Red Squirrels at Aviemore, Scotland WILDLIFE IN THE UK – GREG COYNE, WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
I have just returned from a week’s stay in Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands. The main reason for my visit was to photograph diving ospreys, but I like to get a few hours in a red squirrel hide while I’m there, and there is no
better hide in the UK than that operated by Neil McIntyre. From the car park it’s a half mile trek, alongside a beautiful lake, into the forest to reach Neil’s hide. It’s almost like walking into a magical world and, thankfully with temperatures into the 30s during my visit, the midges were low in numbers so there was no need for protective gear. Having said that, carrying the camera bags meant a slow and measured walk in the hot weather up to the hide. The hide itself is superb for squirrel photography with openings at the front and both sides enabling portrait shots from the front and left and a squirrel jumping area to the right of the hide. The perches where the squirrels feed are set up to gain the best of the light coming through the trees. With ferns and flowers, it’s a stunning area in which to see these beautiful and fun squirrels.
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