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

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.

April is a fantastic month for seeing wildlife in Speyside. The weather is warmer and birds and mammals are starting to breed. There has been plenty to see on and hopefully the sightings will keep on coming. One day I collected some guests early in the morning to look for Black Grouse. I had suggested at 6am start as the Black Grouse come out early to lek. When we got to the site there was no sign of them and I began to wonder if somehow we'd gotten there too early.

March has been an amazing month to see wildlife and there are so many highlights to choose from. One day in March I led a day guide that started in Carrbridge and I took my guests to look for Black Grouse. We had initially said we would start at 8am, but after an initial visit to one of the lek sites and not finding anything, I began to have my doubts and suggested a 7am start just to be sure. I hoped that it wouldn’t be too early in the season.

February is another quiet month for wildlife in Speyside. Winter is still present, but it’s otherwise beginning to change. The summer visitors are not yet here, yet the temperature is beginning to warm up and the daylight starts to get longer. I went into Inshriach Forest one morning hoping to see Goshawks, as this is a good time of year to see them.

It had been quite cold in the Cairngorms this past December. But just because it was cold, didn’t mean there was nothing to see, quite the opposite. Around Inshriach, there were plenty of songbirds such as Great Tits, Coal Tits, Blue Tits, Long Tailed Tits and Greenfinches. On occasion, I spot Buzzards and Sparrowhawk, flashing past, as it swoops after songbirds. I managed to see all of these species in December.

When booking a Guided Day Out with us, you may not know what itinerary to choose, a popular choice is ‘Our Cairngorms National Park’....