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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 9am - 5pm Sunday 9am - 5pm

Kestrel Wildlife Safaris

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Kestrel Wildlife Safaris

Unique Wildlife Safaris which providing dramatic scenery and wildlife viewing adventures.

05/09/2023

Time has raced by this summer and we've had some great wildlife safaris! With autumn just about here we're looking forward to some exciting changes in the natural world as our summer migrants take to the skies for Africa and Europe and winter migrants start to arrive. Some of our summer migrants have already left, including swifts, common sandpipers and sand martins (pictured).

28/07/2023

Kestrel Wildlife Safaris supports conservation in Madagacsar through the Madagascar Fauna & Flora Group (MFG) https://www.madagascarfaunaflora.org/ , with £1 from each safari sold going to MFG along with along with any tips and carbon off-set money for our use of diesel to fuel the safari Landrover Discovery.

in the first three weeks of July went went to visit the MFG projects in Madagascar with my family. The conservation work being undertaken by MFG is awe-inspiring and far too much mention here, but highlights include work in partnership with Missouri Botanical Gardens to support the small remote community of Ampasina in their efforts to conserve a few remaining fragments of rainforest in an area dominated by slash-an-burn-agriculture, and research into the possibility of reintroducing a number of critically endangered Diademed Sifaka lemurs to Betampona Strict Nature Reserve to boost the existing small, but declining population there. There footage is of a diademed sifaka that we located using telemetry equipment.

15/06/2023

So far we have been fortunate enough to get great views of red deer on all of our safaris since we kicked off back in March. The hinds and stags are largely in separate group through the winter, spring and summer months, although male offspring can remain with their mothers well into their second year of life. Some groups have moved to higher ground now to avoid the midges. Despite the hot, dry weather the midges can be merciless when the sun goes down, before sunrise and in the shade.

What is noticable at the moment is that the stags, which are most easily seem in Glen Ample, have antlers covered in a moleskin-like layer. This is known as being "in velvet". The velvet is a blood-rich layer of skin taking blood to the fast-growing bone of the antler. It is covered in a fine fuzz-like fur. The antlers are rounded at this stage as they have not yet calcified; calcification occurs at the end of the growth period. Antler growth is complete by late August. At this point the velvet dries out, becoming itchy, causing the stags to thrash their antlers against trees and vegetation to remove the velvet. The antlers are now ready for use, if needed, during the rut.

27/05/2023

It's been great to see so many singing male whitethroats this year. These little African migrant males sing loudly from conspicuous positions in the bushes and trees until they have attracted a mate and she has begun lining the nest or laying eggs. Then the male gets a lot quieter!

15/05/2023

Join us for the adventure!

29/04/2023

A day which began dull and wet turned into a fantastic 7 hour wildlife safari. Our guest was a young aspiring wildlife photographer. Once the cloud cleared we saw 30 species including over 100 red deer (a group of 20 stags amongst them), 3 roe deer and two groups of fallow deer. Added to this was the beaver dam near Balquhidder Station and some great views of birds including skylarks, wheatears, a fieldfare (still here!), sand martins, buzzards, a great spotted woodpecker, a sandpiper and a dipper. There were great opportunities for photos too. Here a single hind stared at us as a partially cloud covered Stob Binnien set a dramatic backdrop behind her.

26/04/2023

Native greylag geese can be seen all year round on and near Loch Voil along with non-native Canada geese. There are currently 10 greylags. More than 40,000 pairs are probably resident breeders in the UK, with migrants from Iceland boosting their numbers to over 200,000.

21/04/2023

An early start this morning to take part in a wading bird survey along the River Dochart in Auchlyne Estate, just below our Wildlife Safari route. It was a stunning morning, as we counted snipe, oystercatchers, curlews and lapwings with the mountains Ben More and Stob Binnien in the background. Here 3 oystercatchers call as they pass by along the river.

18/04/2023

Our Auchlyne Estate Safari takes you high into the hills overlooking Glen Dochart with spectacular views of Ben More and Stob Binnien, the two highest mountains in Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park.

17/04/2023

Wild though much of the north-east area of Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park is, unfortunately our wildlife remains susceptible to careless action by people. Discarded fishing line is a serious problem - it's not uncommon to see birds or bats caught in fishing line left hanging from trees, or maimed birds such as this grizzled lesser black-backed gull, which has almost certainly lost its foot to discarded fishing line. Fortunately gulls are tough and this individual seemed to be getting on okay on its single foot.

15/04/2023

The young hind at the head of the Auchtubh Group seems to have upset some of her elders - not sure why - perhaps she shouldn't be at the front?!

The Auchtubh Group are being seen out on the River Balvaig floodplain on a daily basis at the moment.

12/04/2023

Originating on the grasslands of central Asia and introduced to the UK in Iron Age times, the brown hare can be seen on Auchlyne Estate, Glen Ample and Balquhidder Glen safaris.

10/04/2023

A feral goat with her kid spotted recently on safari near Loch Earn. These goats are decended from goats abandonned when highlanders were forced to leave their homes following the failed Jacobite rebellion of 1745.

07/04/2023

A stunning day on safari deep into Inverlochlarig Estate. Great views of red deer, lapwings, red kites and our first wheatear of the season, back from tropical Africa for the summer!

05/04/2023

Our fieldfares have started leaving for Scandinavian or even Russian summer breeding grounds, but this one hung around with a few others in Balquhidder Glen long enough for me to get this photo!

02/04/2023

Things are changing on the River Balvaig floodplain (also known as Loch Occasional due to its loch-like appearance during periodic flooding) as spring slowly gets going. Snipe are calling and drumming, at least one, (hopefully two!) lapwing has appeared and chiffchaffs can now be heard in wooded areas next to the floodplain, having returned from Africa - the first summer migrants that I have seen this year. A group of red deer have been regular visitors to the floodplain throughout the winter and continue to be so, including this spiker - approximately year old male red deer whose first antlers are just spikes.

Address

Stirling

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm
Sunday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+447818799285

Website

http://kestrelwildlifesafaris.com/

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