Where can you see Capercaillie, Black Grouse, Slavonian Grebes, Mountain Hare, Osprey, Ptarmigan, Ring Ouzel and Red Deer in one day?

Right here in the Cairngorms with the Bird Watching and Wildlife Club and Wild Caledonia!

"The best day out ever," (according to guest David Donald) also included a lunch in a remote estate bothy and a nocturnal encounter with a Tawny Owl, on a long but unforgettable crusade for the 'Speyside Specialities'. Everyone involved said they wanted to come again - and you can come too!

We're offering this event again in on 19-20 June and 17-18 July, 2009. For more details and to join in the fun contact Wild Caledonia on 07887 883117.

A great few days of guest sightings and guided walks to tell you about. Ospreys are well and truly back - and not just at Loch Garten. Guests have seen the fish hawk doing what it does best at the famous Rothiemurchus Fish Farm on the last two afternoons! Meanwhile, new contender Odin - believed to be a Scandanavian Osprey, is the talk of the town as he busily mates with usual Loch Garten female EJ. There's bound to be trouble if last year's male, Orange VS, turns up late and tries to gatecrash the party...

The male Capercaillie was the highlight of our guided walk on Monday, with other species being seen including Red Squirrel, Treecreeper, Grey Wagtail and Goldeneye.

There was a beautiful dawn backdrop to the Black Grouse Watch with Glenlivet Wildlife today rewarding the Hotel's early risers, with a total of four male Black Grouse seen leking, supported by a cast of Mountain Hare still in winter coat and several Roe Deer on the moorland.

And just in case you were asking, Golden Eagles are still out and about too!

More pictures are coming in from guests who stayed with us during Winter Wildlife Watch week.

A snow-clad Glenlivet Estate was the scene for the 'Mountain Hare Land Rover Safari', and the walk over the moors to get closer to the hares in the prime of their white winter finery proved worth it - as guest Bob Moore's fantastic photo of a hare in and amongst the juniper ably proves.

On the road to Farr there was also a mystery bird sighting - initially the group from Lincolnshire were convinced that they had encountered a juvenille White-tailed Sea Eagle on passage but having downloaded their images they are not so sure. The area is well-known as prime Golden Eagle territory and displaying eagles were seen there all week so it's possible they encountered a 'goldie'.

Having looked at the image in close up I can see the problem - the markings are unclear, so can anybody spot a conclusive i.d. feature?

Sun and blue skies and a clear, crisp winter's day are providing perfect conditions for winter wildlife watching in the Cairngorms National Park.

It's remarkable how an adaptation such as the white winter finery of the Ptarmigan and Mountain Hare can so suddenly become a liability when the snow and ice thaws.
The scree of nearby Glenlivet Estate is currently a sure bet for seeing 'blue' Hares scurrying over the steep boulder strewn slopes caused by periodic freeze-thaw action whilst all the ski areas are holding packs of feeding Ptarmigan.
The Ptarmigan building's outdoor viewing platform at nearly 4000 feet at Cairn Gorm is also offering some peerless views of the Spey valley and the chance of seeing the Reindeer herd in their natural domain. It's hard not to be envious of a pelage that's so well insulated that when the reindeer lie down the snow beneath them doesn't even melt.
Gortex and Paramo eat your heart out...

Yet more guests photographs coming in today! Bill Saxton's show some of the fantastic fungi which exploded in Anagach Wood in September, providing a visual feast as well as a literal one for the Red Squirrels, whilst David Pelling's are the wonderful portraits of Red Grouse and Dipper. All will be entered into our competition - please keep sending them in, I never get tired of receiving them!

The 'Valley of the Raptors', Findhorn Valley, is simply a wildlife watchers' Paradise at the moment.

Yesterday, on a two hour walk there were the year's best sightings of Golden Eagle (immature + parent bird), seven parcels of rutting Red Deer, a pair of Ravens, Mountain Hare, two tribes of Wild Goats and leaping Atlantic Salmon. Phew!