The Eagle Search
by Aaron Goodall – As a newcomer to the Scottish Highlands, I (Aaron) find myself in a constant state of awe over the dramatic landscapes and rich biodiversity surrounding us at Aigas Field Centre. Here, I tell the story of…
Category Aigas Wildlife
Keep up to date on the latest wildlife sightings
Wildcats behind the scenes: Fergus’ guide to greeting your keeper
by Maria Giulia Checchi – If you aspire to be an Aigas wildcat, the most important lesson you need to learn is how to interact with your keeper. These humans are devious, shameless beings! They have no issues with luring…
Sheep Twitching: In Search of Three of Scotland’s Rarest Breeds
by Jacob New – Those of you who have visited Aigas this year might have noticed that there has been a rather strange addition to our species list on the whiteboard: almost every week now we have a sheep breed list.…
Life on the Ledge
by Ellie Reid – This was my second visit to a gannet colony, and I thought I knew what to expect. It had only been a few months since I stood in awe at Noup Head during my time on…
Sumer is icumen in
by Alex Levontine – Although the summer solstice represents all the abundance and potential of summer, it is also a moment of stillness. The pause in the pendulum swing of the year as day length reaches its maximum and the…
Dawn Chorus on the Moor
by Jacob New – When we think of a ‘typical’ dawn chorus I am sure that most people imagine the sounds of garden birds streaming through their bedroom window, providing a lovely springtime alarm clock, or perhaps warblers and tits…
Canisp and a Distant Dream
by Ewan Fenelon – Nestled in the heart of Assynt, northwest Scotland, Canisp is a mountain of unexpected encounters. The meaning of its name has been lost in antiquity, though it may stem from the old Gaelic word can meaning…
Hope for Wildcats
by Flavio Winkler Ford – This year has seen lots of hope for the return of wildcats (Felis silvestris) to Scotland. This is a species that, in 2019 was classed as functionally extinct in the UK. Wildcats are in this…
Forever sightings
by Gabriella Lockwood – For any wildlife enthusiast your first sighting is something that will stay with you for a long time – sometimes forever. I knew my academic placement year would create a lot of fond memories but prior…
Aigas: One of the best places to see pine martens (Martes martes) in the UK
by Carys Palmer – One of Britain’s most elusive mammals, the pine marten (Martes martes) is highly secretive and found only in a couple of areas of the UK. Once widespread, the species has since declined drastically due mainly to habitat…
Aigas Twinflower Project Update
by Calum Urquhart – The Twinflower (Linnaea borealis) is a rare plant in the UK, confined almost entirely to Pinewoods in the Scottish Highlands, where it exists at around 50 sites. Named for its dainty, symmetrical flowers, this beautiful little…
It is Tough to be a Bee
by Flavio Winkler Ford – Bees can be heard buzzing around flowers, such as those of willow in early spring and heathers throughout the summer. At Aigas, we have been delighted to see the first white-tailed bumblebees of the year…
Why Choose Aigas?
For the last forty-seven years, when the rest of the world was either destroying or marginalising nature, the little Aigas estate was busy rewilding. In those days it was called ‘restoration ecology’, a virtually unknown activity outside National Nature Reserves. In…
A Grey Matter
by Giulia Maria Checchi – The days are finally starting to get longer and the weather isn’t as gloomy anymore. The daffodils are up in the Aigas garden, there is bud on the rowan and the mornings are loud with…
Lepidoptera and Climate Change
by Eliane Bornoff and Josephine Tod – As spring and summer have rolled around at Aigas we have seen the emergence of many species of moths and butterflies. The warmer weather has brought a surge of new moth species into…
A Hard Pill To Swallow
by Dora Hamilton – This morning when I pulled up my blind, I was confused to see the outside world in a grey fuzz. My first thought was that I was still bleary-eyed from sleep, and then I wondered if…
Wildlife Worldwide Festival of British Wildlife at Aigas
by Emily Richens – In the final week of May, Aigas played host to Wildlife Worldwide’s ‘Festival of British Wildlife’, wherein guest leaders, naturalists and professional photographers along with our own experienced ranger team explored some of the best that…
Scotland’s Magnificent Eagles
by Matthew Broadbent – In the Scottish Highlands, we are lucky enough to be surrounded by so many species of bird, some widespread throughout Britain, and some heavily restricted to the North of Scotland. Some of the largest, and most…
Ospreys at Aigas
by Josephine Tod – It is the time of year again where, as part of a walk around the loch at Aigas, you can often be lucky enough to see these stunning birds of prey. The loch is seasonally stocked…
The Life of Bumblebees
by Elizabeth Hare – After a bout of warm, sunny weather around Aigas the first signs of spring have been eagerly welcomed by many of us here at the field centre. Peacock butterflies and red admirals have been spotted flying…
World Wetlands Day
Today is World Wetlands Day a celebration of the day the Ramsar Convention for the protection of wetlands was signed in the city of Ramsar in Iran in 1971. A wetland is a land area which is either permanently or…
The Birds of Aigas
by Matthew Broadbent – The Highlands are a great place to look for birds, and Aigas is no different! As a keen birder, I’m never far from my pair of binoculars when on site, working or just having a wander…
Getting familiar with the Pine Martens
by Lucy Smith – Now that the holiday season is over at Aigas, us Academic Placements have each been tasked with designing and completing a project over the winter. I remember, very soon after arriving, having a conversation with Hermione…
The Badgers of Aigas
by Josephine Tod – Now that the Aigas visitor season has come to an end, life on the Aigas estate changes with the cooling weather. As our seasonal staff return home for the winter, our academic placements begin to learn…
The Rutting Season Commences
by Eliane Bornoff – The arrival of autumn has bought with it some exciting changes around the Aigas site. Temperatures are dropping, leaves are beginning to change colour and red deer stags can be heard roaring across site as the…
The Geese Have Arrived
by Matt Broadbent and Eliane Bornoff – We have seen thousands of Pink-footed geese flying over Aigas recenly. These birds have migrated from their breeding grounds in Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen (Norway) to winter in the UK’s wetlands and farmlands. Around 510,000 individuals are expected annually in the UK,…
