September 2021 - Early-autumn wildlife in Royal Deeside

1 Oct

Similarly to August, September was a month of contrasts. Autumn had arrived but an Indian summer clung on and the mercury climbed up to 25C locally which is always very pleasant. By the end of the month however the temperatures had plunged to freezing! The warm temperatures, combined with a little rain proved a perfect combination for fungi and Deeside has seen an incredible array of mushrooms from a variety of species. For those that like foraging Chanterelles have appeared in abundance and are likely to continue right through the autumn. Alongside them are a few less palatable species such as the Fly Agaric, so named for its historical use as an insecticide when crumbled into milk.

Foraging in moderation has allowed for some rather tasty meals this autumn

It was great to get out on the ebikes with guests again and enjoy some of the more autumnal delights of Deeside from the changing colours to migrating birds. Towards the end of the month we saw part of what turned out to be one of the largest migrations of Pink-footed Geese across the UK ever recorded. This huge push of birds south from Greenland and Iceland coincided with the winds swinging to the northwest helping them on their way. Tens of thousands flighted south with well over 3,500 passing over Crathie on the morning of 29th.

White-tailed Eagles are becoming a more regular sight in Deeside.

September also brought with it the start of the Red Deer rut though activity from the stags was fairly low to begin with. It is fantastic to be able to watch this behaviour and simultaneously see locally breeding White-tailed Eagles and Black Grouse. The former now have two pairs within the area, a great and incredibly impressive addition to the local avifauna although the local Greylag Geese probably aren’t as happy about their arrival.

We completed our survey work on Wood Ants in Upper Deeside and recorded a staggering 692 nests! This averaged out at over 12 nests per hectare which is a pretty high density anywhere in the Wood Ants range and testament to the excellent conditions present in the forests of Royal Deeside. It was also great to join the Rare Invertebrates in the Cairngorms work party at Mar Lodge to survey for the exceptionally rare Pine Hoverfly. Sadly, we didn’t locate any larvae but it was great to see the work being undertaken for them and also see the scarce Narrow-headed Ant.

As well as plenty of varied wildlife exploration in Deeside, Dan was also working around southwest England during the first half of September including the Isles of Scilly and Lundy, Cornwall and Devon. It was a fantastic opportunity to be able to show guests some of the diverse wildlife that occurs in this part of the world from pupping Grey Seals to autumn flowering orchids as well as a huge variety of migrating birds, butterflies and moths.