Bird Watching & Wildlife Club at the Grant Arms Hotel

Heat in the sky in the cool of the day, and a bundle of purple mountains.

Views west to the Outer Hebrides and the Isle of Skye, and east to the Torridons.

This is a beautiful book from @julianhoffman.bsky.social via @eandtbooks.bsky.social
A delight from beginning to end.

Loch Lomond Flamingo Land resort set for approval after appeal The theme park operator wants to build a £40m resort with a waterpark, monorail, hotel and restaurants.

BBC News - Loch Lomond Flamingo Land resort set for approval
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Poster with landscape advertising an exhibition at Sherborne Abbey in June on the 'Rediscovery' of King Aethelberht's coffin in 1925. Includes 3 lectures; 1 on the Anglo-Saxon cathedral in Sherborne, another on Aethelberht, Aethelbald and Aelfred, kings of Wessex in the C9th and one on the 'rediscovery' of the royal Anglo-Saxon coffins in the following centuries.

This looks great! A free exhibition at Sherborne Abbey and 3 excellent free lectures in early June.

Please do re-post - especially if you live in the south-west.

Iolo Williams, TV presenter and naturalist

We are delighted to announce that Iolo Williams – renowned ornithologist, TV presenter and author – will be guiding two special wildlife holidays with us in 2026.

Available dates:
1st – 7th February 2026
8th – 14th March 2026

More information from our website.

Announcing our first ‘Festival of Feathers’
You love birds and birding but want to take it a step further, go that little bit deeper, and understand birds just a little bit more? Well, that is what this week is all about. It’s for everyone, from expert to beginner

grantarmshotel.com/events/festi...

VE Day flag for 2025

The Grant Arms Hotel will be holding an 80th anniversay Celebratory Afternoon Tea for VE day on Thursday 8th May 2025.

Times for the buffet-style tea are 12-5pm, £15.00pp. All profits to be donated to ‘Help For Heroes’

Prebooking is essential.

#VEDay #helpforheroes #veteransupport

YouTube video by Chris Packham Viscount In Focus: Life On A 10,000 Hectare English Estate

EXCLUSIVE - It's a very special edition of @chrisgpackham.bsky.social 's favourite show...

*** VISCOUNT IN FOCUS ***

to celebrate @wildjustice.bsky.social's petition to ban driven grouse shooting reaching 100,000 signatures!

youtu.be/CUuDkRP9s-4?...

On special days throughout the year, I record all the plants flowering in our habitat. Mindfully, I gather a single flower from each plant that can spare a bloom. Today I gathered 27 different species, resting them together in this celebratory display—with love and gratitude.
#WildflowerHour #Easter

Swift in flight

Swiftlet in nest

All about Swifts on 29th April…

8.30pm – EVENING TALK: A SCREAMING SUCCESS by NICK BAKER

In the Osprey Suite at the Grant Arms Hotel in Grantown-on-Spey

In his talk Nick celebrates these unique birds and explains how we can help their recovery from decline

#swifts #birds #scottishhighlands

Stopping Raptor persecution in the Scottish highlands poster

Join us at the Grant Arms Hotel in Grantown-on-Spey for a free talk by the RSPB’s head of investigations, Ian Thompson.

Tuesday 11th March at 8:30pm

Thanks Ian, very similar on the Somerset border, east of Sherborne (where I grew up)

Goathill?

Join Nick & Nick for a weekend of macro photography

An English Bluebell’s first leaves break ground through a carpet of oak and sweet chestnut leaves

There is a silent eloquence
In every wild bluebell
That fills my softened heart with bliss
That words could never tell.

Anne Brontë

Daffodils too, in the South West. Its January!

Fabulous views of four stunning Ptarmigan at Glenshee, Cairngorms on Wednesday #birds @scottishbirding.bsky.social @rspbscotland.bsky.social @rewildscotland.bsky.social @cairngormsnews.bsky.social

As breeding season approaches for the Capercaillie it is important to ‘Lek It Be’ - keep well away if you see one, don’t attempt to approach it in any way. It is a criminal offence to disturb them

#capercaillie #rarebird #rarity

📷 birdfact.com

NatureScot fails to make any compliance checks on use of new grouse moor licences As many of you will be aware, the 2024 grouse shooting season in Scotland (12 Aug – 10 Dec 2024) saw the use of grouse moor licences for the first time ever, introduced by the Wildlife Manage…

NatureScot fails to make any compliance checks on use of new grouse moor licences raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/01/21/n...

Bullfinch in snow

Mistle thrush on a frozen fence post

Winter birds in the Cairngorms National Park

#birds #wildlife #omsystem

📷 @wildphotographer.bsky.social

Red Deer stag in snow ©️ 2025 Nick Wilcox-Brown.

One more from our regular guest and tour leader, Nick Wilcox-Brown.

“One of the highlights of our ‘wildlife and scenery’ workshop in the highlands of Scotland was this impressive Stag, photographed on the Alvie estate.”

#wildlifephotography #scotland

One of my favourite places too - Annie Worsley’s writing is very special.

Red Squirrel eating a nut in snow by Nick Wilcox-Brown of https://wildphotographer.co.uk

Red Squirrels in snow was today’s highlight!

Based in the Cairngorms National Park, we have many photographers running holidays here to capture the specialty species of the region including red squirrels.

This picture by @wildphotographer.bsky.social

#Wildlifephotography #Photographyholiday

Fully funded PhD available: The Impacts of Avian Influenza and Toxicants in Scottish Raptors The University of Edinburgh is seeking applications for a fully-funded PhD scholarship (4 years) on the subject of The Impacts of Avian Influenza and Toxicants in Scottish Raptors. SUMMARY This pro…

An interesting PhD opportunity with 4yrs funding at Edinburgh University. Research results likely to directly influence Govt policy in Scotland on rodenticides, lead ammunition & avian flu.

Closing date for applications Mon 6 Jan 2025.

#RaptorResearch

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/01/02/f...

Windswept book by Annie Worsley

So many recommendations for @annieworsley.bsky.social ‘s magical ‘Windswept’ - a book that puts scenes and pictures into beautiful, eloquent words.

#books #landscape

Gelis melanocephalus Observation.org wants to enable everyone to record and share observations, increasing the knowledge of nature.

I have been recommending the wonderdul and free app Obsidentify to guests, so decided to test it: Gelis melanocephalus

observation.org/species/5492...

All free and available for all smart phones.

White-beaked Dolphins, Shetland by Hugh Harrop White-beaked Dolphins, Mousa Sound, Shetland on 2 October 2024 filmed by Hugh Harrop. Keep up to date with our latest news, pics and videos by following us on Facebook…

No. 4 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen by guests on our 2024 tours: a 'superpod' of White-beaked Dolphins off south Mainland, #Shetland in October. Aerial counts indicated at least 250 individuals. Here's some aerial footage by @hughharrop.bsky.social #MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK

A graphic showing the silhouette of an Arctic Tern. Text reads “Arctic Tern declined by 54% in Scotland between 54% in Scotland between 2000-20021. #SaveOurSeabirds”.

Arctic Terns travel the equivalent of three trips to the moon in their lifetimes.

We don’t want to live in a Scotland without these incredible seabirds.

Tell the Scottish Government how important it is to act now: https://action.rspb.org.uk/page/154240/action/1?ea.tracking.id=RSPB_Scotland_Bluesky

Such a tragedy!

What is the true cost to the Highland economy of the loss of this facility?

A visit to the top of Cairngorm via funicular was always a highlight for my guests not fit enough to make the full ascent on foot.