Have been enjoying the continung spell of bright sunshine here in Lochaber.The temperature reached a heady 9oC on Saturday (although ...   more »

Out and about in Lochaber we have continued to fight our way through snow and ice, pretty much as soon ...   more »

Up before dawn yesterday to inspect our local blackcock lek, and try and get some pictures. Surprised to find a ...   more »

Still cold at Glenloy and the mountains are white-capped. The canal continues to periodically freeze over, so the water temperature ...   more »

Spotted an adult White-tailed Eagle at the mouth of the River Loy on Monday (18th), just a few hundred metres ...   more »

Here in Glenloy, we haven't had the volume of snow that has been found elsewhere in Scotland, but the weather ...   more »

One late, long December evening we went down from Glenloy to a concert in Strontian. Weather being reasonably amenable, one ...   more »

In mid December, we were bemoaning the lack of a decent cold spell in Glen Loy, and now the old ...   more »

Having suffered some pretty wet and miserable weather in Glenloy, along with the rest of the country, we were pleased ...   more »

Here in Lochaber we had a couple of outings in more-or-less fair weather last week. The first was to Glen ...   more »

The weather in Glenloy remains unseasonably mild, if wet. A couple of strong winds have started to strip the foliage ...   more »

Went for an atmospheric walk along the Caledonian Canal from Glen Loy this morning. The water was still, the mist ...   more »

Had a change and a Grand Day Out last week, taking visitors to Skye for the day. We were blessed ...   more »

Time for a busman's holiday. Always a good excuse to suss out the local landscape for Glenloy guests. So, we ...   more »

Our latest group of guests enjoyed a great week out with Glenloy Wildlife , despite some rather mixed weather.

Sunday ...   more »

The rain has been incessant in Lochaber throughout August, but this has not stopped the flood of tourists, many from ...   more »

The local osprey chicks at Loch Lochy were fledged a couple of weeks ago and are now venturing further afield. ...   more »

Here in Lochaber the weather was rather mixed throughout July, and continues to be variable into the first week of ...   more »

It's now high summer here in Lochaber. The bracken is tall, the trees no longer in first flush, but the ...   more »

Great sighting of an otter and 2 cubs at the mouth of the River Lochy last week, a short walk ...   more »

Had some quality time at the beginning of June to celebrate my birthday and realise a couple of ambitions. On ...   more »

Another great week for wildlife watching in the West Highlands. Orchids seem to have been shooting up everywhere - particularly Fragrant Orchid, which were nowhere to be seen last week. The Northern Marsh Orchid seem to to favour the Council road verges, and the splashes of deep purple make for a vivid (if precarious) display. The latter were more showy around Lochaline, however, where we also saw the first Greater Butterfly Orchid of the season, along with Common Spotted - some wonderfuly colourful patches of mixed flowers by the loch shore.Other orchids seen in the week were Lesser Butterfly Orchid (in some profusion in Glen Loy), Small White, a single Early Marsh (which seem to have disappeared as quickly as the Fragrant have been appearing) and masses of Heath Spotted.

It was not the best week for butterflies; cooler with showers, but still managed a late Chequered Skipper at Glasdrum, while the first Dark Green Fritillaries are on the wing, with Common Blue flying in some numbers. Also seeing more Painted Ladies wherever we look - now have records for Staffa, Lunga, Rum and Muck, as well as most mainland locations. Also found another Argent and Sable moth up Glen Loy.

The undoubted highlight for visitors was the family of Pine Martens that are now visiting us. Our regular mother is now bringing her three well-grown kits to feed in front of the house, and everyone got great views of them all scampering about, mum trying to retain a vestige of control. Good to see that all have survived so far and are looking healthy.

A trip out to Eigg and Muck saw us entertained by a pod of Common Dolphin, which cruised in the wake of the boat and surfed in the Shearwater's slipstream. Although seabird numbers were generally low we did get good views of a couple of Bonxies and glimpses of a couple of Storm Petrels.

Had good views of small birds this week, with fabulous sighting of twite, clearly displaying bright pink rumps. Had equally good look at sedge warbler, willow warbler, whinchat, wheatear and stonechat. Also had clear view of immature Great Northjern Diver, still lingering on Loch Linnhe, with porpoises rolling in the background.

An incoming tide scuppered our rock-pooling to a degree, but not before we found dahlia and jewel anemones, together with the expected crabs, sponges and shrimps.

Had some great sightings with Glenloy Wildlife guests last weeks, and am just playing catch up with some of the details:

Monday: 2 youg red squirrels ran along the road towards the van and paused on the verge for a good look before scampering off. Sword-leaved Helleborine still flowering nearby. Eagles up the glen.

Tuesday. Orchids flowering in Glen Loy Chickweed Wintergreen in the Caledonian Pinewoods. Whinchats singing throughout glen. Spotted flycatcher by deer fence..

Wednesday: Stopped to look at a goosander in Loch Linnhe and spotted a female otter on the rocks, which then fished for us. Whist still watching for the otter two sea eagles appeared behind us, and were harried by a golden eagle, with great views of all. For good measure a buzzard and a raven also appeared in frame to give a great idea of scale. Later that day a pair of merlin were disturbed by a raven , which they continued to harry for some minutes, shrieking and dive-bombing it.

Thursday. Shearwaters cutting the waves around the boat on the way to Rum. Hundreds of common seals sunbathing on the skerries.

Friday. Porpoise rolling in Loch Linnhe and fantastic close-up views of  Marsh Fritillary on the shore nearby.

Saturday. 3 black-throated diver feeding together in close group on nearby loch affording fantastic views from the shore. Red deer hind, heavily pregnant, feeding by the bridge at Glenfinnan and unwilling to move as we eventually crept past.

Had one of the beautiful evenings here in Lochaber that serve to remind us why we moved to this area....   more »

What a fabulous week we have had here in Glenloy. The skies have been vivid blue, the snow-topped mountains as clear as a bell, including Ben Nevis, and the temperatures have almost been touching 20o. The nights have been cold, which has somewhat curtailed the haul of moths, but some new ones for the year have been tucked away in the trap - Early Thorn, the Streamer, Small Phoenix and Scalloped Hazel. We did manage a night out with the bat detector yesterday, and were pleased to pick up several Soprano Pipistrelle, and what almost certainly were Daubentons over the River Loy. A couple of days earlier I found a bat that had been freshly killed, by Loy Bridge. It isn't often possible to get a good look at all the defining characteristics of bats, but this one definitely keyed out to Pipistrelle. We were able to appreciate some of the more obscure features such as the neat, rounded tragus in the ear, and the membrane behind the spur of the hind feet.

The birds too have been singing away. A Garden Warbler has been giving a full performance in the garden, along with Blackcaps, and the now monotonous Chiffchaff. I heard my first Sedgte Warbler of the year lustily grating and warbling along the Caledonian Canal, and the Grasshopper Warbler was still reeling away. Tree Pipits now seem to be everywhere. The local Osprey seems to have settled tight onto the nest. There are also plenty of butterflies about, although almost all Green-veined Whites, Orange-tips and somewhat jaded Peacocks. No sign yet of Fritillaries, although I haven't looked hard for a couple of days. The frog tadpoles have grown hind limbs, and I saw a Palmate Newt busy picking them off in a forestry ditch the other day.

Today I saw my first Wood Cranesbill of the year in flower, always a sight to inspire. The Bluebells have come on in leaps and bounds with the sun, and have become a spectacle, almost overnight. We took a walk last weekend to the ruins of Tor Castle by the River Lochy (where Banquo's ghost reutedly walks to this day). This is covered in Fairy Foxgloves, although they were only just beginning to flower, once out their neat purple heads make a very pretty sight. I am intrigued by the name as they seem to be most unlike the common Foxglove. More intriguing was a tidy patch of Wood Spurge close by , in full flower. This must be an introduction, but of what antiquity who knows

Showery weather here in Lochaber over the Bank Holiday weekend, but this didn't stop us getting out and about. A ...   more »

Had two very contrasting days out here in Lochaber in the last couple of days. On Thursday we walked up ...   more »

Things have been pretty hectic at Glenloy of late, but now have finally got time to draw breath and provide ...   more »

Glen Garry is only half an hour away from Glen Loy, but once the main A82 is left there is ...   more »

More lovely days in Lochaber. Took the opportunity to investigate the Arkaig glens, setting off via the Allt Chia -Aig ...   more »

Beautiful series of sunny spring days here in Lochaber this week .Explored the upper part of Glen Roy, hoping for ...   more »