Birds seen in the Loch Ness area and Farigaig Forest.

The bird feeding stations along the specially designed platform fence in the grounds of Aspenwood Cottage are very busy places and are visited by a variety of birds throughout the year giving great pleasure to all those watching from the comfort of the lounge. Extra peanuts, sunflower hearts and suet balls are kept in the shed for guests to top up the feeders. Please help us to keep the birds well fed because that way they will keep coming back for you to see. Birds are fed all year round with extra provisions in the cold weather and especially in snowy conditions when it is very difficult for them to find their natural food and need our help. 
The bird bath is cleaned regularly  and de-iced in the winter. There are various bird books and binoculars provided for your use. 

In the local woodland area around the cottage you will see the more common species of bird all year round :- chaffinch, goldfinch, robin, blue tit, great tit, smaller coal tit, greenfinch and blackbird.

In the Spring the colourful green and yellow siskins arrive to breed and feed noisily. In the Winter months the gangs of long tailed tits are an amazing sight to watch balancing en masse on a suet ball or nut feeder. They pair off in Spring to build amazing dome shaped nests in the forest. Also sightings of a blackcap and the tiny goldcrest in cold months.

On the ground and in the low shrubbery are other species of birds which feed on insects and berries. There are plenty of dunnocks otherwise known as hedge sparrows, also tiny wrens darting about with their tails upright and even tinier goldcrests. Brightly coloured bullfinches appear often in pairs just as the juicy blueberries are ripe on the bushes growing in the forest undergrowth.

 The Great Spotted Woodpecker is in the vicinity and is often seen on the nut feeders and heard drumming rapidly on the trunks of trees in the surrounding Fairigaig Forest. The male is easily spotted by the bright red spot on the back of its head and look out for the juveniles in the Summer months. White fronted treecreepers can often be spotted spiraling round trees searching for insects nestling in the bark.

Unfortunately this rich feast of birdlife also attracts the predatory sparrowhawk which although lethal is amazingly fast and accurate.

Pheasants are frequent visitors around the grounds foraging under the bird fence or even on top of it searching for remnants of food and crowing quite loudly for their partner. The plumage of the male bird is quite magnificent especially in the sunshine when it seems to take on a metallic sheen. It is not unusual to see a family of pheasant chicks with mother in the undergrowth in the late spring and summer.  Red legged partridges thrive in the area and a brood of 12 or more chicks can often be seen following mother about in early summer and foraging under the bird feeders. Unfortunately very few actually survive due to the many predators around.

Owls can often be heard calling out in the dusk and darkness and you may be lucky enough to see one swooping low or even settling in a nearby tree watching intently for his evening meal. This tawny owl was very near the cottage.

A wide variety of raptors inhabit the area andyou will often see buzzards circling overhead, sailing on the thermal currents with outstretched rounded wings or hovering in the air looking intently downwards with their sharp eyes ready to pounce on their next target. They are quite widespread and are the most common of our larger birds of prey. They can often be seen sitting quite still on a fence post by the road side or in a field looking for their lunch.

Cormorants have been seen on the pier at Inverfarigaig and also on the old wooden posts at Dores beach which jut out into the water of Loch Ness with wings outstretched to dry.  Apparently they often sit with their wings stretched out to dry as they are the only web-footed birds which do not put out a waterproofing oil for their feathers. They are strong underwater swimmers and therefore need to dry out on land before taking off again.

Along the shores of Loch Ness, grey wagtails and dippers feed and breed. Red breasted mergansers skim over the surface of the water. Grey herons are frequent visitors to Loch Ness. In winter Goldeneye, Cormorants, Goosander and various types of Gulls and other coast loving birds come to Loch Ness, some seeking shelter from the cold westerly winds.

A breeding pair of ospreys return every year to their nest or 'eyrie', in the mountains some distance behind Aspenwood. They fly in from Africa during April, have their young and then all return to their homeland sometime in late August. They are frequently seen flying high and hovering above Loch Ness looking for their next meal. You may be fortunate enough, as we have, to see them actually dive into the water for a fish - a truly amazing sight.

Golden eagles inhabit the more remote mountainous areas. We have seen an eagle flying over the Cairngorms while we were enjoying a picnic at Loch Morlich after going on the funicular railway near Aviemore. We have also seen them on the Isle of Mull and also at the pass of Glenshee between Blairgowrie and Braemar on the A93 road.

Loch Ruthven Nature Reserve is a great favourite with bird watchers and only a short drive from Aspenwood. It is fringed by sedge beds with birchwood, moorland and crags nearby. This is the best site in the whole of Britain for summer viewing of the rare Slavonian Grebe. You can see these grebes in their dowdier black and white winter plumage on the Moray Firth but from April to late August they occupy this famous loch for breeding purposes. They are conspicuous then by their upright golden ear-tufts and their glorious black russet and chocolate plumage. From the Loch Ruthven car park a short trail leads to a hide overlooking a sedge bed used by the grebes as well as other species. Ospreys are regular summer visitors here as are red-throated divers, goosanders and other ducks. Inhabiting the surrounding wood and moorland are short-eared owls, hen harriers, redpoll, whinchat, wheatear and the occasional ring ouzel.

The Osprey Centre at Loch Garten not far from the bustling village of Aviemore, a journey of about 45 miles from Aspenwood. The osprey is a magnificent fish-eating bird of prey with a wingspan of approximately 150cms and about 60cms in length. They were once widespread in the UK but its numbers decreased dramatically as it was persecuted by egg collectors and hunters. In 1959, after an absence of almost 40 years, a pair nested near Loch Garten and raised three young chicks with the help of special protection from the RSPB. Since then ospreys have returned to nest at Loch Garten every year and more than 80 young have fledged successfully. From the Osprey Centre building you can watch these spectacular birds of prey from close quarters using binoculars, telescopes and also watch the closed circuit television screens that show live pictures from the nest. Through the windows you can clearly observe the nest perched on the very top of a tall tree and see the adult female osprey feeding the chicks with fish provided by the male bird. The pair mate for life and always return to the same nest every year. The male arrives first during late April after spending the winter in West Africa and rebuilds the nest in preparation for the female to follow a few days later. They mate and the three eggs are laid over a period of a few days and incubated for about 37 days. By late May the eggs hatch and the young ospreys grow rapidly on a diet of fish. By the middle of July the young begin to learn how to fly but remain around the nest for another month. They should have developed their flying and fishing skills by mid August and they all leave on their migration back to West Africa.
This nature reserve is not only important for ospreys. The rare native pinewoods are home to some of Scotlands rarest wildlife including Scottish crossbills, crested tits, otters, pinemartens and red squirrels. You can also stroll along the various forest walks and gaze across beautiful Loch Garten.

Red grouse seen by the side of the mountainous single track road over to Garbole and the Coignafearn estate. This is a beautiful run, enveloped by heather moorlands on both sides but only to be taken in decent weather due to the elevation. Grouse rely almost entirely on the ling heather for food. Look out on your journey for the large white hares and various raptors – raven, merlin, hawks, falcons & eagles.

 Black grouse used to appear fairly frequently, but nowadays these and the  Blackcock are much rarer. Capercaillie are found in more wooded parts of the Highland, notably in the Abernethy Caledonian pine woods. Ptarmigan are on the Cairn Gorm range.

Just keep looking and you will be sure to see some of these beautiful birds.