Wild Scotland: A Photographers guide to the Cairngorms National Park

The Cairngorms National Park is Scotland's second and largest national park. For many years it has been a popular ski destination and an outdoor adventurers haven. But as well as the many outdoor activities the park has to offer it is also a hotspot for wildlife! The mountains forests and wetlands play host to some of Scotland's most endangered, unusual and charismatic species! From the elusive golden eagle to the magnificent red deer: but it's also the haunt of Scotland's rarest predator the  Scottish Wildcat, more endangered than the tigers of Asia! Relics from the ice age survive here such as the Mountain Hare and the Ptarmigan and the pine forests are the stronghold for Scotland's unluckiest bird the Capercaillie! The many lochans and wetlands provide a home for migratory birds such as Ospreys and Slavonian Grebes in the summer and fantastic waterfowl such as Whooper Swans in the winter. No matter what time of year you visit the Cairngorms there are many amazing and unusual animals you may find! Here are some of my tips to finding and photographing some of these unique species of the Scotland. 

The Cairngorm Reindeer Centre

Reindeer were once a truly Scottish animal but became extinct due to a changing warmer, damper climate and hunting. But in 1952, a Swedish reindeer herder found that the Cairngorm mountains were a suitable habitat to keep reindeer. Growing public interest in the animals allowed for a small business of tourism to grow allowing people to meet and feed the animals and the herd is now managed but thriving roaming (mostly) freely amongst the mountain tops. Hilltop walks can be organised from the centre near Glenmore. May is the best time of year to see the new calves but November is the right time of year for the autumn colours, potentials of snowfall and the bulls also have their fully fledged antlers! Although not truly wild it is a wonderful to have this hardy animal back in the mountains of Scotland. The close interaction with these animals can allow for some excellent photo opportunities! I used a macro lens to get these pictures. Its probably fair to see these are the easiest animals to photograph but nonetheless excellent! 

DSC02308 (3) - Copy

Cairngorm Mountain

Cairngorm Mountain is one of the most accessible mountains in Scotland with a car park at the base and the Funicular railway taking you to the summit so unsurprisingly it's one of the easiest places to find the unique animals of the sub-arctic environment of Scotland's mountain tops.

The Mountain Hare, Britain's only native rabbit and the Ptarmigan a little snow grouse can be found here. Both are adapted to the cold climate of the mountain plateau and change colour with the seasons to match their environment. You may also find the charismatic red grouse amongst the shrubs of heather if you're lucky, with mostly the males red eye brows giving them away.  Late November and early December may be the best time of year to see these animals as the weather tends to be bareable and the Ptarmigans and Hares have pure white coats, the red grouse are also generally more visible.

A trail leading from the right side of the funicular railway to the east side of the mountain top can allow an opportunity to find these animals with a bit of luck. A bit of patience and a lens length of 300m-600m should provide you the chance with a decent photo.

DSC_6692

21-5-18-5032

Snow Buntings are hardy little birds designed for the cold alpine climate and are quite frankly very cute! They can usually be seen in winter and can be spotted quite frequently up Cairngorm mountain or around the funicular car park. They are also generally quite used to people which can allow some close up photo opportunities.

Loch Garten, Abernethy Forest

The pine forests surrounding the mountains are fragments of a once vast chain which spread across the northern hemisphere. Today in Scotland there is less than 1% left. It was known by the Romans as the great forest of Caledone. 

The largest expanse left of this relic can be found at Abernethy nature reserve, accessible via car from Nethy Bridge or Boat of Garten. It can be difficult to find any animals within a forest due to the dense foliage but outside RSPB's Loch Garten Osprey Centre there are feeding stations which attract many birds and wildlife. 

The Crested Tit is a small bird only found in Scotland's ancient pine forests and there are only around 1000 breeding pairs. Autumn and winter are much better times to to see this species and they are seen quit frequently around the bird feeders at Abernethy.

Red squirrels are another 'must see' species when in Scotland. Once decimated by introduced grey squirrels there numbers are now thriving thanks to living in isolation in the northern pine forests and intensive conservation efforts. They are also regularly found around bird feeders and can be one of the most rewarding and entertaining species to photograph. 

Other species to look out for are Roe Deer which are best looked out for in the early mornings and evenings and the elusive Capercaillie! (Please note Capercaillie are very vulnerable to disturbance you are best viewing these animals from a car should you ever spot one - more advice on the RSPB website)

Hides at Rothiemurchus

The Rothiemurchus estate is a family run estate very near Aviemore, more prized for it's selection of outdoor adventure activities but the estate also runs a few wildlife photography hides which can provide some rare photo opportunities!

The Speyside wildlife hide offers dusk watches where the main species seen are the well known but rarely seen badgers and the secretive pine marten with the occasional owl sighting if one is lucky. The hide provides a unique opportunity to see these two members of the weasel family up close when their nocturnal nature makes them very difficult to see let alone photograph.

Another hide rothiemurchus offers is to photograph fishing Ospereys! I have yet to try this myself but the photographs I have seen have been breathtaking and it would be a truly unique opportunity. There are quite a few places around Aviemore to photograph Ospreys as their are quite a few numbers of the birds in the area from late spring to August. It is advised to book in advance as it is quite a popular event. For both species 50-300m lens range is all you need.

The Black Grouse Lek

For a professional wildlife photographer one of the greatest events in the Cairngorms is the Black Grouse lek! 

These grouse are larger cousins of the Red Grouse and Ptarmigan and during the breeding season they have one of the most flamboyant and arguably aggressive displays in the animal kingdom. Every dawn males will march around an arena head lowered enlarging their throats and making a bubbling sound to suddenly raising their heads hissing and sometimes jumping to look intimidating. 

DSC_7394

DSC_7401

 The males will then charge at each other size one another up and if they are evenly matched they will fight. Whilst all of this happens the females are marching around the lek deciding which male is the strongest and generally only one male is chosen! (Rather fussy really isn't it?)

DSC_7281

DSC_7292

This event generally only continue for an hour or two after dawn and then the whole group will disperse!

If you do want to see black grouse up close like this you absolutely must book a previously arranged photography hide as the birds are incredibly vulnerable to disturbance and in recent years their numbers have majorly declined in the UK. Wildlife Photographer Mark Hamblin organises a hide near Kingussie and there is also a hide organised at Glen Tanar an hour from Stonehaven! An important thing to remember with wildlife photography is that although we all want that perfect image you must absolutely respect the wildlife and do your best not to disturb them. 300-600m lens, tripod and warm clothes are recommended.

Scotland's Predators

The crown jewel for any wildlife photographer in Scotland would ultimately be the Scottish Wildcat. 

These miniature tigers are like ghosts, the some of last true survivors of a land that was shrouded in forests where wolves, bears and other megafauna once roamed freely. 

Today the story is very different the wolves, bears, lynx, moose, wild boar and other species have long been removed from the British Isles. Persecuted out of fear and to protect livestock. In their absence deer have flourished and increased grazing from deer and sheep, years of,deforestation, a wetter climate and the managed heather moorlands have halted the natural succession of the forests and the overall biodiversity of the land has diminished!

The Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie has a few of the once native species that were found in Scotland and their aim is to educate the public about wildlife conservation and the possibility of reintroducing these keystone animals 

There is a bid to bring these predators back in order to restore a natural balance and encourage ecotourism but these kind of decisions are not met without heavy controversy.

But if you came to Scotland would you love the chance of going to Edinburgh for a day and then heading out to the Highlands for the chance to see a wolf pack? How incredible would it be to see Wildcat numbers flourishing again? How often can you say you've seen a moose? It may take time but I hope for the day that more effort will be put into rewilding the land which we now heavily manage and maintain.

For more information about rewilding Scotland visit the Scotland Big Picture Website.

Also for a the best chance to see many animals at the cairngorms I recommend a highland safari with Steve Reddick all links at the bottom of the blog.

Watching endangered grouse

Steve Reddick Wildlife Safari's

Glen Tanar Photography

Mark Hamblin Photography

Rothiemurchus Hides

Scotland Big Picture