The Highlands

The Highlands covers a huge area, we were based in  the small town of Newtonmore just off the A9 about 20 minutes south of Aviemore. This wasn't a birding trip, we were giving my brother-in-law Mike, over from South Africa, a whistle-stop tour of the area. Doing the touristy things that we don't normally do. However we did manage to see a few things on our travels,
Red Deer at Loch Muick,

 Emperor Moth Caterpillar, Loch Muick,

 Red Grouse, Loch Muick,

 Reindeer!! Top of Cairngorm Mountain,

 Common Vole, Abernethy Forest,

 Chaffinch, Abernethy Forest,

 Great Spotted Woodpecker, Abernethy Forest

 Coal Tit, Abernethy Forest,

 a distant Osprey,

 Badgers and 'Tree badger', Rothiemurchus Estate. This was great evening with a guide from Speyside Wildlife in a hide in the woods of the estate, seven Badgers were seen,

 as well as two Pine Martens, our first ever sighting of Pine Martens, we were over the moon!! The photo isn't great as I couldn't use flash and the external lights still meant a very slow shutter speed.

 Long-tailed Tit, Anagach Woods (Grantown on Spey)

 Red Squirrel, one of two seen at the Heather Centre near Grantown,

 along with plenty of Siskin