Wildlife watchers

The European otter (Lutra lutra) is found on most river catchments in Scotland. Otters are secretive, solitary, semi-aquatic mammals that belong to the mustelid family (along with stoats, weasels, pine marten and American mink) and are found either at the coast or inland on rivers and lochs. They have brown fur, often pale on the underside, a long slender body with a long thick tail, webbed feet and a broad head with small ears. They swim low in the water, with the head and back barely showing.

‘River’ otters feed mainly on fish such as trout, salmon and eels, and will also take frogs and toads and occasionally small mammals and birds. They are mainly nocturnal and most active at dusk and dawn. Their home ranges are large – around 32km for males and 20km for females. ‘Coastal’ otters (the same species) feed almost exclusively in the sea, and are mainly active during the day. They have much smaller home ranges because of the abundance of fish and crustacean prey in inshore waters. ‘Coastal’ otters also require access to freshwater in order to keep their fur clean and free of salt.

Dens, known as ‘holts’, are used for shelter and breeding and can be a burrow, natural hole, pile of rocks or cave. ‘Couches’ are above-ground structures used for resting or temporary shelter. In Britain, otter cubs, usually in litters of two or three, are born throughout the year. Cubs are raised by the mother, without help from the male, and juveniles stay with her for around a year. Otters leave spraints in prominent places in their territory to mark the their range, defend territory and to maintain social contact with one another.

In Gaelic, otter is dòbhran, from an old word meaning “water – dog”.

Read more about Otters

The Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged predatory wading bird found around all types of water: rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes and the sea coast.

Herons like to feed on fish, but will take other aquatic creatures, such as frogs, small mammals, eels, insects, crustaceans, duckling and even, occasionally, a small water bird like a coot. They hunt by standing stationary in the water, waiting for prey to come within striking distance, and use their keen eyesight to spot fish before using their strong long neck to strike at speed – grasping prey in their long, dagger like beak. They will also stalk prey through shallow water.

Fish are swallowed head first (maybe our heron is trying to turn this fish, without dropping it!). Larger prey are carried to the shore and subdued by being beaten on the ground or stabbed by the bill. Most prey are swallowed whole and the heron will regurgitate pellets of indigestible material such as fur, bones and insect remains. Main hunting times are around dawn and dusk, but they can be active at other times of day.

Although solitary hunters, herons are social birds and live in flocks.  At night they roost in groups in trees or on cliffs. They breed in colonies, know as ‘heronries’, with numerous nests located in high trees close to lakes, seashores or other wetlands. The same nest is used year after year, getting bigger as more material is added each year.

Listen to the call of the Grey heron

At first glance this might look like a Scottish wildcat, but it is actually a hybrid wildcat – the result of interbreeding (hybridisation) between the the Scottish wildcat (Felis sylvestris) and a domestic cat.

Hybridisation is the biggest threat to the survival of the Scottish wildcat – interbreeding is causing them to lose their genetic differences from the domestic cat. ‘Pure’ Scottish wildcats are very rare – it is estimated that, at most, perhaps only 100-300 individuals remain. Scottish wildcats are identified by pelage (coat) markings – each of 7 key pelage features is given a score which determines how the cat is classified: a wildcat, a hybrid, or a feral domestic cat. While our cat has some good looking wildcat features other things not quite right.  For example, the tail would be bushier and thicker were this a pure wildcat.

A conservation project – Scottish Wildcat Action, is underway which aims to restore viable populations of Scottish wildcats to north Scotland. We share any footage we collect of potential wildcats with the project to support their monitoring programme.

Wildcats prefer to live on the woodland edge where a variety of habitats are present: woodland or scrub – which provides shelter and resting places, and open rough land, such as pasture, moorland or riparian areas – for hunting. They are typically active at dusk and dawn. During the day, or in periods of bad weather, cats lie up in dens located amongst boulders and rocky cairns, in old burrows, holes or tree roots. Wildcats are carnivores and well adapted to hunting and catching prey – with night vision, excellent hearing, sensitive whiskers that can detect air movement at night, retractable claws, sharp teeth and strong jaws. Their diet typically consists of rabbits, hares and small mammals but birds, amphibian and insects will also be eaten.

Find out more about Scottish Wildcats

The Pine marten (Martes martes) is one of Scotland’s most charismatic mammals, although relatively rarely seen as it is mostly nocturnal. However, they are common across the Highlands of Scotland and have been expanding in range recently, after numbers declined due to persecution in the 19th century.

Pine martens have dark or chestnut brown fur, and a large creamy/yellow throat patch and a large bushy tail. They are part of the mustelid family – the same family as the otter, weasel, stoat and the non-native American mink. They are somewhat similar in appearance to the mink – though the mink has darker fur, a smaller pure-white throat patch and smaller, less obvious, ears.

Pine marten are generally a woodland species, preferring native woodlands, but they also live in conifer plantations and rocky hillsides. They are excellent climbers and tend to live in tree holes or old squirrel dreys or birds nests. Like other mustelids, pine marten regularly leave their scat on forest trails or in prominent places like boulders to mark their territories.

The pine marten is primarily a carnivore but will take whatever food is available including: small mammals, rabbits, hares, squirrels, birds, eggs, insects, fruit, berries, nuts, fungi, frogs and left overs from rubbish bins and bird tables.

Read more about Pine marten

The red deer (Cervus elaphus) is native to Britain and our largest land mammal. It is found throughout Scotland and in some areas of England. They can live up to 20 years old, but few survive more than 16 years.

These two seem to have differing opinions of the water.  The first seems a little unsure of the burn, dipping toes in, before changing his mind and making a nervous leap across to the other side. In contrast the older male (still also a youngster with only basic antlers with little branching) is happy to wade slowly down the burn munching the vegetation as he goes.

Most red deer live in open moor and hill habitats, where males (stags) and females (hinds) live in separate groups for much of the year. Mating takes place around October/November, a time known as “the rut”. Mature stags (over 5 years old) will seek out groups of hinds and attempt to defend them from other stags, resulting in roaring contests, which may escalate to fighting and the locking of antlers to establish who is the dominant stag.

Red deer are herbivores, grazing on grasses and rushes, shrubs such as heather and blaeberry and young trees and sometimes agricultural crops, which can bring them into conflict with farmers and foresters. With no natural predators in the wild, culling of red deer is undertaken to maintain population health, for sport and meat and to ensure a sustainable balance with the environment.

Native red deer are at risk from an invasive deer – the Sika deer, which interbreeds and hybridises with the red deer. Sika are very similar in appearance, a key distinguishing factor is the antler shape – in the red deer the angle between the brow tine and the main beam is near to 90º. 

The European badger (Meles meles) is common throughout Britain, although it is not often seen as it rarely ventures out during daytime.

The badger belongs to the mustelid family – the same family as otters, mink and stoats – but the stocky, low body, short tail and, of course, the distinctive black and white striped long face make given them a quite different appearance to other animals in this family.

Badgers live underground in extensive systems of tunnels and nesting chambers – known as setts. They live in social groups of up to 20 adults, although 4-8 adults is more common. A group will occupy a main sett and additional nearby holes, mark territory using latrines, and defend it from other badgers. Setts tend to be most common in the shelter of a woodland.

Earthworms are the favourite food of the badger and make up the majority of their diet.  However, they are omnivorous and will take whatever they find including: insects (watch the opening clip carefully and you’ll spot the badger getting a beetle!) fruit, berries and small mammals such as rodents and rabbits.

Read more about Badgers

This one isn’t really an alien – though hard to tell from such a quick glance this is actually a bat, which are native to Scotland.

From this clip it is not possible to confirm which species of bat this is, but, given the habitat and the way the bat is moving and hunting at head height, our best guess would be that it is a Pipistrelle bat.

Pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) are the most common bat species in Britain and are found in a wide variety of habitats, from countryside to urban locations. They appear fast and jerky in flight as they dodge around pursuing insects which they catch and eat ‘on the wing’. Rivers and water courses are a favourite hunting ground for bats due to the plentiful supply of insects. Bats are nocturnal – hunting mostly at dusk and dawn.

Bats are social creatures, living in roosts – which can be found in and around houses (usually behind tiles, soffit or eaves boards, or in attic spaces) or in tree holes and crevices. A summer roost might average around 75 bats, while a maternity roost might have a few hundred bats. In winter bats move to a cooler winter roost to hibernate – this might be a crevice in a building, bridge or tree – where they see out the winter singly or in small numbers.

Bats use a technique called “echolocation” to locate prey and navigate in the dark. As they fly they make a “shouting” sound and listen to the returning echoes with a special part of their ear, allowing them to build up a picture of anything ahead of them – including the shape and size of any insect it may wish to eat!

Did you know?

• Bats are the only mammal capable of true flight
• A bat’s wing is actually a hand adapted for flight (like a webbed foot)
• A pipistrelle bat is small enough to fit inside a matchbox
• A pipistrelle bat weighs only 3-8g (the same as a 20p coin)
• One pipistrelle bat can eat up to 3,000 insects in one night
• There are 1,300 species of bats worldwide

Find out more about bats with the Bat Conservation Trust