Inherently Beautiful

A truly stunning part of Britain the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland is a spectacular place with snow capped peaks and breathtaking scenery.

It’s the largest national park in the UK, many areas of this pristine environment are untouched and full of natural beauty, especially in winter.

One of my most favourite places in Britain with its outstanding beauty, rawness and remoteness all adding to its mystique and attraction.

It provides a unique habitat which is home to many rare plants, birds and animals, creating a landscape like no other.

Snow Bunting are a beautiful little bird that is almost exclusively a winter visitor to our shores. It is also a very rare breeding species, confined largely to the high tops of the Scottish mountains, particularly the Cairngorms.

This population is very small, most recently estimated at under 80 pairs. It’s always a joy to see them flying around at the base of the Cairngorm Mountain where they feed on exposed vegetation, carving out a living in one of the most extreme environments in the country.

They are really difficult to see when snow is on the ground due to their plumage. See if you can find the Snow Bunting in the photo below.

Red Squirrels are gorgeous mammals, they are smaller and shier than their grey cousins. Sadly though in England their numbers are low due a disease passed onto them by the Grey Squirrels known as squirrel pox. Scotland is their main stronghold and it’s nice to see them doing well here.

The Mountain Hare, famed for their ability to change the colour of their fur from brown to white with the change of seasons. They are the true masters of camouflage.

Clients ( bottom left -hand corner) stalking a Mountain Hare in the image above. I helped them with all aspects of fieldcraft and approaching these wonderful mammals along with camera settings. All to cut down on any stress they may cause to these sensitive and beautiful creatures due to their presence.

The result was brilliant images, a better understanding of fieldcraft and real, transferable skills they can take home. A rainbow then came out as though nature was thanking them for being so respectful.

Crested Tits are beautiful little birds that only live in this part of the UK and are very iconic to this area. With their punk style crests they use on top of their heads to communicate with each they are truly a wonderful little bird to witness.

I was watching this Crested Tit as there was another just out of shot. I heard their calls get louder and more intense.

As I watched this Crested Tit it started to flutter it’s wings and call. It stayed there doing this for a few seconds. I’ve never seen this behaviour before.

This bird was displaying to the other Crested Tit, absolutely fascinating to witness. Nature, always showing us something new.

We visited a beautiful Caledonian Forest where these stunning little birds live and we had some incredible encounters.

The Caledonian Forest takes its name from the Romans who called Scotland ‘Caledonia’ meaning wooded heights and covered much of the Highlands and what we know as the Cairngorms National Park today.

Each time I visit this place I always come across a tiny little bird that is often never seen, the Treecreeper. Those that follow my blogs to this place will notice there is often a few photos of this beautiful little bird within the post.

Here I witnessed this adult come down and search for food around the base of this large tree. It then climbed back up and as you will see in the second photo just disappeared due to its exquisite feather colourations and patterns.

I run my own photography tour to this special place, where I help all my clients with everything from camera settings, using light, fieldcraft and ethics.

Our base there is the lovely stone built Grant Arms Hotel. All these images were taken on my last trip there, some alongside my clients, who got some incredible photos throughout the week.

Thank you to the Grant Arms Hotel for looking after us all, the food, service and general helpfulness is always brilliant. Thank you to my clients for all your efforts, the respect you gave to the wildlife and the many laughs we had during the week.

Please Note – None of my images were taken at any of the numerous paid for hides, or estates in the area that feed wildlife. My Scottish Winter Wildlife tour also doesn’t visit any of these sites.

The subject was composed were it landed naturally not on a prop or perch. Working this way you learn so much more about the species. To read more about this click on my ethics page.

I will be running my Scottish Winter Wildlife tour in 2024. If you’d like to join me, click on this link, for all the information, previous client testimonials and booking details, many thanks.