Over the years, as the fishery has matured, we have witnessed the growing attraction for wildlife.
When creating the fishery back in 1992, we wanted it to be as natural an environment as possible for fishing and wildlife

Otters

Following a few years of intermittent visits, we have had an established and continuous population of otters for some years now. We are tolerant of our daily losses of trout to the otters, taking consolation that we are fortunate to live in an area of such wildlife diversity, and helping maintain their stronghold on Deeside.

If you look carefully along the embankments, you may see evidence of the previous nights activity. Fish scales or partly eaten trout, and on prominent tussocks, their territory marking spraints. More commonly now they are out in daylight, and quite a few lucky anglers have witnessed them catching and eating trout.

After snowfall in winter, their slides down the embankments are very obvious. Being intelligent animals, allied to the easy pickings at Raemoir, there is plenty time to indulge in this favourite winter activity.

Click here for video clips :- Otter 1  |   Otter 2  |   Otter 3  |   Otter 4  |   Otter 5  |   Otter 6  |  

Foxes

Like the otters, foxes are present all year but not so obvious, apart from territory scats on the paths. However, after winter snowfall their presence becomes obvious by the extent of tracks. They closely follow the otters around, scavenging on leftovers from otter kills.

Click here for video clips :- Fox 1  |   Fox 2

Badgers

The fishery strata consists mainly of clay and peat, therefore not prime territory for badgers that prefer mixed agricultural land, where they can find earthworms, the mainstay of their diet. However, either as ranging adults, or youngsters looking for a territory, they will frequent the fishery from time to time.

Click here for video clips :- Badger 1  |   Badger 2  |   Badger 3  |   Badger 4  |   Badger 5  |   Badger 6  |   Badger 7

Water Rails

This rare water bird is thinly spread in the North of Scotland, and very localised to marshland containing reed beds or sedge. We are fortunate that the adjoining extensive reed bed is prime habitat for this elusive bird, and we can have up to five calling males. They are rarely seen. However, in the spring and summer months they can be heard throughout the day. You will have heard them! They are the source of the weird screams coming from the marsh. Best described as like a pig being strangled! They are about the size of a coot, pale brown, and resemble a small heron.

Click here for video clips :- Water Rail 1 | Water Rail 2 | Water Rail 3 | Water Rail 4

Osprey

We regularly receive these small fish eagles every year now, arriving at the beginning of April, and leaving at the middle of September. It is only the male bird we see fishing for most of the year, as the female stays at the nest from egg lay to chick fledging. The fishing trips begin with just one fish a day, building up to three or four fish a day when the chicks are well grown.

They are not shy birds, and can easily be watched circling the ponds, usually at a height of 30 feet, before plunging straight at a trout. If successful, there follows some almighty wing beats as the bird tries to lift off the water with a struggling trout mostly held only by one talon. It will slowly gain height by circling, whilst shaking to rid itself of remaining water, turning the trout into the wind, to be held fast by both talons, facing forward torpedo style. They target fish they can comfortably lift, and is why they frequent the beginners bait pond where the trout are smaller. They will fish when anglers are about and have plunged for fish as close as 15 feet from a surprised angler.

With a growing population, it is only a matter of time until we have a resident pair close by. Like with the otters, we tolerate our losses of trout in exchange for the privilege of watching the determination and skill of this beautiful bird.

Click here for video clips :- Osprey

Deer

Roe deer frequent the fishery, but only at night or early morning, taking flight into the surrounding forest at the first glimpse of an angler.

They do no real harm, apart from the bucks rubbing their antlers on tree saplings stripping the bark, before and during the annual rut.

Click here for video clips :- Deer 1  |  Deer 2  |  Deer 3  |  Deer 4

Squirrels

Occasional sightings of Red Squirrels in the forest behind the dogleg of the middle pond. Your best chance of spotting one is when they cross open ground between trees.

Although Grey Squirrels can be seen on Deeside, we do not see any, as pine forest is not to their liking, preferring deciduous or mixed woodland.

Herons

Commonly seen daily visitor to the fishery. Although capable of catching small trout, they have not been witnessed taking any. They spend time in the shallow margins, picking off sticklebacks and corixa one after the other. Clearly a case of “mony a mickle maks a muckle”.

They change tactic in the summer months by moving into the long grass, and picking off the newly emerged froglets and toadlets. In winter they can be seen in the long grass, poking their long beaks through the snow, hoping to nab a field vole or mouse.

Water Hens

Thirty years ago, this was such a common water bird that every pond, burn, river had resident birds. We now see only an occasional water hen.

The population has bee decimated almost entirely by predation by the alien American Mink. Formally farmed for the fur trade, escapees have prospered and lived comfortably in our waterways since

Although mink are semi-aquatic, and witnessed taking fish, they are very successful predators of water birds and water voles.

Mink

As described above, they are unwelcome occasional visitors. The fishery participates in the Dee valley eradication scheme. You may have noticed the mink trap in the burn below the bait- pond. This has a container with clay which alerts us to their presence if they leave footprints.

As we are trying to encourage the return of water voles and water hens, we would like anglers to inform us if they see a mink.

Voles

Due to mink predation, there are no sign of water voles living in the fishery.

However, there are abundant field voles and bank voles present. In the summer you may see them scoot from grass tuft to tuft at the waters edge, or even have them run over your foot. Their abundance becomes obvious in winter after the blanket of snow has melted. The tunnels through the long grass are everywhere.

Also present are common shrews and field mice.

Click here for video clips :- Mouse 1  |  Mouse 2

Bats

Two species of bats are present in summer. At dusk, watch for Debentons bats flying to & fro close to the water surface, and for Pipistrelle bats, which fly higher and more erratically. They are impossible otherwise to tell apart in the dusk, as they are the same size and shape.

Video clips here

Hedgehogs

As absolute night feeders they are rarely seen, but their tracks and droppings are evident in daylight.

Owls

Tawny owls are resident in the adjoining forest, and can be heard at dusk, especially in the autumn and winter. Occasional visits by Long-eared owls

Regrettably, we never see the lovely and very endangered Barn owl.

Buzzards & Red Kites

Red Kites are only occasional visitors, preferring to hunt over nearby mixed farmland

However, buzzards are resident and can be seen and heard daily. When one of their rotational nests is in use in the adjoining fir trees, you can see them fly in with rabbits, and certainly hear the incessant begging calls of the chicks.

Click here for video clips :- Buzzard 1  |  Buzzard 2  |  Buzzard 3

Sparrow hawk – Starlings – Wagtails

From mid-October an escalating number of starlings and pied wagtails use the adjacent reed beds as a winter roost site. From around an hour before dusk they fly in, in small groups, sometimes to dive straight down to cover, but often to form a bigger and bigger aerial swarm

Quite a sight to behold as up to 2000 starlings ball together and swoop around like drifting smoke, before descending as one in a stream into the reeds. When flying they are relatively quiet, but once settled in the reeds, they become very vocal, chattering loudly. It is believed that they might be communicating where good feeding was, and cause less successful birds to head there the following morning

The wagtails circle high calling to each other, then quietly and singly, drop into the reeds, and remain silent

The Starlings are often attacked by a sparrowhawk, which launches off from a post and either grabs one on a level flight attack, or flies straight up into the ball of birds throwing its talons forward at the last second to snatch one.

Amphibians

The fishery ponds are a major breeding site for toads

In April, many hundreds of toads make their way from their winter hibernation spots in the surrounding countryside, to breed in the ponds, as the deeper water is much to their liking. Frogs on the other hand, prefer shallow water that heats up quicker in spring. To assist them we made some shallow ponds to spawn in, and very successful they are. Joining them to spawn in the shallow ponds is a smaller number of palmate newts

In May and June, the pond edges can be thick with many thousands of toad tadpoles, and from July the toadlets and froglets emerge into the long grass again in thousands. On a sunny day you may see common lizards sunning themselves on a log-pile or large stone.

Occasional Visitors

In summer you may see dippers foraging the shallows and stream

One has even been observed trying to swim up the water inflow pipes looking for insects

In winter you may even see a kingfisher. A gleaming flash of cobalt blue!

This will usually be a single bird holding a solely winter territory, as the fishery is not suitable breeding habitat for them. Their diet consists mainly of sticklebacks.

Others

During construction, the fishery was widely sown with wildflowers, and planted with native shrubs and trees

The result now is a mini nature reserve, with lots of birds, the buzz of bees, the churring of grasshoppers, and myriads of damselflies and dragonflies.

Click here for video clips :- Bird 1  |  Bird 2