Wildlife update

The abundant red squirrels are daily visitors on the feeding platform at Aspenwood and they are often joined by a rich variety of birds. Guests this month have seen great tit, blue tit, coal tit, robin, chaffinch, goldfinch, great spotted woodpecker, greenfinch and ‘Cedric the siskin’….it is not just us who give the creatures names! This week we have initially heard and then seen a gang of long tailed tits zooming in and out of the trees.

One of our guests this week was in the lounge at 1 a.m. and looked out of the window to see a badger eating the remains of food on the ground under the feeders. It was also scooping food out of the water bath on the ground which is conveniently placed there for the pheasants who visit.

We know there is a large badger sett in the forest adjoining the cottage as we have been able to photograph them [as above] but they are rarely seen.  Guests last week went to Chanonry Point and actually saw the Moray Firth dolphins. Even though they have been visiting us for many years they have never managed to see these wonderful marine creatures before. The predatory sparrowhawk suddenly appears from nowhere and sometimes manages to catch a bird in his lethal talons although they ignore the squirrels….too heavy to carry off.

Amid all this excitement going on in the world outside the windows our two Loch Ness Monsters prefer to be safely in the warm and dream about their younger days.