This was a our 4th visit, the previous one being in Oct 2011. See previous report. We managed to book a place on the Nick Baker's 'Highland Wildlife Hightlights' week and had a great time. Not only a BBC presenter for many years, but also a Wildlife lecturer as well as writing Wildlife books, Nick is incredibly knowledgable and enthusiastic about all aspects of Wildlife and made an excellent guide. He is very friendly and has a great personality. He accompanied us along with a Ranger on our daily excursions. Even when we asked him very basic questions about wildlife, he never made us feel silly and was very good at explaining facts. We did all sorts that week, from a fantastic EcoVenture Boat trip with Dolphins keeping us company, to pond dipping back at Aigas, followed by an identification talk from Nick as he examined our specimens under a microscope, which projected the image onto a large screen. It was fascinating. One evening after dinner, he gave us a really entertaining talk in the lecture theatre about some of the strange critters he had made programmes about over the years. I've never laughed so much. Like previous holidays at Aigas, we had the option of the Loch side hide visits before breakfast. It was well worth getting up at the crack of dawn. Not only did we see the Aigas Beavers returning to their lodge, but an Osprey arrived and sat in a tree opposite for at least 20 minutes. Thinking it couldn't get any better, we started getting ready to leave the hide, when we spotted a Pine Martin on the far side of the Loch. He walked along the footpath giving us all a great views. We had seen the Pinemartins from the quarry hide at night, under a dim spot light, but to see one in broad daylight made us appreciate just how beautiful they are. We were elated as we returned for breakfast. There was two other groups at Aigas that week. A party of friendly Americans doing their course and our old friend Dr. David Dixon taking his group for 'Wildlife in a Highland Landscape'. We have done several of David's courses in the past, including the above one and the Autumn 'Monarchs of the Glen' and both were very enjoyable and informative. We had the pleasure of hearing one of his informative Geology of Scotland in relation to Wildlife, talks this holiday. A marine biologist by profession, David has many strings to his bow, from being an advisor to the BBC on technical issues for their Wildlife programmes, to doing research and writing scientific papers. He is a font of knowledge on all aspects of Wildlife and geology, as well as being a super bloke. Aigas does a wide range of special interest weeks and have excellent leaders running them. We will certainly have a return visit. It's just a matter of deciding which to do next. The icing on the cake this time was staying in the Round House. A wish come true! Thank you.
