With its mix of lochs, native woodlands and moorland, South Loch Ness holds a rich and varied birdlife. The real star is the Slavonian grebe, one of BritainÔÇÖs rarest breeding birds with only about 30 pairs all on south Loch Ness ÔÇô Loch Ruthven RSPB Reserve is the best place to see them. Also keep an eye out on the lochs for fishing ospreys, a variety of ducks including wigeon and mergansers, and both red- and black-throated divers occur too but in low numbers.
The farmland still echoes to the cries of curlews and lapwings, rare sounds elsewhere and on the fringes of the moor look out for black grouse strutting around on their traditional display grounds. The hills arenÔÇÖt the most dramatic in Scotland but are home to an increasing golden eagle population as well as some other birds of prey like merlins. Soaring red kites are also becoming an increasingly common site.