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 SpeyBay is worth a visit. 

Gannets can be seen diving into the sea from Troup Head right 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 Hoppoe is often reported near Elgin along with the Wax Wing. Staying in the cottage over winter you will see flocks of pink footed geese daily, as they tend to fly over the cottage. In May the geese move on, followed a week later by the arrival of the swallows. Last year we started seeing house martens as well.

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. The Scottish Wildcat also exists in the area, but you are unlikely to see one and you'd need to know the difference between a Wild Cat and a large tabby!

 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 pipistrelle bats, foxes, badgers, grey lag and pink footed geese, buzzards, herons, greater spotted woodpeckers, lesser red poll, yellow hammers, siskins, 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. Feel free to follow our You Tube Channel.