Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve

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Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve

Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve - Home to the famous Burn O' Vat, Loch Kinord and Loch Davan. Brimming with wildlife!

15/06/2026

Meet the Pearl-bordered Fritillary 🦋

Unfortunately, we are nearing the end of their flight season with probably only a few stragglers on the wing. They are stunning butterflies but can be difficult to distinguish while flying with the more common but closely named Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. We caught this one a few week's ago to get a closer look at their underwing, as this allows better identification. One identification feature being the two white squares/panes in the middle of the underwing.

Happy Butterfly spotting!

09/06/2026

Meet one of our summer visitors!🌞

Redstarts are yearly visitors to the reserve, breeding here in the summer. Males cut a striking image as pictured. As they nest in tree holes, year we've added a few nest boxes this year around the reserve, with a couple taking to them (including a Blue Tit as well).

A few weeks ago, we watched a male redstart dropping to the same tree with food. Spotting a hole, we did a quick check and found a happy surprise. These little ones have now fledged and have since been spotted.

We check nests for monitoring purposes, and limit disturbance as much as possible so as not to cause stress to the birds.

06/06/2026

Thanks to some of our wonderful Volunteers we have got our meadow monitoring underway this season. This forms an important part of providing data to see what wildflowers, grasses & sedges we have growing between areas we have been managing and those we haven’t, which will then inform our future meadow management. But it’s also a lovely opportunity to sit quietly looking very closely at lots of small things and taking in the view across the wider Reserve - quite a mindful monitoring moment…

03/06/2026

Spot the Chick Challenge!

While during our regular bird count around Loch Kinord, we had a pair of Common Sandpipers alarm calling. These birds nest on the ground near shorelines. We were lucky enough to spot one chick. There were possibly more but they had found a safe refuge below a tree root plate, that was blown over last year, so were quite hard to spot. We left swiftly so not to stress any of the young and parents out.

It is a good reminder that many of the birds on the reserve nest on the ground and along the shoreline. This is why it is important to keep dogs on the lead during breeding season. We also keep the eastern and western areas surrounding Loch Kinord, where the path moves away from the Loch as Wildlife Zones, to give our breeding birds more space without disturbance.

See if you can spot the Sandpiper chick!

31/05/2026

Another set of magnificent wings! This time two Poplar Hawk-Moths.

They are the most commonly found Hawk-Moth across the UK, but are absolutely stunning to see. The caterpillars feed on Poplars, sallows and willows. It is very likely they enjoy the large Aspen woodland on the reserve. The adults do not feed, so are dependent on the fat reserves they have built up as a caterpillar.

After mating, the female will lay up to 200 eggs on the underside of leaves. From there caterpillars will hatch between 5 - 14 days later depending on the weather.

23/05/2026

Look at those wings! This marvellous creature is a Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth.

It was an exciting find during our weekly butterfly transect. The Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth, as the name suggests is actually a moth mimicking a bumblebee. Unlike a bee, this moth has prominent antennae which you can see here in the photo. They are stunning animals that are named as a priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan as they are nationally scarce.

They are dependent on devil's-bit scabious, as it is the caterpillar's sole foodplant. Thus, flower-rich areas such as the meadows on the reserve are incredibly important for them. As an adult (moth) they can be attracted to lilac, which was nearby to the one we found.

21/05/2026

Some good news in from our Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve where the first goldeneye ducklings have been spotted on Loch Kinord! 🥰 Goldeneye are a rare breeding bird, with only around 200 breeding pairs in the UK. Staff on the reserve have been working hard to encourage more of these special ducks to breed here so it's great to see the first brood out on the loch. Visitors can help these youngsters by following the local access advice and staying off the water during the sensitive breeding season.

20/05/2026

We had a young visitor stop by this morning!

It looks like this juvenile is off for an explore. Grey herons breed relatively early, with chicks hatching between March and April. And young fledging from the nest about a month and half later. We often see herons hunting around the edges of the loch, but it was lovely to have a quick hello at the visitor centre before it was on its way again.

18/05/2026

Fluffball Alert!

These lapwing chicks have perfectly timed their arrival to celebrate Wader Week 😍

We're delighted to see some successful lapwing nests near the reserve. These fluffy chicks will spend 5 to 6 weeks with their mother before heading into the big big world on their own.

Speaking of young, it's babies galore at the moment with more and more goslings, ducklings and chicks appearing all the time. We've had our first cygnets 🦢, goslings and goldeneye ducklings on the lochs. So if you're out and about keep a sharp eye out for them and let us know what you see!

09/05/2026

Today you’ll find us hanging out at Aboyne Primary School Parent Council May Fair, ready and raring to make wild flower seed bombs, butterfly’s or pinecone bumblebees 🐝 🦋 🌺 come down and join the fun, plenty going on!

Address

Muir Of Dinnet National Nature Reserve
Dinnet
AB345NB

Telephone

+441339881667

Website

http://www.nature.scot/muir-of-dinnet

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