​Have just got back from a really enjoyable Easter and birthday trip to the Cairngorms. I’ve only been to Edinburgh in Scotland before, and so I found the wildlife and landscape in the Cairngorms to be very special and super different to anywhere else in the UK. The pine woodlands had a very ethereal soundscape, with seemingly endless squeaks and chirrups from countless coal tits and siskins. One of the aims of the trip was to see a dipper, a species that, despite being relatively common in regions of the UK, I’ve never seen before. Luckily, we were staying in the small town of Braemar, which has Clunie Water (a tributary of the River Dee) running through it, and so it wasn’t long before I had a glimpse of the species whizzing along the stream like an airborne clockwork toy. A day later, we went for a small hike and wild swimming at Glen Lui, where not only did I see another dipper, but one that was building a nest into the bank of the river.
 
All in all, the trip was fantastic, seeing 61 species across 4 days, including 4 species that I had never seen before. I will definitely be re-visiting the Cairngorms!