Scotland's Wildlife

5th December 2025

Wildlife lovers, this blog is for you! We are taking you on an adventure through wild Scotland, visiting some of Scotland’s favourite little critters and mighty creatures. From giant ocean predators to adorable little snowbirds, Scotland has so much to offer anyone who loves seeing animals in their natural habitat.

We will start our journey by travelling up Scotland’s west coast, before heading to Orkney, and back down through the Perthshire forests to wildlife spots near Scotland’s capital city Edinburgh.

Basking Sharks on the Argyll Coast

Let’s kick off our tour with one of nature’s most colossal animals, the mighty basking shark! This is by far one of the most exciting animals to spot while touring Scotland and the best place to do that is Cowal, Bute and Kintyre on the Argyll coastline. You may also find them further north around the Hebridean Islands.

The best time to see the gaping maw of the basking shark is during the summer months; they frequent the waters of Scotland’s west coast between May and September each year. You might get lucky and see them from the shore, but the best way to spot them is on a boat tour! We recommend Staffa Tours.

The Argyll coast isn’t just a fantastic place to spot sharks (and lots of other marine and bird species), it is also a stunning place to spend a day or two during your tour. The remote peninsulas have a quiet, captivating beauty which will ease you straight into vacation mode, making this a great area to begin your tour.

Next, we travel further up the west coast to Oban, to catch a ferry to the Isle of Mull.

Wildlife Galore on the Isle of Mull

If there is one place we recommend wildlife enthusiasts visit in Scotland, it has to be the Isle of Mull. From both the land and the surrounding waters, you can spot golden eagles, white-tailed eagles, otters, hen harriers, minke whales, dolphins, and porpoises - quite the collection!

So when is the best time to visit Mull to see all of these beautiful creatures? Like the basking shark, your best chance of spotting the rarer sea life such as whales and dolphins is the summer months. Eagles and other birds of prey tend to appear all year round, but eagle sightings in particular are rare at any time of year, so you will need some luck on your side! Mull’s otters are also around all year and can be spotted all around the island, with the best time to spot them being at low tide. They also tend to be more active at dawn and dusk.

Find out more about Mull in our blog - 2-day itinerary for Mull and Iona.

Mull is also the launch point for boat tours to the Treshnish Isles and Staffa where you’ll find Scotland’s cutest bird, the puffin! We run puffin tours in partnership with Turus Mara in May and June every year. This is the best time to spot these amazing birds who spend the spring and early summer finding their mates and rearing their young before departing Scotland in the autumn. You’ll see plenty of other bird life on this tour, and likely some seals too.

Next up… more islands!

Seabirds in the Outer Hebrides

If you can’t get enough of Scotland’s amazing birdlife, make your way even further up the west coast to visit the breathtaking Outer Hebrides - a very special collection of islands famed for its vast white sandy beaches and a peaceful way of life. 

The best time for bird spotting is during the spring and summer months at high tide. Beaches with lots of vegetation and seaweed tend to attract them. Look out for golden eagles, short-eared owls, hen harriers, herons, shags, cormorants, red-breasted mergansers, skuas, terns, gannets, corncrakes, greylag geese and so many more. These isles are a great place to spot birds migrating to and from warmer or colder climates. 

We’ve travelled through some of the top wildlife spots on Scotland’s west coast, so now it’s time to head north to try and find one of our most formidable predators, the orca!

Orkney’s Orcas

Intelligent, beautiful, fascinating, the orca, or killer whale as they are sometimes known here, have captivated human attention for centuries. Orkney is one of the best places in the world to see these magnificent sea beasts. They can be spotted all year round, but your best chance to see them is during the summer months. There are several boat tour companies who can take you to the most likely areas to see them, but you might get lucky and spot them during your ferry over to Orkney from the mainland!

While orcas may be the star of the show, Orkney’s seas are a great place to spot many other whales including minke and long-finned pilot whales. There are also occasional sightings of humpback, sperm and fin whales. Dolphins spend time in these waters too, namely Risso’s, common, Atlantic white-sided and white-beaked dolphins. 

After a fantastic few days enjoying the wildlife on the Scottish Islands, it’s time to head back to the mainland. First up, Chanonry Point!

The Chanonry Point Dolphins

Have you always dreamed of seeing the famous bottlenose dolphin? Then Chanonry Point, just north of Inverness, is the best place in Scotland to do it. The special thing about Chanonry Point is how close you feel to the dolphins if you are lucky enough to spot them. Visit during the rising tide to increase your chances.

Cairngorms National Park

The Cairngorms National Park is one of our favourite places to visit in Scotland, especially to see its wildlife. Autumn is a beautiful time of year to visit, not least because you can hear the spectacular sound of the rutting red deer roar! Glen Feshie is a great location to hear the clashing antlers of these mighty stags. 

Autumn is also a good time to see the adorable ptarmigan birds that frequent the slopes of the Cairngorms mountains. They begin to change their plumage from brown to white in November making them easier to spot.

In the winter months, keep your eyes peeled for mountain hares and snow buntings - cute, sturdy little birds who spend their winters in the UK.

There is a thriving red squirrel population in the Cairngorms, best seen in the spring alongside a whole host of migrating bird species.

Summer is a great time to see red deer roaming in the meadows, pine martens scurrying in the undergrowth and if you're really lucky, you may spot a golden eagle soaring through the sky.

The Cairngorms are also home to the UK’s only free-ranging herd of reindeer. There are usually 3-4 grazing areas next to the Visitor Centre in Glenmore, but the best way to see them is on the reindeer hill tour which takes you up into the hills where the deer roam free. 

Wildlife Hotspots Near Edinburgh

Most of our tours begin and end in Edinburgh, meaning a visit to the nearby Firth of Forth is a lovely way to wrap up a Best Scottish Tour. The Fife coast is an ‘up and coming’ whale spotting location, thanks to a significant increase in sightings of minke whales, sei whales, fin whales recently, but most notably humpback whales are being seen more and more frequently. The Firth of Forth is also home to the iconic Forth Bridge - a large red structure that you’ll likely recognise from touristy shots of Scotland.

Also nearby, you’ll find St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve - the breathtaking coastal home to a large variety of birdlife. The dramatic cliffs are the perfect home for many of Scotland’s seabirds and they are covered in beautiful wildflowers in the spring and summer months. The stars of the show at St Abb’s are the guillemots, kittiwakes and razorbills.

Scottish Wildlife Tours

From breaching whales to playful otters, thundering stags, and delicate seabirds, Scotland is a land alive with wildlife. Whether you’re standing on the windswept shores of the Hebrides, watching dolphins leap in the Moray Firth, or hiking through the pine forests of the Cairngorms, there’s always something wild and wonderful to discover.

If you are booking a tour and wildlife is high on your agenda, let us know! Our team can advise you on the best tours to help you see as much of Scotland’s wildlife as possible. Browse our tours here.