The Highlands has topped a new list of the best places to go nature-spotting in the UK.
A study by outdoor store chain Millets hailed the Scottish region’s wealth of wildlife, from wild birds to beasties to the Highlands’ abundant heathers.
It named the Highlands as among the best spots in Britain to spot feathered friends like chaffinches, robins, oystercatchers, swallows and blue tits.
Overall, using publicly available wildlife recording data, the research found there had been 18,317 “wildlife occurrences” in the Highlands for every 10,000 people since 2018, the highest rate in the UK.
It beat off fierce competition from York and its surrounding rural areas, where there were 17,649 occurrences, and West Norfolk, which had 16,823.
Following closely in fourth place was another Scots region, Argyll and Bute - with 16,223 wildlife occurrences for every 10,000 people.
Chris Taylor, Destination Development Director at VisitScotland, said: “It’s fantastic to see both the Highlands and Argyll and Bute named as one of the top places to see wildlife.
“Both of these regions are blessed with an amazing wealth of animals, birds and scenery that call to visitors from around the world.
“A number of tourism businesses and guides offer a variety of organised nature tours and wildlife-watching experiences - from red deer, golden eagles and otters to whales, dolphins and basking sharks.
“By joining one of these tours visitors can enjoy wildlife in a responsible way while at the same time supporting local tourism.
“Our natural environment is one of the many things that make Scotland so special. We all have a duty of care to protect it for future generations.”
The Millets research said the sparrow-sized chaffinch - common in woodlands as well as people’s gardens - had been spotted in the Highlands more than anywhere else, with 11,595 sightings for every 10,000 people since 2018.
It also found the best chance of spotting a robin was in the Highlands in January, while for blue tits it was February and great tits in March.
The region was also the best place to find coal tits - provided you visit in October - as well as oystercatchers and siskins in November.
Millets said that across the UK, public spending on nature and biodiversity had increased in the last decade but was dwarfed by other countries such as Austria - which spends a whopping £12billion a year on environmental protections.
The Scottish Government has vowed to invest an extra £500million in the “natural economy” over the course of this parliament, including a £65million Nature Restoration Fund.
It also set out a Biodiversity Strategy last year aimed at reversing nature loss, restoring ecosystems and preventing the wipeout of endangered creatures by 2030.
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