Spent the last week at the
Aigas Field Centre up near Inverness on one of their wildlife weeks and thought I’d provide a little feedback here, just in case anyone has considered visiting and wanted to know what it’s like.
These holidays cram in a massive amount, almost too much in some ways. Each day you visit a different region, some close by, such as Strathfarrar or Black Isle, others further a field, such as Wester Ross and Speyside. This can mean quite a bit of time on a minibus on winding roads, up to 4-5 hours on some days, so bear this in mind if you don’t travel well!
Having said this, when you’re part of a group of 10 people, a minibus makes for a good hide and allows you to watch wildlife without disturbing it so much as would inevitably be the case if the same people fell out of the door every 5 minutes.
There’s a bewildering array of wildlife to see within what is a relatively small area. I counted 76 different birds and 12 mammals, but probably forgot to record a few, didn’t count others that I didn’t see well and a few we searched for didn’t show. Add to that spectacular scenery, flora, interesting geology, history, and of course the Aigas Estate itself and there really is something for everyone here.
I have to single out the Rangers who were our guides for the week. They were all exceptional in their level of knowledge, enthusiasm, fieldcraft and energy. Without a doubt these young men and women make the trips what they are.
Highlights for me were a good Sea Eagle sighting, Pine Marten at Aigas, Bottlenose Dolphins showing well at Chanonry Point, Slavonian Grebe in a couple of places, an Osprey catching a fish in Beauly Firth, an Otter in Loch Garten.. you get the idea
A few photo’s as a taster. I should mention that the photography opportunities are not that good. You don’t stay long at any location really and being part of a group means you’re never as close as you’d need to be for good pictures, but you get a flavour of a big part of Scotland and know where to return if you want a closer view.
