Scotland 2020 - Day 2 - Curiosity Caught The Cat(on Cam)

  After the 10 hour drive up yesterday we didn't go far today and just stayed in the Fort William area and on the farm. After checking for the tide times we were able to do a bit of shopping before heading to a spot on the Loch Linnhe shoreline at low tide where we have viewed Otters on numerous occasions.

  Unfortunately no mammals this time but plenty of bird life with a Rock Pipit on the stony shore and rafts of Goosanders, Goldeneye and Gulls on the water.

  Goldeneye.

  

  The wind chill meant we stayed for less time than we planned so returned to the car and headed down Glen Nevis.Due to the return of the pouring rain we decided against a walk along the river and drove down the Glen.

  Hooded Crow in the gloomy Glen Nevis.

  Glen Nevis in which Harry Potter fans may know Hagrid's Hut was located.

  We headed back to the farm and caught up with the resident animals.

  My favourite boy, Tug.

  New boy and trouble maker ;), Shadow.

  The Sheep are always welcoming too lol

  

  I had a leisurely walk along the Spean River which runs through the farmland.It had been swollen by the recent rain and snow hiding the rocks I can usually sit down on but surprisingly I still saw a Dipper fly by me heading upstream.

                             

  Back indoors I now had time to check out the trail cam I had placed in the garden the night before.The only food I had put out were apples and peanuts in hope of the local Red Deer coming into the garden again as in previous visits.

  My trail camera is getting very old so no longer immune to the Scottish weather and so the first footage was a bit mysterious.

  Name the mammal....

                             

  

  No, it wasn't this one ;)  The first clear footage of the early hours caught this curious feline checking out the food on offer.

                             

                             

  A Scottish Wildcat?? I think it may be the same individual that I also caught on film around the same time the previous year.At the time it was suggested it was most likely a Hybrid.Hybridisation with domestic Cats is one of the biggest threats to the true Scottish Wildcat population.

  You can learn more about the Scotland Tigers on the Scottish Wildcat Action website below.

http://www.scottishwildcataction.org 

  The Wildcat wasn't the only mammal to visit last night.The answer to the first mysterious footage became clear around 5.30am.The peanut fancier, a Pine Marten.

                             

                             

                             

  This was the first time I had actually seen a Pine Marten on camera at the farm in 15 years of visiting.It meant there may be some long nights ahead in hope of catching a live sighting of this elusive Mustelid.

Day 3 coming tomorrow as we head West to the Cairngorms.

Many thanks for reading and watching the clips. :)