Wildlife

Aberdeenshire is home to many different animals and birds. Dolphins are regularly spotted along the Banffshire coast, especially during the summer months. They are the largest Bottlenose Dolphins in the world and can grow up to 2 metres in length.  Even Orca are spotted on occasion. There are plenty of both grey and common seals along our shores. If you're interested in sea life the WDC Dolphin Centre in Spey Bay is worth a visit. We also have a fabulous sealife facility at Macduff Aquarium.

Gannets can be seen diving into the sea from Troup Head and all along the coast. We often see them at Banff, Portsoy and Cullen. They nest at Troup Head which is an RSPB site near Crovie. We also see a lot of migrating birds in Aberdeenshire and Morayshire. The Waxwing migrates from Russia to feed on the plentiful berries in the area. Staying in the cottage over winter you will see flocks of pink footed geese daily, as they tend to fly right over the cottage. In May the geese move on, followed a week later by the arrival of the swallows and house martins.

Aberdeenshire is home to an ever growing population of Pine Marten. It's an elusive creature but can be seen during the day, if you're very lucky. We are familiar with our local Martens as they are easier to identify than most animals, as each individual has unique markings. The Scottish Wildcat also exists in the area, but you are very unlikely to see one. Scroll down for our footage of a confirmed Scottish Wildcat. This was recorded in the vicinity of Buttermere Cottage. A very lucky sighting indeed! For more information please visit Save Our Wildcat. 

 Our nature videos have been captured locally so you can see close up just how beautiful and interesting the wildlife is.  While you're staying here look out for roe deer, pipistrelle bats, foxes, badgers, buzzards, woodpeckers, tawny owls and barn owls to name but a few! 

We have added a Nature Log to the cottage, for guests to record sightings. I hope you enjoy the videos below. 

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