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28 Jan 2021

Wildlife spotter’s guide: Kintail

A very round and furry, dark brown water vole sits on its back legs and nibbles at a blade of grass. It holds the blade in its front paws, which have very long claws.
Water vole | Laurie Campbell
​This beautiful stretch of West Highland landscape includes towering mountains, a rocky coastline and salt marshes. As a result, it is home to a wide variety of wildlife.

Click on the pictures below to find out a little more about some of the species that you may spot during your visit.

A small bird, with brown, grey and orange feathers, stands on a rock in a grassy field. A large badger walks across a grassy clearing in woodland, towards the camera. Its black and white striped face is very clear. In the foreground is a pile of earth, possibly the entrance to its sett. A black-throated diver swims across the still surface of some green-ish water. It sits very low in the water. It has a smooth black head, and white chest, with a sharp black bill. A dipper stands on a rock, facing the camera. It has a brown body, head and wings, with a bright white chest and neck patch. An adult wild goat stands with a kid goat on a gorse and scrubby ledge. The goats are a rough grey in colour, and the adult has large, slightly curved horns. Both have darker faces, bellies and tails. A golden eagle perched on a branch, with its back to the camera but turning its head to the right. A golden-ringed dragonfly perches on a thin branch. Its black and gold bands along its body are clear. Its almost transparent wings are held out horizontally from its body. A medium-sized wading bird stands on a patch of grass, with water in the background. The sun seems to be setting over the water, turning the sky yellow. The bird has a white tummy, greyish back feathers and a long bill. Its legs are a pale green. Two porpoises, possibly a mother and her calf, swim in a blue, rippling sea. Their backs are above the surface to reveal their small dorsal fins. A meadow pipit sitting on a wire fence, in the background is a brown grass field A mountain hare sits in a grassy field, with bright blue sky in the background. Its long ears, with a black tip, are raised straight up from its head. It is looking towards the camera. It sits on its hind legs, but rests its front paws on the ground as well. An otter emerges from a stream onto a grassy bank with buttercups. Its brown fur is wet and sleeked back. A ptarmigan sits on a rocky area, looking to the right. It has brown and white mottled feathers, and a red stripe above its eye. Two red deer stand in silhouette in the Kintail mountains A bird that looks very like a blackbird, but with a white band across his chest, perches on a rock. It has two grubs in its yellow beak. A small, dark brown butterfly with orange markings around the side of the wings, perches on a blade of grass, glistening with dew. A small, robin-shaped, bird perches on a slender stem in a field. It has a bright orange chest, with a dark cap and back. A very round and furry, dark brown water vole sits on its back legs and nibbles at a blade of grass. It holds the blade in its front paws, which have very long claws.

Featured Places

The Five Sisters mountains reflected in the waters of the loch on a cloudy day.
Place

Kintail

Exceptional and remote mountain scenery with lochs, glens and the magnificent ridge of the Five Sisters

The Highlands

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