Springwatch from Rothiemurchus

We are absolutely delighted that Springwatch were recently filming at Rothiemurchus, providing a great opportunity for millions to discover what this unique and special area has to offer. Simon King had a superb time and managed to capture on film; Ospreys, Wildcats, Pine Martens, Crested Tits and many more beautiful plants and animals that live in this superb place. Simon says of Rothiemurchus:

"Rothiemurchus is a shining example of a family run estate that works in harmony with the land, its wildlife and human communities. The care lavished on its diverse activities , from forestry to fishery, wildlife watching to walking, ensures a sustainable future for this very beautiful part of the world"   Simon King, BBC 2 Springwatch

Rothiemurchus Fishery raises £4,500 for cancer charity

On 14th June Rothiemurchus Fishery hosted the annual Big Fish competition in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. The event raised a fantastic £4,500 for the care of people suffering from cancer.

24 competitors fished the Large Loch on a rather blustery, cold day making conditions slightly difficult. However, most people caught fish, including one of the tagged specimens worth £500. Well done to all who took part!

We are absolutely delighted to announce that Loch an Eilein, on Rothiemurchus has been awarded Top Scottish Picnic spot - superb news! Thanks so much to everyone who voted for us in the regional heats.

However it's not over yet - we are now going head to head with 9 other sites in the UK to battle it out for 'Top UK picnic spot' and there's still a chance to WIN a picnic in New York!

We really need your votes so please vote for us again so that we have a chance of winning this prestigious ' Best UK Picnic Site' award. Click here to vote now!

As part of the work we do to monitor the Rothiemurchus Capercaillie population, we recently undertook our annual lek counts with James Gordon and Tim Poole of RSPB. To do this, we put up a number of camouflaged hides in the forest near the known leks (where the males gather to compete and display for the females). These displays normally occur at first light so we "slept" in the hides the night before and got up at 0430.  Shortly afterwards, the birds were onsong.

We count the males displaying to the females, which gives an idea of the population size, based on the assumption of there being approximately equal numbers of males & females. We saw 7, 4 and 2 males at the 3 sites respectively, which compares favourably with last year.

Ian Rutherford scoops top award with Rothiemurchus Ospreys.

Ian Rutherford, a long-serving and popular photographer with The Scotsman, has won the top press photography award for a record fourth time.

He was crowned First ScotRail Press Photographer of the Year at a glittering awards ceremony in Glasgow's Mitchell Theatre on 26 March.

His previous Photographer of the Year wins were in 1994, 1997 and 1998.Ian collected the award for Picture Essay of the Year with his striking images of ospreys fishing at Rothiemurchus Fishery.

Ospreys return to Rothiemurchus

We’re so excited to tell you that the first osprey of the season was seen at the Fishery on 27 March!

It is probably the "EJ" bird from Loch Garten and other birds have been seen since.  No established feeding pattern is taking place, as it’s slightly chilly at the moment with all the snow we have been having. Regular feeding will probably become more established with warmer weather which we all hope comes soon!