Winter Wildlife
Red Deer
Wild red deer can be much easier to see in winter, because they come down from the high tops to find more shelter from the wild weather. Herds often also join together at this time, so it is not unusual to see a herd of many hundreds of stags or hinds. The deer often find wet and windy winter days much harder to survive than very cold and clear weather.
Red Squirrels
Red squirrels do not hibernate. However, in winter they spend more time sleeping and sheltering in their dreys, and you are only likely to see them on fine days. Then they will raid their food caches, made in the autumn, and also feed on cones in their favourite pine or spruce trees.
Salmon
Salmon spawn through the earlier months of the winter, laying many thousands of eggs in upland streams and rivers in the area. Most of the fish die after mating or spawning, but a few may return to the sea to repeat the spawning cycle again.
Geese
Greylag geese from the far north (Iceland and Greenland) will come and overwinter here where it is relatively warm. They come to the fields, where they graze on the grass. Whooper swans, which have a yellow and black beak, will also overwinter on our ponds and lochs.
Mountain Hares
If you venture into the hills in the winter, you may be lucky enough to see mountain hares. There are lots of them, but they are well camouflaged in the snow, turning completely white in the winter. If there's no snow on the ground, however, they are very easy to spot.
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