were juveniles, presumably actively searching for their own territories after being driven away by their parents.

Our resident 'local specialities' such as Dipper, Crested Tit, Crossbill, Black Grouse, Red Grouse, Goldeneye etc continued to show well & delight my safari clients.

Later in the month, early winter visitors in the form of Greylag Geese & Whooper Swans were spotted in the area.

The Red Deer became noticeably more aggressive as the month progressed, with many of the stags 'roaring' & sharpening their antlers on trees & rocks in preparation for the forthcoming rut.

As mid-September is one of the quieter times safari-wise , I took the opportunity to have a trip down to the south of England to see my relatives & friends, and top up my 'year-tick' list with a few' southern specialities' such as Bearded Tit, Woodlark, Yellow Wagtail etc.

August 2010 was a changeable month, with a few sunny, summery days in between the showers, but a noticeably cool autumnal feel towards the end, and with the days shortening, we are definitely approaching the change of season. With many of the summer migrant birds departing, bird day-lists dropped down into the 50's or even 40's, but mammal day-list remained steady at 6-9, and with the heather at it's beautiful purple best & the Rowan trees laden with bright red berries, the countryside is at it's scenic best

Wildlife highlights included:

Our local Osprey youngsters, now almost fully grown, were left to fend for themselves as , first their mothers, and then soon after, their fathers departed for Africa. I was lucky enough, whilst fishing one morning, to see 3 youngsters fishing together under the watchful eye of a parent bird - great stuff!

Our 'local specialities' - Osprey, Black Grouse, Red Grouse, Crested Tit, Crossbill, Black-Throated Diver, Red-Throated Diver (see pic), Red deer, Red Squirrel, Mountain Hare, Mountain Goat etc, continued to show well, and helped many of my clients to add sought-after 'ticks' to their 'wish-lists'.

The mixed 'winter' flocks in the forest grew noticeably larger, with some including over 100 birds of 7 or more species - finding the 'Cresties' amongst the crowd requiring a certain amount of fieldcraft!

Large groups of up to 20 Goosanders were noted on local lochs & rivers - but only females & juveniles - where do all the males go?.....

A few reports of Hobbies hunting dragonflies over quiet local lochs, it's always a treat to see this dashing swift-like raptor, especially when it's such a rare bird this far north.