Scottish wildlife

1. Basking shark

1.1. The basking shark is the second largest fish in our oceans – its relative the whale shark being the biggest. The large, black, triangular dorsal fin moves slowly through the water, with the tail tip or snout sometimes visible above the waves, too. The basking shark has a massive, grey body that can be longer than a bus!

2. Kingfisher

2.1. A famously colourful bird of rivers and streams, the kingfisher can be spotted sitting quietly on low-hanging branches over the water, suddenly diving in to catch a small fish. The striking mix of its bright-blue back and metallic copper breast make the kingfisher unmistakable. Male kingfishers have an entirely black bill, females have an orangey-red patch at the base.

3. Puffin

3.1. The puffin is a small auk, familiar as the ‘clowns’ of the coast with their brightly coloured bills, bumpy landings and waddling walk. The puffin is an unmistakeable bird: its top half is black, with a white belly and cheeks. It has a massive, multicoloured bill and orange, webbed feet. In winter they gain more black feathers and their beaks turn black and grey.

4. Barn Owl

4.1. Perhaps the most familiar owl, the barn owl will often hunt during the daytime and can be seen ‘quartering’ over fields and grasslands looking for its next small mammal meal. The barn owl is ghostly white below, mottled silver-grey and buff above with a heart-shaped, white face and black eyes.

5. Bottlenose dolphine

5.1. The most familiar of the dolphins and the most likely to be seen from British shores, the bottlenose dolphin is found all round the world. Closer to home, the best places to see these dolphins are the Moray Firth in Scotland, Cardigan Bay in Wales and the coasts of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. Bottlenose dolphins are large, fairly plain grey dolphins, darker grey above and paler below. They have a short beak short and a large triangular dorsal fin that curves backwards.

6. Brown Long eared bat

6.1. A medium-sized bat, the brown long-eared bat certainly lives up to its name! All British bats are nocturnal, feeding on midges, moths and other flying insects which they find in the dark by using echolocation. They have greyish-brown fur and characteristically big ears. It can be easy to confuse brown long-eared bats with grey long-eared bats, but grey long-eared bats are a Mediterranean species that are only found in a few small colonies in southern England.