Places · 23 species

Cairngorms wildlife: what to see, and when

Caledonian pinewood at Abernethy, lochs and the high plateau of Cairn Gorm. Red squirrels and crested tits in the pines, ospreys from April, capercaillie at the dawn lek and mountain hares turning white for winter.

Best known for

Season by season

What’s worth looking for, quickest to see first, with the best time of day.

Spring March to May

Buzzard day · keep still
Great spotted woodpecker dawn and day
Red deer dawn, day and dusk · keep still
Red grouse dawn, day and dusk
Dipper dawn and day
Red squirrel dawn and day
Crested tit dawn and day
Osprey dawn and day · keep still
Reindeer dawn, day and dusk · keep still
Roe deer dawn and dusk
Mountain hare dawn and dusk · keep still
Stoat dawn, day and dusk
Snow bunting dawn, day and dusk
Scottish crossbill dawn and day · keep still
Ptarmigan dawn, day and dusk
Black grouse dawn · from a hide
Otter dawn and dusk · keep still
Dotterel dawn and day · keep still
Golden eagle day · keep still
Pine marten dusk and night · keep still
Capercaillie dawn · from a hide
Scottish wildcat night · red torch

Summer June to August

Buzzard day · keep still
Great spotted woodpecker dawn and day
Red deer dawn, day and dusk · keep still
Red grouse dawn, day and dusk
Dipper dawn and day
Red squirrel dawn and day
Osprey dawn and day · keep still
Reindeer dawn, day and dusk · keep still
Roe deer dawn and dusk
Stoat dawn, day and dusk
Scottish crossbill dawn and day · keep still
Ptarmigan dawn, day and dusk
Otter dawn and dusk · keep still
Dotterel dawn and day · keep still
Golden eagle day · keep still
Pine marten dusk and night · keep still
Scottish wildcat night · red torch

Autumn September to November

Buzzard day · keep still
Red deer dawn, day and dusk · keep still
Red grouse dawn, day and dusk
Dipper dawn and day
Red squirrel dawn and day
Crested tit dawn and day
Reindeer dawn, day and dusk · keep still
Roe deer dawn and dusk
Mountain hare dawn and dusk · keep still
Stoat dawn, day and dusk
Snow bunting dawn, day and dusk
Scottish crossbill dawn and day · keep still
Ptarmigan dawn, day and dusk
Otter dawn and dusk · keep still
Golden eagle day · keep still
Pine marten dusk and night · keep still
Scottish wildcat night · red torch

Winter December to February

Buzzard day · keep still
Great spotted woodpecker dawn and day
Red deer dawn, day and dusk · keep still
Red grouse dawn, day and dusk
Dipper dawn and day
Red squirrel dawn and day
Crested tit dawn and day
Reindeer dawn, day and dusk · keep still
Mountain hare dawn and dusk · keep still
Stoat dawn, day and dusk
Snow bunting dawn, day and dusk
Scottish crossbill dawn and day · keep still
Ptarmigan dawn, day and dusk
Otter dawn and dusk · keep still
Golden eagle day · keep still
Pine marten dusk and night · keep still
Scottish wildcat night · red torch

The hard ones

Rare and secretive: patience and the right place and hour. The waits are game time: sitting still, a game hour passes in four real seconds.

Scottish wildcat about 100 hours of game-time watching at its best (about 7 minutes of real waiting)
Pine marten about 20 hours of game-time watching at its best (about a minute of real waiting)
Capercaillie about 20 hours of game-time watching at its best (about a minute of real waiting)
Golden eagle about 12 hours of game-time watching at its best (about a minute of real waiting)
Dotterel about 10 hours of game-time watching at its best (about 40 seconds of real waiting)

Rare visitors

Not here most of the time. When one turns up it stays a day or two.

Snowy owl

Nature notes

When is the red deer rut, and where can you see it?

Checked against

Sources about the Cairngorms itself. Each species page lists its own.