Bird Watching & Wildlife Club

Capercaillie ©Yvonne Piper

Whilst Grantown has been bathed in sunshine for the last few weeks the summer migrants have been flooding in. A wander through Anagach Woods will find you lulled by the beautiful song of the Willow Warbler and Redstart, while you are surrounded by the warm smell of pine. Heaven! The Capercaillie have been making the most of the fine days to display at their leks, with good views being had at the Loch Garten Caper-Watch. This is running until Friday the 18^th of May, so book your stay with us at the Grant Arms Hotel quickly if you would like to see this stunning spectacle!

Black-throated Divers ©Jim Almond

Even with the temperatures dropping again slightly, spring is definitely in the air. We have already seen an influx of summer visitors into Grantown including Grey Wagtails, Lapwings, Oystercatchers and Curlew. With March speeding by it won’t be long before they are joined by Osprey, Willow and Wood Warbler, Redstarts, Dotterel and Ring Ouzel! On the Moray Firth the divers and grebes are changing into their summer plumage and I can’t wait to see them back on the inland lochs, fingers crossed for another successful breeding season!

This weekend at the Grant Arms Hotel we have been celebrating Valentine’s day early. Guests and staff alike have been enjoying talks by Steve Sankey from Orcadian Wildlife and tomorrow Chris Gomserall is joining us to tell us about his career as a professional photographer. Not only these but the wildlife has been putting on a great display; rafts of Seaduck at the coast, Crested Tits galore on the new BWWC feeders, Capercaillie in the woods and Ptarmigan, Mountain Hare and Red Deer on higher ground! If that is still not enough, being a special Valentine’s break we’ve had romantic films showing and tomorrow night the BWWC Team will be putting on a special Valentine’s Quiz to test your general and wildlife knowledge!

Pair of Dippers ©Lynne Whitehead

Not only have we been celebrating Burns Night here at the Grant Arms Hotel but we have had some fantastic news – we have been voted number 1 Hotel in the Scottish Highlands! That is based on all the great feedback that you have been writing on Trip  Advisor, thank you!

We are all very proud to be 1/252 Hotels, and we always enjoy reading your feedback so keep it coming!

The Grant Arms Hotel at the end of a rainbow!

Wishing all of you a very Happy Christmas from the BWWC Team and Grant Arms Hotel! We certainly enjoyed ourselves here. Sadly the snow melted a few days before Christmas, but the warmer weather did mean that Guests could get around and see more of the stunning scenery and wildlife that this area offers. We wish you health and happiness in 2012, and hope to see you then!

Guests feeding the Cairngorm Reindeer on Boxing Day

We are enjoying some stunning clear, autumnal days here in Grantown. The temperature is slowly dropping and there’s a chill to the air, so perfect weather to be enjoying the winter migrants arriving all along the coast.

To coinside with the Glenlivet and Tomintoul Walking Festival, the BWWC and Grant Arms Hotel have held a Wildlife and Walking break. With talks by the organisers of the festival, early morning walks in search of some of the Speyside Specialities, quizs and even more walks; our guests have had plenty to keep them busy. The annual festival runs to Monday the 12th September, and has a variety of walks for every ability, or you can even improve your orienteering with the professionals in the hills around Tomintoul. There’s been an abundance of wildlife spotted too, including Divers, Dolphins and Dragonflies; Crossbills, Cresties and Capercaillie; Otter, Osprey and Owls (Short earred), plus much much more! All this against the backdrop of the heather in bloom, and the trees changing in to their autumn livery, what a great time of year!

Black Throated Diver ©Laurie Campbell

On Thursday (1st) Peter Cairns from NorthShots is coming to the Grant Arms Hotel to give a talk and book signing for the launch of his new book ‘Caledonia’. I’ve had a brief look through the book and it has some stunning photography from Peter combined with interesting essays by nature writer Niall Benvie. The event starts at 7:30pm in the Osprey Suite and it is free and open to all. Books will be available to buy there, or if you can’t wait until then try Bookmark in Grantown!  

Whilst I remain in Grantown and prepare to say farewell to our Ospreys and other summer migrants, Kirsty is down at the British Birdwatching Fair at Rutland. Why not go and visit her? The fair runs from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st August this year and there you will be able to enter the prize draw to win a holiday with us! So if you are planning on going pop by the BWWC stand and say hi to Kirsty and the Team.

The BWWC Stand at Rutland Birdfair