October 2021 – Autumn in Deeside
With Autumn fully upon us we enjoyed some cracking days in and around Deeside as well as further afield. At this time of year the light is sensational and combined with some stunning autumnal colours it makes it incredibly easy to show people a truly magnificent Scottish landscape.
October commenced for us back on Shetland where the wonders of migration always awe. It was great to take part in the Swarovski Optic Global Birding Live event again though typically the wildlife didn’t quite play ball. Just 24hrs after the event at the exact spot from where we had done the broadcast we were enjoying the most incredibly close Otter encounter you could imagine with a mother and two kits actually swimming up to us to check us out! The Shetland Isles have a lot to offer even in autumn and Humpback Whale and White-beaked Dolphins also put in an appearance during our time there.
An Otter Kit giving the best views imaginable
Watching us watching them! Mother and Kit Otter swim over to see what we are up to!
Back on Deeside we headed up the Cairnwell on a beautifully crisp morning to look for Mountain Hares whilst the Aspens in the glen were golden. It was a pleasure to explore the forest trails by ebike and give several groups a taster of this superb region and its wildlife. We have also welcomed several journalists and photographers and it was great to see our ebiking safari’s featured in an article in the Guardian (watch out for another article in The Times in the new year too) as well as being part of a new campaign by Visit Scotland and Wild Scotland to encourage outdoor tourism through the autumn, winter and early spring.
Enjoying Red Squirrels foraging at Braemar
Our time in the field also yielded a number of interesting sightings. Whilst Golden and White-tailed Eagles, Black Grouse and Scottish Crossbills put in an appearance, we also discovered that the local grasslands at Crathie have an incredible assemblage of Waxcap fungi – a group that are known to be excellent indicators of rich grasslands. We also found the rare Sword Grass moth which has experienced a huge decline and range contraction across the UK so it was very encouraging to find it locally.
A veritable rainbow of Waxcap fungi
Overall there is a lot to love about Royal Deeside in autumn!