July is another fantastic month for seeing wildlife in Speyside and some great days out have been had. Although most the breeding season is now finished, there are plenty of birds and mammals still around, including many juveniles that are now learning how to be independent and looking for their own territories. Various species of raptors including Golden and White Tailed Eagles have a decent chance of being seen because of new juveniles being around, with this trend likely t

The nights are getting earlier as the year goes on, but there are still plenty of things to see from our Evening Wildlife Watching Hide, with plenty of sightings of Badgers, Pine Martens, the Scottish Wildcat, Red Deer, Roe Deer, Wood Mice and Bank Voles. Hopefully there’ll be many more things to see as August approaches. Badgers There are still plenty of Badgers appearing and there are at least six in the family just now. One night, the dominant male Badger came in while it

June is one of our busiest months for day guiding in Speyside. The summer visitors are all here and there are lots of breeding birds around and lots of wildflowers. One day guide started off with a request to see Crested Tit and Crossbill before going up Cairngorm and looking for mountain species. We began early and managed to hear Crossbills but not see them. We walked around and managed to briefly see and hear a Common Redstart. We wandered an area with smaller pines lookin

The Evening Wildlife Watching Hide is getting plenty of sightings, with daily sightings of Badgers, several of Pine Marten and a few Scottish Wildcat. On many nights we have seen Roe Deer, Red Deer, Wood Mice, a Barn Owl, Woodcock and both Soprano and Common Pipistrelles. There have been the occasional sightings of Buzzard flying over the trees. Leopard Slugs, Black Slugs, Common Toads, Common Frogs and Palmate Newts have also been seen.

May is one of our busiest months for day guiding in Speyside, and for good reason. It is when the wildlife reaches its peak, alongside June. The summer visitors have all returned and the breeding season is well underway. One of my day guides began in an area of birch woodland, looking for Wood Warblers, Tree Pipits and Pied Flycatchers. We managed to see two Wood Warblers carrying nesting material, confirming they had returned to breed in the area this year. Pied Flycatcher w

The Evening Wildlife Watching Hide has been producing plenty of sightings this month. Badgers have been regular visitors, along with Pine Martens and the Scottish Wildcat. Other wildlife seen or heard from the hide has included Wood Mice, Roe Deer, Red Deer, Eurasian Snipe, Woodcock, Grey Heron and even an Otter, which was the first one I have ever seen at the hide. As the weather continues to warm up, the sightings keep coming and will hopefully continue into June.

Jane reflects on a beautiful spring week in Speyside, filled with Black Grouse, coastal wildlife encounters, peaceful lochs and some very unexpected Water Voles.