Wildlife Of January 2026

Wildlife Seen

January is one of the coldest months in the Cairngorms, but there is still plenty to see. In a beautiful Pine forest near CarrbridgeI heard Crested Tits, Crossbills and saw a Eurasian Woodcock this month, the latter became an unexpected sighting.

In the woods around Boat of Garten there are Crested Tits, Red Squirrels, Coal Tits, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Eurasian Jays and Roe Deer, but I only saw Coal Tits and Great Tits this month.

Coal Tit (Photo Credit: Jane Hope)

Great Tit (Photo Credit: Jane Hope)

Further south in Badenoch, it’s possible to see Hen Harriers flying over a marsh and Golden Eagles over the Monadhliath Mountains. There are also Long Tailed Tits, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Eurasian Siskins, Ring Necked Pheasants, Common Buzzards, Greylag Geese, Pink Footed Geese, Eurasian Teal, Red Deer, Roe Deer, Brown Hares, Red Kites and Eurasian Goshawk have been seen. I have seen Stoat here before, and it had a beautiful white coat on. There are even Water Rails that inhabit the reedbeds. When I visited, I saw Long Tailed Tits, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, a Common Buzzard, a Brown Hare, two Red Kites and a flock of Greylag and Pink Footed Geese.

Blue Tit (Photo Credit: Jane Hope)

Common Buzzard (Photo Credit: Jane Hope)

Red Kite (Photo Credit: Roy Atkins)

Greylag Geese (Photo Credit: Jane Hope)

Pink Footed Geese (Photo Credit: Chrissie Nicholson)

At a local highland loch it’s possible to see Common Goldeneyes, Mallards, Little Grebes, Mute Swans, Whooper Swans, Eurasian Snipe, Goosanders, Tufted Ducks, Grey Herons, and Red Kites. I managed to see Mallards, Mute Swans, Common Goldeneyes, a Grey Heron and two Red Kites. As a bonus there was a female Smew there this month, which is not a normal part of the wildlife of Speyside and created a lot of excitement among local birders.

On another day I visited the suburbs of the local towns, areas where it’s possible to see Waxwings gather in flocks. It’s an area where it’s possible to see Redwings and Mistle Thrushes and various smaller songbirds. I didn’t manage to see any thrushes, but there were Blue Tits, Great Tits, Chaffinches, Woodpigeons, Collared Doves and Carrion Crows.

Mute Swan (Photo Credit: Jane Hope)

Male and female Goldeneye (Photo Credit: Jane Hope)

Grey Heron (Photo Credit: Jane Hope)

Later in the month, I visited a Highland Glen, one of our best local areas for wildlife and it’s possible to see nearly every species of raptor in Britain here, including Golden Eagles, White-tailed Eagles, Peregrines, Merlins, Common Buzzards, Kestrels, Ospreys (in the summer), Sparrowhawks, Goshawks as well as Ravens, Curlews, Golden Plovers, Common Crossbills and various other birds. Mammals include Red Squirrels, Mountain Hares, Feral Goats and Red Deer. Out of all of them I managed to see Common Buzzard and a herd of Red Deer grazing in a field.

Red Deer Stag (Photo Credit: Jane Hope)

Wildlife Not Seen

I didn’t manage to see Crested Tits, Crossbills, Eurasian Curlews and Roe Deer at Dalnahaittnach.  There were no Crested Tits, Crossbills or Red Squirrels at Boat of Garten. There were no Water Rails, Roe Deer, Red Deer, Golden Eagles and Hen Harriers at the Insh Marshes. I didn’t see Whooper Swans, Eurasian Snipe, Tufted Ducks, Goosanders or Little Grebes at Loch Insh.

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