Posts for July, 2022

Imagine being able to tell what’s migrating over your head every night while you sleep…. it’s not as complicated as you might think, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun! Join Mark for a toe-dip into nocturnal migration recording (nocmig), and those peaceful nights will never be the same again….

Join us after dark to discover more about the nocturnal species that live in our woodlands!

We will head out for an evening mammal walk in Loch Insh Woods, using night scopes and bat detectors to see who we can spot among the trees and by the loch.

Then we will retreat to the comfort of an apartment at Loch Insh Outdoor Centre with bats roosting in the rafters to watch them up close as they head out to feed.

Light refreshments will be provided by Loch Insh Outdoor Centre. Participants will also be eligible to claim 10% off a meal or snacks in the Boathouse Restaurant before the event.

Unfortunately the woodland paths and the apartment are not accessible for people using wheelchairs. Children over 12 welcome, under 18s with an accompanying adult. We will meet at the Loch Insh Outdoor Centre car park.

Celebrate the wonders of the night sky with a weekend of stargazing activities taking place across Tomintoul & Glenlivet Cairngorms Dark Sky Park in a new and exciting Star Party event. There’s something for everyone from complete novice up!

Our exciting programme includes naked eye stargazing and telescope viewing; talks; walks; mobile planetarium; film and a range of workshops and practical family friendly activities including bottle rockets, sun lab, meteorite handling, spectroscopy, and solar observing.

Activities will take place in a range of locations across Tomintoul and Glenlivet including Tomintoul Field of Hope and The Carrachs Dark Sky Discovery Sites, Tomintoul Lying-in Field, Tomintoul & Glenlivet Discovery Centre, Richmond Memorial Hall, Glenlivet Public Hall, and The Scalan. Full details can be found at our Eventbrite listing.

This talk will take you on adventures with Dinosaurs, birds and reptiles. How dinosaurs transformed into birds, and some of Nigel’s favourite encounters with alligators, snakes and turtles.

In this talk, Chris Knapman, Tree and Environmental consultant, explores the relationship of ourselves and other species with trees- the most versatile organism in all creation!  Trees are central to all faiths, we value their utility and celebrate their inspiration and intrinsic beauty in art, literature and architecture. Without trees, our civilisations and culture would be significantly different.  But trees do not just benefit our health, development and enlightenment; they provide homes and food for countless other species as individual and collective ecosystems.  Take a journey from the Garden of Eden, through the dark woods of fairy tales to the light of wood pastures, Costa Rican cloud forest and beyond….

Tracking wildlife is so much more than following a set of footprints to find an animal. This talk is a brief introduction to a more holistic approach to the discipline, looking at the principles and techniques as well as how to interpret tracks, trails and sign. Tracking helps us all connect more completely with the world around us. This talk covers the basic principles with plenty of anecdotes and examples collected from a naturalist’s adventures from all around the world.

Estonia is one of 3 Baltic States in the EU. It has an area less than a quarter of Great Britain and a population about 1/7th that of London. A feature of Western Estonia is the large number of islands and long coastline and while it may not be everyone’s first choice for a wildlife trip, for all-round naturalists like Helen and Terry it had everything: birds not seen at home, wild orchids in profusion, dragonflies, and other insects and much more on extensive nature reserves and in the wider countryside. This talk will take a whistle-stop tour of some of the larger nature reserves and introduce some of their inhabitants.

During March 2020, David Lindo was on a press trip to Salamanca when word got out that there was going to be an enforced lockdown due to a new virus spreading across the world – Covid19. He retreated to his apartment Mérida, Extremadura thinking that he would be there for a couple of weeks. A year later he was still in Spain. Hear how he survived Spain’s draconian lockdown through birds.

Orchid hunting in the UK has become the pastime triggered by personal expeditions to find all of the UK’s orchid species and sub-species but as good as it is to see the interest, the reason why orchids are considered to be the most evolved plant species is less well understood. I will try to explain the reasons and mechanisms used by these fascinating plants with lots of examples.

The Badenoch communities hold an annual heritage festival which builds on the very successful Kingussie festivals held previously. The Badenoch Heritage Festival in 2022 is being held from 18th-25th September.

Details of the walks, talks and online events taking place during the week can be downloaded from the website. Most of the events are bookable on Eventbrite, and you can also view all the bookable items there.