We joined a small group tour around Loch Barrandaimh at the Argyll Beaver and Wildlife Centre. There were three beavers living in the lodge on the bank of the loch and we saw them all but we only had a mobile phone so this one is a dot! We did have binoculars though so our view was better.
However, when the rest of the group had gone, fed up with the midges that were hassling us, we stayed behind and got a much closer view. One of the beavers came out onto the bank for a grooming session while another stayed in the water close by.
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| A Beavers work |
The staff there kindly allowed us to camp in their carpark overnight in the reserve and use their wildlife hide too. So in the morning we went up to the hide and had some great views of woodpeckers, Nuthatch, Red squirrels and lots of other birds.
We have seen lots of wildlife and the list below includes those that are in addition to the usual suspects we see at home:
Corncrake - heard but not seen - an interesting call
Beaver
Otter
Red deer - mentioned as there are loads everywhere!
Fallow deer - mentioned as are my favourite!
Swallows and loads of babies - again, mentioned as so many
Eider duck pair
Shelduck
Red Squirrel
Curlew
White tailed eagle - only from a distance so far
Golden Eagle - quite a few including a pair building a nest carrying big sticks to it
Bullfinch - mentioned as many more than we see at home and lovely to see
Stonechat
Wheatear
Lapwing
Gannet
Cuckoo sitting on a wire with two small birds - plus hundreds heard
Siskin
Sandpiper
Hooded Crow
Linnet
Yellowhammer
Tree creeper
Nuthatch
Mountain Hare
Highland cattle - lots of them! Not wildlife but roaming everywhere and cool to see!
As for midges - not too bad so far except in the wildlife reserve, a few around some still evenings
