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12 Feb 2021

Wildlife spotter’s guide: West Affric

A close-up of a black grouse, sitting on a patch of wispy grass. Its red eyebrow is very clear, and it holds its tail fanned out behind it, revealing the white tail feathers.
Black grouse
​The wild and beautiful landscape of West Affric has much to offer wildlife, with its native forest, beautiful lochs and rugged moorland.

Click on the pictures below to find out a little more about some of the species that you may spot during your visit.

A close-up of an adder, coiled up with its head poking out at the top. It has brown and gold markings on its skin. A large adult badger walks along a woodland leafy path, straight towards the camera. A close-up of a black grouse, sitting on a patch of wispy grass. Its red eyebrow is very clear, and it holds its tail fanned out behind it, revealing the white tail feathers. 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. A small brown bird, with an orange tummy, stands in a field. It has a striking white line over its black eye. A golden eagle perched on a branch, with its back to the camera but turning its head to the right. A small bird stands on a mossy rock with occasional blades of grass growing through. The bird has a golden and black speckled back, with a black tummy and small round head. A close-up of a kestrel hovering in an upright position mid-air. Her brown wings are fully extended and her long tail fanned out, revealing a black band around the tip. Her yellow feet are tucked against her mottled brown belly. A meadow pipit sitting on a wire fence, in the background is a brown grass field A dark blue/grey merlin perches on the end of a wooden branch, looking to the right with its back to the camera. Its short black tail has a white tip. A mountain hare sits in a grassy field, with bright blue sky in the background. Its long ears, with a black tip, are raised straight up from its head. It is looking towards the camera. It sits on its hind legs, but rests its front paws on the ground as well. An otter emerges from a stream onto a grassy bank with buttercups. Its brown fur is wet and sleeked back. A long, thin newt lies on some bright green pond plant. A pine marten creeps along a woodland floor, its body very close to the ground and its nose smelling the leaves in front. It has a long busy tail, and a white bib. 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. 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. An speckled brown owl sits on a clump of heather, its head turned 90 degrees to directly face the camera. It has bright yellow eyes and two little tufty ears on top of its head. A small, robin-shaped, bird perches on a slender stem in a field. It has a bright orange chest, with a dark cap and back. A very round and furry, dark brown water vole sits on its back legs and nibbles at a blade of grass. It holds the blade in its front paws, which have very long claws. A small, pale brown willow warbler sits on the end of a pine twig. Its beak is slightly open, as if in song.

Featured Places

A view across a wide glen in winter, with very high snow-capped mountains in the distance.
Place

West Affric

Wild mountain landscape with peatlands, moorlands and woodlands, home to black grouse, golden eagles and water voles

The Highlands

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