Queen Elizabeth Forest Park isn’t just special for its trees. The whole place is alive and, if you take the time to look, you’ll be amazed at what you see. Watch out for red and roe deer, red squirrels and perhaps a golden eagle or elegant osprey.

Eye-spy at The Lodge

The Lodge Forest Visitor Centre is a great place to watch and find out more about the wildlife in the Forest Park. There’s the easy-to-reach red squirrel hide as well as live footage in the Lodge, with highlights including ospreys, red squirrels, water voles and barn owls.

Seeing red: deer, squirrels and kites

Take the Three Lochs Forest Drive or follow a trail through Loch Ard and you might glimpse red and roe deer and red squirrels amongst the trees. Look and listen for a host of woodland birds as well as birds of prey. Red kites are sometimes seen circling overhead and, in summer, ospreys fish on the lochs.

Keep your eyes on the skies

Dusk and dawn are the best times to spot wildlife. Head to Strathyre for red squirrels and deer, and listen for shrieking jays and the mewing of buzzards.