Ardkinglas Woodland Gardens is home to a wide variety of native wildlife which can be regularly seen on walks through the Gardens and the wider estate. A wide variety of bird life and red squirrels are common. Other mammals are present on the Estate including Red and Roe Deer, Pine Marten, Badger and the elusive Otter. A walk along the shores of Loch Fyne may give sightings of seals, occasionally porpoises and basking sharks in summer, swans, herons, and numerous sea birds
Ardkinglas Woodland Garden is home to a very visible and thriving population of our native Red Squirrel. The Red Squirrel population is under threat in many areas due to habitat destruction, disease and competition from the introduced Grey Squirrel. The Woodland Garden at Ardkinglas is well suited to the Red Squirrel, housing a wide range of plant and fungal species which provide food and shelter for the animals. Our supplementary feeding programme further aids the Red Squirrel population at times when there may be a shortage of natural food sources. The squirrels at Ardkinglas can be spotted at any time of the year. It is only during the coldest and wettest days that they prefer the shelter of their dreys.
The bird-life in the Woodland Garden and on the Estate in general is of great interest. The River Kinglas provides a home for Dippers and their prominent white chests can be spotted amongst the stones in the river. Grey Wagtails return to nest each year at the Old Mill or in the bridge over the Kinglas. Buzzards and Sparrowhawks hunt amongst the trees. Tawny Owls can be heard calling to one another in many of the wooded areas of the Estate and Barn Owls are regularly seen quartering the margins of Loch Fyne. Greater Spotted Woodpeckers are present throughout the year, their drumming of hollow trees can be heard in the spring. Feeding parties of Tits busily move through the woodland canopy during the winter months. Goldcrests, the smallest British bird, breed in the conifers adjacent to the car park. On cold, frosty winter mornings Woodcock may fly almost from under one's feet as they search for food and shelter. A wide variety of song-birds use the garden as a breeding site.
