penel you would have a ball with your camera.
there were kites flying above me today I know they are kites by their tails and loads of buzzards as ever, the young are on there own now and they all whirl around in the thermals off the rocks behind my mothers croft.
we even have golden eagles here in rogart and ospreys at the mound during the summer. there are hen harriers too. we get loads of bird watchers as well as sportsmen. we have wild goats and sika, red and roe deer. there are not as many hares now but if you are prepared to walk even further into the hill than I was, up at ben armine where the eagles are there are mountain hares. I was at the borders of the muie sheepstock club/ dalnessie area yesterday. today I was just bumming around mams crofts at pittentrail up in the heather behind the house. looking at the birds. there are plenty rabbits just now so the dutch boys didnt shoot them all! also there are hut circles and standing stones and brochs galore. I try to imagine what it was like then very different I expect as it was forrested then and the sea was higher, the vikings used to sail up the fleet. I wonder if they had spaniels? ( or lurchers? bet they had lurchers!!)
Sounds fab Jean. I'm not really up 'north' north much but I do spend a lot of time on the west coast around Fort William with work and I love it up there. I take the dogs whenever I can and they have a ball running around in Glencoe and around the Ben Nevis pathways and we also go out west towards Lochailort and even towards Morar/Mallaig if I have more free time while I'm there.
I've worked for my company for three years and in that time I've seen golden eagles, ospreys, kites, kestrels, harriers, buzzards, otters, foxes, hundreds of red deer (go to Rannoch Moor in rutting season!
), roe deer, millions of rabbits, hares, badgers, mink, salmon and trout in the River Lochy, kingfishers, heron.... I could go on!
I think the north and west of Scotland are the last really wild places left in the UK.