Small Creatures seen by visitors to Aspenwood
Pine Marten
You may be lucky enough to glimpse the elusive Pine Marten which are about the size of a cat and have been seen in the area around the cottage mostly at night - although this photo was taken in the early evening.
They are easily identifiable by the general dark brown of its fur that contrasts with the creamy throat patch. They enjoy eating blaeberries, small mammals and insects.
They are also very agile climbers and one of the only predators that can catch red squirrels by darting through the trees as it chases them.
If they know there is a food source available they will become quite bold and turn up regularly waiting to be fed - like this cheeky female who had young waiting nearby.
See our local wild Pine Marten Video clip being hand fed!
Red squirrels are present in the woodland of Farigaig Forest surrounding the cottage and can often be seen running around the grounds and jumping effortlessly from tree to tree.
Red squirrels can be seen all year round as they do not hibernate in Winter - unlike the grey squirrel which does not inhabit the Highlands of Scotland although they do become less active in Winter, burying nuts as a winter store. There are plenty of nut-bearing hazel trees in the vicinity and the magnificent oak producing tempting acorns. They also feed on pine cones and the local forest is abundant with coniferous trees.
We have seen a squirrel carrying its young in its mouth several times at Aspenwood in the Spring/Summer.
We have a new bird bath and more nut feeders and nut balls outside the lounge attached to the fence, not only to attract the teeming bird life but also entice the red squirrels. We know they 
are about as guests have told us they have seen the squirrels run along the fencing and they have also been guilty of demolishing 2 lightweight nut feeders, now replaced with a more sturdy screw top variety.
Native red squirrel (right) seen in Farigaig Forest in November.
Badgers are in the area. There is a large sett - a system of underground burrows - next to the cottage in Farigaig Forest and badgers have been seen and heard rushing through the undergrowth at nightfall. A fully grown badger is about 1 metre long with long, course, greyish hair on the back and a white face with a broad black stripe along each side. They have crushing molar teeth adapted to a partly vegetable diet and short strong legs with long sharp claws suitable for digging up their favourite food – earthworms - strange choice for such a large animal. They also dig for roots, mice, insects and a variety of fruit and nuts.
Tribes of feral goats roam the area and have been seen locally at Whitebridge and at Boleskine. They have coats of various combinations of black and white, but they also occur with brown or even silver hair. The billy goats have splendid long horns which are not shed like deer antlers but continue growing. They have annual growth ridges on them which give an indication of the animals age. They mate in October/November when there is a lot of fighting between the males. Kids are born in January or March in areas above 1000ft. They are very nimble footed and wander and breed on inland cliffs, sea cliffs and open stony ground. On our journey to Applecross on the west coast we had to stop for a mother and kid which ran across the track road and down the cliff bank to the shores of Loch Torridon.
Although foxes are mainly nocturnal, they might be seen at dusk during the mating season from early January to mid February. It is not unusual to hear the triple bark of the dog fox followed by the answering scream of the vixen. They nest in holes in the ground and in dense thickets. At night foxes forage over a wide area often becoming quite bold in winter time in their search for food. We have seen a fox in the grounds of Lower Birchwood House.
Brown Hare are often seen at dusk running along the narrow lanes in front of vehicles before darting suddenly into a nearby field.
The weasel is Scotland’s smallest carnivore – the male being slightly larger with a head + body length of 8 inches long and the smaller female being 6 inches in length. Their small size is well compensated by their fierceness in hunting. They are often seen rapidly crossing roads or sitting upright to gain a better field of vision for their favourite food of mice and voles. They have a brown coat and tail with whitish underparts.
Stoats are slightly bigger than weasels and have a distinctive black tip to their tail. Most of the stoats in Scotland turn a creamy-white colour in winter but always retain their black tail tip. Dense cover is essential to these two carnivores as they are a favourite meal to birds of prey or larger mammals.
There are plenty of wood mice and field voles inhabiting the forest and fields nearby although they might not actually make an appearance. Despite their very small size they are an important link in the food chain for a wide variety of animals and birds including fox, stoat, badger, pine marten and various species of owls and birds of prey.
Pine Marten
You may be lucky enough to glimpse the elusive Pine Marten which are about the size of a cat and have been seen in the area around the cottage mostly at night - although this photo was taken near to the cottage in the early evening. They are easily identifiable by the general dark brown of its fur that contrasts with the creamy light apricot throat patch. They enjoy eating berries, small mammals and insects. They are also very agile climbers and one of the only predators that can catch red squirrels by darting through the trees as it chases them. If they know there is a food source available they will become quite bold and turn up regularly waiting to be fed - like this cheeky female who had young waiting nearby and we could hear them squeaking in the bushes.
Red squirrels
Red squirrels are present in the coniferous woodland of Farigaig Forest surrounding the cottage as their favourite natural foods are pine cones and hazel nuts. They can often be seen scampering along the platform fence to feed at the peanut feeders which are now a firm favourite on their menu. Their long bushy tail is used for balance and they have amazing ear tufts at certain times of the year. Also very sharp little claws. We have many peanut feeders and suet balls outside the lounge attached to the fence, not only to attract the teeming bird life but also to entice these cheeky creatures which are fascinating to watch at close hand from the comfort of the lounge. They often stop for a drink at the bird bath. The young are called kittens and are born in Spring although a second litter can be born in Summer if conditions are right. We have seen a squirrel carrying its young in its mouth several times at Aspenwood in the Spring/Summer months. The young are great fun to watch and often appear together to eat and have fun chasing each other along the platform and up and around the nearby trees.
Badgers
Badgers are in the nearby vicinity. There is a very large badger sett - a system of underground burrows - near to the cottage in Farigaig Forest and badgers have been seen and heard rushing through the undergrowth at nightfall. A fully grown badger is about 1 metre long with long, course, greyish hair on the back and a white face with a broad black stripe along each side. They have crushing molar teeth adapted to a partly vegetable diet and short strong legs with long sharp claws suitable for digging up their favourite food – earthworms - strange choice for such a large animal. They also dig for roots, mice, insects and a variety of fruit and nuts.
Brown Hare
Brown Hare are often seen in the early morning or at dusk running along the narrow lanes before darting suddenly into a nearby field. They have brown fur and white underparts and long black tipped ears which are very useful for hearing predators. Luckily they can run extremely fast.
Although foxes are mainly nocturnal, they might be seen at dusk during the mating season from January to mid February. It is not unusual to hear the triple bark of the dog fox followed by the answering scream of the vixen. They nest in holes in the ground and in dense thickets. At night foxes forage over a wide area often becoming quite bold in winter time in their search for food.
Weasel
The weasel is Scotland’s smallest carnivore – the male being slightly larger with a head + body length of 8 inches long and the smaller female being 6 inches in length. They have a smooth light brown coat and tail with white underparts and a long slender body with short legs. This sleekness enables them to follow their prey into their burrows. Their small size is well compensated for by their fierceness, speed and agility in hunting. They are often seen dashing across roads or sitting upright to gain a better field of vision for their favourite food of mice and field voles as well as small birds. This one recently appeared in our garden during the daylight as I was putting seed out for the birds. It suddenly emerged from a small hole in the earth about 2 feet away from me, gave me a good stare and then disappeared back down the hole. We have also seen it on the peanut feeder. It belongs to the same family as stoats, otters and ferrets. They are very similar in body shape to a pine marten,although much smaller.
Very small creatures
There are plenty of wood mice and field voles inhabiting the forest and fields nearby although they might not actually make an appearance. Despite their very small size they are an important link in the food chain for a wide variety of animals and birds including fox, stoat, badger, pine marten and various species of owls and birds of prey.
Bats are also in the area and can often be seen flying round in the dusk.
