Over the last ten days our Winter Wildlife Watch package has produced an amazing array of wildlife encounters.

Amongst the species which have been routinely recorded on our guests sightings board are displaying Golden Eagle, Scottish Crossbill, Hen Harrier, Red Squirrel, Mountain Hare, a Stoat in ermine, Dipper, Long-tailed Duck, Red Deer, Wild Goats, Goosander and Black Grouse.

Heather and guest in the snow hole!

Leaving the snow-hole and Ptarmigan footprints at nearly

4000 feet!

Special sightings included a female Capercaillie sighted near to the RSPB's Forest Lodge, a Marsh Harrier at RSPB Insh Marshes and a juvenille White-tailed Sea Eagle seen near to Findhorn Valley.

Arguably the biggest 'tick' though has to go to the solitary Ptarmigan seen on both walks with Cairngorm Mountain Ranger, Heather Morning, at nearly 4000 feet! Heather looked after our guests who enjoyed favourable weather conditions (by the standards of Cairn Gorm in February!) to have a once-in-a-lifetime walk in one of the most extreme habitats in the U.K., as our guest Julie Rogers' photos prove.

A big thanks to Heather, Head Ranger Nic Bullivant and Red Squirrel Conservation Officer Juliet Robinson whose knowledge and experience of the area's wildlife all enormously added to a week which guests will not forget in a hurry.

We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did!