A busy day

Two half day trips today. In the morning we went to Loch Arkaig. First stop was the Osprey nest on loch Lochy. I was concerned to see no sign of any birds on or close to the nest, as this could suggest the nest has failed. On to the Allt Mhuic to look for chequered skippers and Pearl bordered fritillary. No activity on this front but one of the guests was delighted with the discovery of a slow worm and another intrigued by green tiger beetles. We spotted a couple of stags at the Clunes end but no deer activity at Murlaggan. However, we did get a sighting of an osprey at this end of the loch, where we watched it hunting for about 5 minutes.



Returning to Clunes, we were all surprised to see a pine marten dash into the undergrowth near Allt Mhuic. A very brief glimpse, however it is the unexpectedness of such sightings that really make these trips. Back on Loch Lochy, we found an osprey sitting on a tree close to the nest. Perhaps she was just sitting round the corner when we passed first time? Another bonus was finding a juvenile black throated diver drifting around close to the osprey nest. Great news since this means a successful nest on the loch.

The afternoon trip was to Glengarry and proved to be a bit quieter to start off with. A drive into the forest failed to find crossbill, Loch Garry produced only a few sandpipers and Canada geese, and apart from a couple of hinds around Kingie, there was no red deer activity. However, on return we found a black throated diver near the bridge on loch Quoich.

As we returned to Loch Garry and no sign of the scoter I was assuming that the best had passed and the highlight of the day was the pine marten, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a shape swimming in the loch: An Otter. Unfortunately, by the time I pulled into a lay-by it had disappeared from view, so another very brief glimpse. However, two successful trips and, I think happy customers.

Red deer rut update

Whilst there has been plenty of activity the last few weeks, the one thing that seemed to be lacking were single stags to challenge for the groups of hinds. I have been told by keepers that the stags stay up the hill because they know it's the shooting season. Must admit I was sceptical about this. However this morning, the last day of the stag shooting season, many more single stags appeared. Wolud never have expected them to understand the Gregorian calendar!

An early start saw me and two clients in Glengarry for 07.30, well before sunrise. With plenty of deer from below Kingie to the top end of Loch Quoich, we were spoilt for choice. We didn't see any real antler clashes, however a pair of young stags had a sparring match about 100yards from where we were watching. Plenty of bellowing and pursuit of hinds - still playing hard to get from what I was seeing today. However, with the increase in the number of stags around there may be a lot more testosterone fuelled activity to come

Other sightings this morning included woodcock shooting up from the verges (a common dawn and dusk event), a couple of young buzzards (less camera shy than the mature birds), fieldfare and my first sighting this year of goldeneye ducks on Loch Garry. This along with the usual assortment of blackbirds, mistle thrush, woodpeckers etc. Buzzards seem to be doing particularly well in the glen this year and i've regularly been seeing family groups of 4 birds or more in various locations. Also had regular sightings of a pair of kestrel since january, normally around Quoich dam. This is the first time in 20 years I've seen kestrel in the glen and i presume this was due to buzzarrds keeping them out. Hopefully a sign of the health of the glen when it can support both species.

The early morning starts are proving successful with a lot more activity at that time of day and with sunrise now after 8.00am, it's not really that much of a hardship. I'll be running the trips until the rut ends, probably around the first week in November, but there is still plenty to see and do after that and safaris will run throughout the winter. The picture at the top was taken yesterday afternoon!


Ian

Red deer rut in full swing

The red deer rut is now underway, with Stags bellowing on the hillside to warn challengers off as they lay claim to their harem of hinds. UK safari describes the sound of the stags as "something between a chainsaw and a burp". Couldn't have put it better!

An early morning trip up Glen Garry found four groups with between 6 and 20 hinds to each stag. Plenty more stags roaring elsewhere in the glen. Just one brief scuffle, when a very young stag tried to sneak past the main man to get at his hinds. He was chased off very quickly with no bloodshed.

Had word, from a reliable source of a Capercaillie calling in Leanachan. Great news if it's correct. I went up this morning but heard nothing. Maybe a bit late as they're most active at first light. I'll head up before sunrise soon as I get the chance. No pics of this magnificent bird to share on here (YET!)

Should be seeing the return of the winter migrants soon - Fieldfare, redwing, Whooper swans and goldeneye duck to name but a few. Watch this page for further updates,

Finally, Get a FREE wildlife desktop calendar, this month and every month. Go to http://www.wildwestsafari.co.uk/ and follow the instructions at the bottom of the page.

More very soon

Ian

Butterflies and things

I spent a very informative Saturday morning at the Allt Mhuic nature reserve on Loch Arkaig, led by Dr Tom Prescott of butterfly conservation. We started off looking at some amazing moths caught in a moth trap set up the night beofre. i was particulalry intrigued by the buff tip which even on close examination is difficult to distinguish from a piece of birch twig. A master of disguise indeed.

The real target of the day was the chequered skipper which is found within 30 miles of Fort william and nowhere else in the UK. They weren't exactly in abundance, the cold winter having delayed spring somewhat, however we did find one and I was pleased with the resulting photo's (see top). Plenty of other interesting insect life around too and having an expert guide to help understand the habitat and how everything fits together made it a really enjoyable morning. On the down side, the midges were biting for the first time this year.

A walk thtough Glengarry forest yesterday, in the evening brought my first dragonfly of the season, a four spotted chaser. Plenty of birds singing, though I'm still having difiiculty picking out which ones are which! Still, I will persevere!

Otter spotting!

On Sunday I headed off to Glen Shiel to play with my new 16-85 lens but the weather turned a bit unpleasant for landscape shots, so I turned to wildlife and went otter spotting. After about half an hour I saw one swimming near Letterfearn, so stopped and went looking for him. He came ashore to eat a fish and i managed to get to within 10 yards of him, from where i got some great shots.

Yesterday I went along loch Arkaig again and had sightings of both sea eagles. No chequered skippers around which surprised me as it was a very still day, if over cast. Still, will keep looking,

Ian

Springwatch update

Well, spring is now swinging along nicely, with the verges and woodlands carpeted with wood anemones and primroses, plus bluebells starting to put in an appearance. The osprey at Loch Lochy is sitting on eggs and the sea eagles are active on Loch Arkaig. A healthy population of scoter are resident on Loch Garry. I was told by the local warden there are 24 birds on the loch, approximately 25 per cent of the Scottish nesting population.

I'm regularly seeing black and red throated diver on the trips, and butterfly are on the wing. Saw my first chequered skipper of the season yesterday, at Allt Mhuic on Loch Arkaig. The Forestry commission are having an open day, next Saturday (22nd of May) at the Allt Mhuic reserve, so come along and see this enigmatic butterfly and many other species. Meet at Allt Mhuic butterfly reserve car park. Booking essential, Tel: 01397 702184.

An early start last week found black grouse still lekking just outside Fort William and half an hour spent sitting at the mouth of the river Lochy in front of the underwater centre, not far from the town centre proved very fruitful with an otter swimming and feeding happily in front of me. You don't need to go to wild, remote places to see these charismatic creatures.

Should soon be getting orchids and dragonflies to add to the mix and no doubt the midges will be biting again very soon! More coming soon,

Ian

Spring update

I had a bit of a busmans holiday last week and went wildlife watching elsewhere in Scotalnd. Started of with a trip on Sea Leopard to Corryvreckan which brought sightings of wild goats on scarba, seals, gannets and numerous other sea birds plus a sea eagle on the north end of Jura. Find out more about sea leopard trips at http://www.craignishcruises.co.uk/

On sunday I stopped off at the Loch of the Lowes where the osprey are very active and got my first sighting (and very poor photo) of an osprey fishing. A pair of great crested grebes were also feeding close to the hides. After a pleasant evening in Dalwhinne, I spent Monday watching and photogrpahing two pairs of osprey, one on Loch Insh, the other in Glen Feshie.

Back home and Tuesday brought my first sighting of Black throated diver on Loch Garry. No doubt they have been there for a while but not whilst I was watching. Still no sign of Scoter though.Yesterday Brought my first cuckoo of the year, in the Glen Luie area of Glen Garry forest. I also spotted a wood warbler on the walk. So over all a very active spell of wildlfe watching.

Ian