Marcia Rae
High Life Highland Countryside Ranger for Easter Ross and South East Sutherland
Meet Marcia Rae, High Life Highland countryside ranger for Easter Ross and South East Sutherland. Find out what makes this area so unique and what wildlife, flora and fauna you can see when visiting the area..
About me
I have lived and worked in the Highlands for 5 years now, initially working on an internship to assess the biodiversity of ponds in Inverness. I started working full time as a Countryside Ranger 2 years ago so I am relatively new as rangers go, but I bring a lot of enthusiasm and new ideas to the role, and have already been interviewed on Radio 4 about my recent Lichen Safari in Golspie. My particular interests are pond life, amphibians and lichen.
Easter Ross and South East Sutherland is a fantastic area. I work from North Kessock up to Golspie and as far west as Bonar Bridge and Garve. This area includes an amazing array of firths, hills, moorland and forests. This includes the Dornoch Firth which is a National Scenic Area (NSA) and the least industrialised firth in the country, together with Loch Fleet it is designated a Special Protection Area (SPA) for its large populations of wintering wildfowl. Balblair Wood in the Loch Fleet Nature Reserve is also home to some very special Caledonian Pine wood flowers. The One-flowered wintergreen, classified as vulnerable, and the Twinflower are found nowhere else in this area.
The Black Isle was the site of the first re-introduction of the Red Kite to Scotland and these birds can frequently be seen from the A9 itself, now as far north as Golspie. There is also the most northerly resident population of Bottlenose Dolphins in the Moray Firth, which can be seen incredibly well at Channonry Point. This is arguably the best site in the UK for viewing these animals.
Travelling a bit further inland from the North Coast 500 route will also provide gems like Black Rock Gorge at Evanton Community Wood. This spectacular 120ft deep gorge carved out of old red sandstone conglomerate by the Allt Graad. The surrounding woods are also home to red squirrels, Roe deer and a variety of birds. Aldie burn woods in Tain are home to a population of Cappercaillie, the largest grouse species in Scotland and also the rarest.
It is a pleasure to spend my days exploring, educating and recording highland wildlife in Easter Ross and South East Sutherland. I highly recommend stopping off to see all the area has to offer and come along to one of my many High Life Highland Countryside Ranger led events if you can.
For more information about the High Life Highlands Ranger Service or if you want to get in touch to find out about guided walks or events or report wildlife sightings please find our details at our website https://www.highlifehighland.com/rangers/
