Welcome to Aquila Wildlife & Nature CIC
In a world where connection to nature is fading, Aquila Wildlife & Nature Community Interest Company is dedicated to reigniting that bond for the benefit of people, places, and the planet.
We provide opportunities for groups and individuals to reconnect with wildlife and nature through engaging guided walks, events, and inclusive experiences that inspire a love for nature, as well as helping people develop their awareness of the importance of biodiversity and environmental protection for all life on Earth.
All our activities aim to be engaging, inclusive and inspiring and to promote wellbeing. We are committed to ensuring everyone has access to opportunities to explore and enjoy wildlife and nature in our community and beyond - because everyone deserves access to the beauty of our natural world.
We also operate an established and reputable ecological consultancy service that promotes biodiversity and environmental protection. It is the profit generated from this service, along with donations, and external funding that enable us to deliver our community initiatives.
Based in the beautiful village of St Fillans where we are fortunate to be surrounded by lochs, rivers, mountains, moors and woods which all provide homes for a huge array of charismatic species such as Red Kite, Golden Eagle, Red Deer, Red Squirrel, Mountain Hare, Beaver, Otter, Osprey and Black Grouse as well as plenty of plants and invertebrates.
Out team all have a passion for nature and wildlife conservation and want to share with everyone the beauty that we see in the world around us.
We hope you enjoy looking through our website which provides a snapshot of what we can offer. We are also able to draw on the knowledge of other local experts, so if there is something else you require, please don't hesitate to give us a call and we will see what we can do!
Much love
Team Aquila
Accreditations
TESTIMONIALS
“You did a great job looking after us and making sure our needs were met! Really appreciated the help with travel, food, and loo breaks”.
“My standout moment was on the walk to Adnave when we heard what sounded like a storm coming towards us - then you told us that was the sound of a flock of geese landing in a field. What a force they are in such numbers”. Islay Holiday 2024
Vicki Elcoate, Dorset
"Wonderful afternoon out bird watching and learning about the area. Andrea and Terry are incredibly knowledgeable about wildlife. The highlight was rescuing a hedgehog in distress". Group bespoke nature tour, 2022.
Jo
"Great business! Great tours and events for all!" Multiple event attendee 2019/2020.
Megan Curley, Dunblane
“Not only did they have an immense amount of local and wildlife knowledge, but the group leaders were also extremely accommodating and made evenings, after a long day guiding us around every corner of Islay, relaxing and fun. It was like being on holiday with very knowledgeable and caring friends”. Islay Holiday 2024.
Clare Elcoate, Dorset
"We went out with Terry to look for beavers on the banks of the river Earn. It was a fun tour, the kids loved it to wait super quiet at dusk for the beavers to show up.
Terry brought binoculars and a mat to sit on. Afterwards, we briefly spotted bats with the bat detectors.
Highly recommended for nature lovers. It was one of the highlights of our holiday in Scotland". Riverwatch Tour, 2022.
Martin V, Netherlands
"We had a wonderful evening on the River Tay with Andrea on the River Watch. We spotted three beavers and a kingfisher. Andrea told us the history of the area and could answer all our beaver questions. We highly recommend it!" Riverwatch Tour 2023.
Sandon and Gabby, Australia
"Andrea and Terry are excellent hosts. I went on their Islay trip in February 2023 with a few friends and it was excellent. I work in wildlife conservation so can’t usually afford wildlife tour holidays but Aquila Wildlife & Nature CIC offer such good value and their local knowledge is excellent. I really cannot rate them highly enough. We saw White-tailed Sea Eagles and Golden Eagles every day, Hen Harriers nearly every day and had unforgettable close encounters with Otters on Jura too. Not to mention a first for me - Choughs which we had brilliant views of just up from RSPB Loch Gruinart. The whole trip was tailored to our interests, if we wanted to stop and look at historic sites or take in the views nothing was too much trouble. We weren’t rushed at all but we did pack a lot into our trip and felt really satisfied that we’d had a really great introduction to Islay. Our group also has various dietary requirements and Andrea catered for us all with ease. Again we were made to feel like nothing was too much trouble and everyone was included. If you are looking for a friendly,, relaxed, wildlife packed holiday that is great value for money then look no further than Aquila Tours. Andrea and Terry will make you feel very welcome". Islay Holiday 2022.
Fiona, Lincolnshire
Andrea and Terry gave us the most gorgeous and special afternoon of quiet calm wildlife spotting. They are both so knowledgeable and happy to share their wide range of wildlife knowledge and information. Their Scopes gave us fantastic views of the mountains, deer, birds and other wildlife. Will definitely return and would encourage everyone to support Aquila Wildlife & Nature CIC, learn and share the joy of the Scottish surroundings. Thank you!
Eve B
We had an amazing time with Andrea who kindly chauffeured April and me around Killin, St. Fillans, and Comrie so we could check out the local flora and fauna. We saw at least 5 beavers, a short-eared owl, slow worms, hares, red deer, roe deer, and so many other birds and flowers! Riverwatch Tour, 2023.
Greg and April, Georgia, USA
"Thanks for an amazing tour Andrea, beavers were brilliant and best otter sighting I have had.
Baby slow worm, short eared owls, kingfisher and osprey were all fantastic too, thank you! Half day bespoke tour, 2023.
Victoria, Dunblane
"Loved it! Best afternoon with two extremely knowledgeable guides. Saw loads of birds but also learned a lot about trees and the locality. Highly recommended". Bespoke half day tour.
Joanna Reed, Manchester
“Had a great trip with some excellent food. Good company, good birds but have seen better weather 😂....but it didn't stop the birds”. Islay Holiday 2024
Gill Griffiths, Merseyside
LATEST NEWS
We hoped you enjoyed the finale to our Natural Narratives series, a screening of "The Serengeti Rules" by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios!
Thank you to everyone who attended our fifth Natural Narratives session on the 28th of February! This month, we welcomed Marian from Highland Boundary, a distillery in Perthshire creating wild Scottish spirits using hand-picked botanicals and sustainable farming practices.
Reflecting On Our 1st Year as a CIC!
This Valentines Day marked the first full year since we became incorporated as a Community Interest Company (CIC)! We wanted to share some of our highlights from the past year, centred around our community events, activities, and projects.
Terry went out to see what was about in our local area. This is the summary of what he saw in just one day!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our fourth Natural Narratives session on the 31st of January, 2025! We listened to an informative and eye-opening talk about Living with Beavers, presented by Elliot McCandless of the Beaver Trust.
We hope you all enjoyed our recent sustainable Christmas crafting event on Sunday the 1st of December. It was a fabulous afternoon full of inter-generational fun and imagination! Once again, we partnered with Remake Scotland this year to provide us with some secondhand materials to reuse and upcycle into our Christmas crafting projects. We loved seeing what everyone created!
Thank you to everyone who attended our third natural narratives session on the 29th of November 2024, where we hosted a screening of The Bough Breaks by Mousehole Films. We hope you enjoyed the film and the in-depth Q&A afterwards with the accomplished filmmakers, Caroline Strong and Danny Strong!
Thank you to everyone who joined for our second Natural Narratives session of the year! We joined Professor Kirsty Park from Stirling University for a fascinating and thought-provoking talk about biodiversity: what it is, why we need it, why we should be concerned about it, and what we can all do to help.
Thank you to everyone who supported our first Natural Narratives session of the year! Our first session took place on 27/09/2024 and was a screening of the film "Why Not Scotland," created by Scotland the Big Picture. All upcoming sessions are free and will include screenings, talks, and other activities centered around environmental themes.
September Supermoon Bat Walk
On September 18th, we took a wonderful group of people out on a free spooky bat walk to kick off the upcoming start of autumn. We had a great turnout, with many people also excited to see the super harvest moon appearing that night!
Another great Islay tour!
We enjoyed another great trip to Islay and Jura in February with some lovely guests. Eagles and harriers were of course the stars, but we also had surprises like a small pod of dolphins when on Jura. Read on for the full trip report.
We want to say thank you to everyone who came to our first night-time event of the year! Here are some of the highlights...
We recently prepared and hosted a sustainable Christmas crafting event in St. Fillans and wanted to share some of the highlights of our afternoon! The goal was to upcycle and reuse a variety of materials.
Introducing Evey!
We are excited to welcome onboard our new team member and Operations Assistant, Evelyn Schreiner!
Upland Lochside Bird Walk
We had the most fantastic guided walk on Thursday with lots of highlights - read on to learn more.
Say no to the mow!
How best can we help wildlife in the month of May? Read on for our top tips.
St Fillans to Comrie Nature Walk
St Fillans to Comrie Nature Walk for the Drovers' Tryst Walking Festival
A summary of our wonderful trip to Islay in February with a fantastic bunch of clients.
Villagers article November 2022
Red October - this month's roundup of what's been happening in and around St Fillans in October 2022.
