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28 Jan 2021

Wildlife spotter’s guide: Ben Lawers

A mountain ringlet butterfly perches on a tuft of grass, its wings spread wide. It is mostly brown but has an orange stripe at the edge of each wing, with brown spots in.
Mountain ringlet
Ben Lawers NNR is teeming with wildlife – from tiny insects to Scotland’s largest mammal, the red deer. A number of species have especially adapted to the extreme mountain conditions.

Click on the pictures below for a little more information on some of the wildlife you may be lucky enough to see during your visit.

A small bird, with brown, grey and orange feathers, stands on a rock in a grassy field. A buzzard soaring through a bright blue sky. Its large wings are fully stretched out, revealing the feathery tips. Its belly is pale, and it is looking down at the ground. A close-up of a common frog sitting on a stony surface, with moss in the background. The frog is mostly a khaki green colour, with some black spots on its body. A lizard twists around a rough wooden log. Its skin is brown and gold, with various spot and stripe markings. Its front claw is splayed out, revealing 5 toes. An emperor moth rests at the tip of a spring of heather. Its wings are stretched out fully, to reveal the distinctive eye shape on the top wings. Its two antennae look like little feathers. A golden-ringed dragonfly perches on a thin branch. Its black and gold bands along its body are clear. Its almost transparent wings are held out horizontally from its body. A small finch-type bird perches in a birch tree, with a steep mountain in the background. It has a bright red cap and throat, with brown and white body and wing feathers. A velvet-y mole peeps out of a hole in the earth, with two large front paws resting either side. It has a pointed pink nose with whiskers. A mountain ringlet butterfly perches on a tuft of grass, its wings spread wide. It is mostly brown but has an orange stripe at the edge of each wing, with brown spots in. A brown hairy caterpillar crawls across a wide green leaf. An osprey perches at the very end of a bare branch at Grey Mare's Tail. A small fish is held in one of its talons. It has rich brown body feathers, with a white belly and legs. A long, thin newt lies on some bright green pond plant. A ptarmigan sits on a rocky area, looking to the right. It has brown and white mottled feathers, and a red stripe above its eye. Two glossy black ravens perch on a wooden log, both looking to the left. There is woodland in the background. A close-up of the head of a red deer stag. It is looking directly at the camera. It has large furry ears, with smooth antlers rising above. Its dark fur beneath its paler face is quite shaggy. A red grouse stands alert on a rock, looking towards the distance on the left. It has tan brown feathers and a round tummy, with white legs. The red stripe over the eye can just be seen! A bird that looks very like a blackbird, but with a white band across his chest, perches on a rock. It has two grubs in its yellow beak. A close-up of a skylark standing in a grassy field. It has pale, golden brown feathers with a cream tummy. It has a raised crest on top of its head.

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Mist blanketing the peak of Ben Lawers, with a ridge path running into the foreground.
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Ben Lawers

Scenic mountains and ridges, and the best collection of rare mountain plants in Britain

Perthshire

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