Wildlife in Scotland – which creatures to look out for in the Highlands in autumn!

Sometimes you’ll see just one, other times there could be a whole herd, regardless, red deer are just stunning and as they move to lower ground for the colder months they really become much more visible with autumn the best time to see them.

Most active in cold weather they love the rain and wallowing in mud! There’s a population of about 300,000 living in Scotland – most of which are in the Highlands and Islands. Autumn signals the start of the rutting season, when the strongest males round up the females for mating. Hear the haunting roars that comes with rutting echoing in the glittering Torridon mountain range on our Applecross & Torridon trip.

40% of the international grey seal population can be found in Scotland during autumn and winter, and with silky-white furry pups being born in the autumn you can expect to see hundreds chilling out in the autumn sun on the coastal rocks around Orkney and Rona.

Autumn and winter are really the only times you will see these stunning birds in Scotland, coming in from the Arctic and Scandinavian countries they descend on the Hebrides to nest on the high cliffs safely hidden from predators.  Barnacle geese are truly magnificent to look at with silver, grey and black reflective wings and a white face nested within a black neck and head they are quite unique looking creatures but a treat to spot nonetheless.

Two very similar breeds of swan make the Highlands their home during the colder months – the Whooper from Iceland, and the Bewick’s from Siberia. Both are similar in appearance, and perhaps tricky for the untrained eye to spot which is which, however, the Whooper is the larger of the two by a good ten inches. Both are snowy white with a yellow and black bill. You can expect to see them in a number of areas in northern Scotland, particularly the Orkney Isles.

A large range of geese breeds make the Highlands of Scotland their home during autumn and winter but two breeds that you are most likely to spot are the Pink-footed Goose from Greenland and Iceland, and the Greylag Goose migrating to Scotland from as far away as Asia! The Pinkfoot is a lovely goose with brown and white feathers, a short black bill with a bright pink flash across the middle and, of course, pink feet! They are keen on farmland and large flocks can be spotted in Aberdeenshire with one of the largest known flocks of about 65,000 birds seen at Loch of Strathsbeg. The Greylag is a large, bulky goose but is unfortunately on the decline in the UK, which is a pity as they are such lovely birds – blue grey feathers with cute pink feet and an orange or pink bill! The best chance of sighting a Greylag is in the Outer Hebrides.

Recently released back into the Scottish wilderness beavers are pretty cool little creatures to catch a glimpse of especially when they are working away building dams and foraging for food. Because there’s not that many of them, they are quite tricky to spot, and being nocturnal animals who prefer to be in the water you should probably count yourself very lucky if you do manage to see one in the wild! Although these brown furry creatures could be mistaken for another small rodent, their distinctive, flat tale is a true indication of a beaver! Found mostly in the heart of Argyll.