A blazing hot guided walk on Sunday saw our guests catch a suntan, as well as sightings of Scottish Crossbill, Red Squirrel and Roe Deer! Our usual stop-off on the old packhorse bridge found the River Spey teeming with life, with Grey Heron, Dipper, Common Sandpiper, Goldeneye and Grey Wagtail all seen from the bridge.

Meanwhile, the summery weather is producing all kinds of unusually early sightings - from Bumble Bees to Butterflies (Small Tortoiseshell, Comma and Red Admiral have all been seen) and, perhaps best all, a spate of Bottlenose Dolphin encounters at various sites on the Moray Firth.

Hail the hot weather!

Another guided walk - another flock of Scottish Crossbills. April has definitely been living up to its billing as one of the best months to see and hear Scotland's only endemic bird, as breeding individuals proclaim their territory and any unpaired birds continue to sing and display.

Many of the broadleaved trees are already in bud too, with incredible colours and formations to be discovered for those prepared to look a little closer at these otherwise inconspicuous floral offerings.

An ash bud or a sycamore leaf can appear as elaborate and strange as a Salvador Dali painting - if only we stop to enjoy the wonderful world quietly emerging all around us.

It's also a pleasure to report that our afternoon walk in Abernethy Forest was a great success - as well as Ospreys and Red Squirrels at the Visitor Centre, we spied a male Capercaillie in the clearing that no-one else had noticed!

On the walk itself, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper and Siskin all put in an appearance, with Goldeneye and Greylag Geese on the lochs and a colony of Wood Ants rounding off a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon's work!

I always love receiving guests' photos and Gerald Smith has just sent me in a cracker, from the Ptarmigan walk we organised with the Cairngorm Mountain Ranger Service. Gerald said:

'The day on the mountain was fantastic, good weather, great area and a wonderful guide Heather and of course the Ptarmigan. We had a wonderful stay at the hotel and hope to visit again soon.'

Glad that you enjoyed it Gerald and Nina!

Meanwhile, reporting on our guided walk today we were treated to a feast of wildlife sightings - a flock of around 20 Scottish Crossbills was the highlight, along with Red Squirrels, a Roe Buck, Siskin, one Buzzard mobbed by a Raven, another by two Barn Swallows, and on the River Spey Dipper, Grey Wagtail and Goldeneye. We also heard a Crested Tit but were foiled on that score. Still, a memorable three hours for all!

A fall of snow on Monday has transformed the Cairngorms into a winter wonderland! And the wildlife watching has been as good as ever.

Our guided walks this week have turned up the best sightings of the year of both Crested Tit and Scottish Crossbill - in fact the Cresties have been seen at a number of sites by guests; check out the very seasonal photo taken by 15 year old Charlie Rogers who stayed with us and caught this great image at Loch-an-Eilein!

In addition, guests are still seeing big herds of Red Deer, as well as seasonal favourites such as Whooper Swan and the first sightings of Snow Bunting at Cairngorm Mountain!

I doubt there's anywhere in Britain to rival the Cairngorms in the winter - to join in the fun why not have a look at our 'Winter Wildlife Watch' package as featured in November's Watcher available to download for free on our homepage...

Every species of bird that we see on our free Guided Walks in Anagach Wood are recorded in our sightings logbook so that our other guests may see them - but they are also sent to the BTO's Birdtrack webpage and contribute to their BirdAtlas.
We have just received the October 2008 newsletter and the main trends in Scotland are as follows:

1. The range of the Buzzard in east Scotland has expanded noticeably - a bird we see frequently on our walks.
2. Black Grouse numbers are believed to be benefitting from a range of conservation and habitat improvement measures.
3. Records of breeding Lapwing are down - yet this bird is a common breeder on the banks of the River Spey in the spring.

Notable sightings on our walks this week have included a flurry of Treecreeper sightings, Wigeon on the Spey and a wonderful, long view of a cracking male Scottish Crossbill!