Return of the Wild Things

Return of the Wild Things Documenting wildlife resoration on an estate in scotland 🌱

Met some lovely people visiting Argaty Red Kites last weekend, a working livestock and rewilding estate in Doune. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴...
27/10/2025

Met some lovely people visiting Argaty Red Kites last weekend, a working livestock and rewilding estate in Doune. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

At the end of the 19th century Red Kites were classed as extinct in Scotland, England and Ireland. For the past 20 years, the Argaty Red Kite Project has been helping restore their populations in Scotland. 🦅 It was incredible to see these birds up close at feeding time !

I had the pleasure of meeting both Niall and Lynn Bowser on their estate and Tom Bowser at a talk with in Banchory.
In 2021, the Bowser’s became the first private landowners in Scottish history to legally relocate free-roaming beavers. It was incredible to see firsthand the positive impact beavers are having on their land; building dams to slow water, re-designing water networks and felling trees, creating vital shaded habitat in shallow waters!

I highly recommended this great experience and I look forward to hearing everything they get up to in future !


1. Red Kite dive-bombing a Buzzard
2. Red Squirrel
3. Mini Beaver dam
4. Part-felled Willow tree
5. Female Chaffinch
6. Red kites feeding

All credits to Kim Alan and Claire Taylor for their amazing photography !! ❤️

Another week of wildlife! Here’s what I found as September drew to a close:Fly Agaric’s are everywhere (Amanita Muscaria...
02/10/2025

Another week of wildlife!
Here’s what I found as September drew to a close:

Fly Agaric’s are everywhere (Amanita Muscaria)🍄 -poisonous, don’t eat! They emerge from the ground rounded and flatten out as they grow.

A Comma butterfly with it’s unique scalloped edges 🦋 These butterflies hibernate over winter and will re-emerge next spring! This is the first I’ve seen up here!

This striking caterpillar will become a Broom Moth which feeds, unsurprisingly, on Broom but also Bracken!

🐸 The frog speaks for himself

Asters are all in bloom right now, a great late-season flower for the pollinators 💜

I joined in on another Moth-trapping morning with at Farm!
Caught these three Autumn species- all new to me! 🍂

Soooo nearly walked straight through this Garden Spider (Cross Orbweaver) sitting on her web 🕷️

First wild raspberries I’ve ever found! (Undisclosed location)

And I’m suprised to see the Red Admirals still flying about but it isn’t too cold yet- these must be the stragglers still preparing to fly south ❤️

Autumns here!!! 🍂Foraging Season has begun 🍄 This is my first year looking for edible mushrooms… 👀 30g of dried Porcini ...
21/09/2025

Autumns here!!! 🍂

Foraging Season has begun 🍄 This is my first year looking for edible mushrooms… 👀

30g of dried Porcini mushrooms £3.75 in Tesco! This one was growing in the lawn 🙂‍↔️

Spotted this Snout moth on the Nettles (food plant) outside of the bothy we camped in last weekend 🏕️ Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get a picture of his impressive nose- which is how he gets his name 🐽

All the berries are out too! 🍓 Sloes, Blackberries, Elderberries….We picked so many Sloes this year to make Sloe Gin! 🍷

This European Hornet gave us a scare when she came flying out of a log chucked onto the firepit! 🐝
Most likely a queen getting ready to hibernate for the winter, come spring she’ll be starting her own nest.
Hornets are pretty shy and tend to avoid people- but they’re attracted to light, so easy to spot on autumn evenings if they’ve gotten lost!💡

Daily dose of wildlife to shake up your mindless scrolling! 🐞Here’s some of what I’ve found in the last couple weeks: NO...
04/09/2025

Daily dose of wildlife to shake up your mindless scrolling! 🐞

Here’s some of what I’ve found in the last couple weeks:

NOT CLOVER! ☘️ It’s WOOD-SORREL.
A general rule of thumb is- if it’s in a bright open space ☀️, probably Clover, if it’s in a shaded wooded area 🌳, probably Wood-sorrel.
Last thing on the matter! -it folds its leaves away at night 🥹🌙

FINALLY managed to get a good picture of a dragonfly (favourite insect by FAR)
This is a GOLDEN-RINGED DRAGONFLY. Does anything eat wasps? 🐝 yes, this does.
Usually found near moorland and heathland, if you were a bug this guy would be the scariest thing in sky by far !!

That’s just me hugging a Douglas Fir 🌲

GIANT HOUSE SPIDER- wasn’t too excited when she crawled up my sleeve not going to lie, but we put her back where we found her 🕸️

🦋SPECKLED WOOD
🐸Baby COMMON TOAD. All the Toads, Frogs and Newts will be winding down to start their brumation (hibernation) over winter.
🐭WOOD MOUSE -so cute!!
🦋SMALL TORTOISESHELL
🍄‍🟫ARTIST’s BRACKET fungi ???? I think…
🪻DEVIL’s-BIT SCABIOUS (Succisa pratensis) Native wildflower, loved by pollinators!
🦋RED ADMIRAL, this guy emerged from his chrysalis on my windowsill. He only had four legs, but disabled butterflies are butterflies too 💪🏼
🦋🌙 This COPPER UNDERWING moth had found its way into my bedroom. They’ll all be laying eggs that will hatch in the spring! 🐣

Pretty cool to see how many insects are drinking nectar from the Creeping Thistles this year! Creeping thistles are nat...
22/08/2025

Pretty cool to see how many insects are drinking nectar from the Creeping Thistles this year!

Creeping thistles are native and grow throughout the UK. They can be a bit of a pain on farmland as they are pretty persistent.

Having said that.. as long as you have other plants to outcompete their growth, ie not bare ground. The seeds won’t germinate very effectively and the plant is more likely to spread via its root system- and this it does do rather quickly.

Our current management system is to allow it to grow in allocated spaces within the estate as it supports both our bugs and birds but maintain a border through pulling up the plants that begin to spread. 🌱

One of the biggest slugs in the UK! Leopard slugs mainly eat dead leaves and rotting plants - they won’t attack your gar...
08/08/2025

One of the biggest slugs in the UK!

Leopard slugs mainly eat dead leaves and rotting plants - they won’t attack your garden!! 🌱 They also prey on smaller, slower slugs (you could argue they’re actually defending your plants 💪🏼)

When it comes to mating they hang suspended in the air twisted around each other on a rope of their own mucus.
It’s pretty gross but definitely unique😅

Sir David explains it better here 🫡:
—————————————————————————————————
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wG9qpZ89qzc
—————————————————————————————————
I wouldn’t watch it whilst you’re eating 🥴😂

More moths! I have a new favourite: the Flame moth, evolved to camouflage against broken twigs. Moths outnumber butterf...
12/07/2025

More moths!

I have a new favourite: the Flame moth, evolved to camouflage against broken twigs.

Moths outnumber butterflies here 40 to 1 - with over 2,500 known species here in the UK! 🇬🇧

Mostly flying at night, they often go unnoticed, unless you happen to own a moth trap…cleverly designed boxes with a light and funnel that trap phototactic moths at night so that they can be observed in the morning before they fly off unharmed !

These are pictures from a moth trapping event mid-June ☀️ Thanks to 🤩

Some recent wildlife encounters! 🪺 found this little egg that had unfortunately been taken from its nest. Can anyone ide...
06/07/2025

Some recent wildlife encounters!

🪺 found this little egg that had unfortunately been taken from its nest. Can anyone identify?

🦆A mother Mallard duck and her ducklings!

🪲A gorgeous Red-legged shield bug

🐇Two little baby bunnies in the compost.

🦋Large Yellow Underwing moth, these are everywhere in the garden at the moment.

🐝buff-tailed bumblebee on Meadow-rue. If you look closely you can see a pollen sack on either of her back legs, this is how you can tell she is a female

Loads of new flowers from last weekends 2 day camping trip! 🌻 Wild Thyme🌻 Bitter nightshade🌻 Dor (dung) beetle 🌻 Heath s...
23/06/2025

Loads of new flowers from last weekends 2 day camping trip!

🌻 Wild Thyme
🌻 Bitter nightshade
🌻 Dor (dung) beetle
🌻 Heath spotted Orchid
🌻 Violet
🌻 Yellow saxifrage
🌻 Cow-wheat
🌻 Bell heather
🌻 Birdsfoot trefoil

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Lerrocks Farm
Doune
FK16 6EJ

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