Our Map

We have designed and created a fun activity for families!

We have hidden 10 Capercaillies in and around Kenmore.

All the Capercaillies are different.

Can you find them?

Pick up a trail leaflet at any of our local shops or visitor receptions, at our Telephone Booth Info Centre between the bridge and the Kenmore Hotel, or simply download a copy here.

Use the QR codes or click on the place descriptions below to view each location on Google Maps.

Capercaillie Facts

  • In 1837, Lord Breadalbane reintroduced capercaillie at Taymouth Castle. It is understood that further reintroductions used descendants of the original Taymouth birds, plus birds from Scandinavia. The reintroduction was successful, with an estimated 20,000 capercaillie in Scotland’s forests by 1970
  • Capercaillie numbers have since declined due to intensified forest management, increases in predator numbers and changes in weather patterns.
  • Scotland’s capercaillie trail is considered critically low. Today, only 532 capercaillie remain in Scotland’s fragmented pine forests, mainly in the Cairngorm National Park.
  • In the 1980s, it is believed that the headteacher and local parents decided to commission a sculpted capercaillie to sit upon the roof of Kenmore Primary School, where it remains today.
  • The rooftop capercaillie was sculpted by famous Scottish artist Scott Sutherland and is made of bronze
  • The Kenmore Primary School’s emblem is the capercaillie.
  • The capercaillie is an iconic Scottish species, it is a huge woodland grouse – the large black male are unmistakable, about the size of a turkey.
  • Males are covered in glossy black feathers with red eye markings and a green tinge on their chests, while females are brown and mottled, with an orange-brown throat.
  • Capercaillies spend a lot of time feeding on the ground, but may also be found in trees, eating shoots and buds.
  • The Gaelic name for the bird is capall-coille, meaning ‘horse of the forest’. In the future we hope to grow this trail, and in doing so, help to raise funds to save the Capercaillie.