The Dive
The Kestrel might be our commonest bird of prey but you can never go out and plan to photograph one. This summer I spent some time watching a well-marked male as he looked for prey on the ground from some telegraph wires. I had to try to anticipate the split second he left the wires […]
Walking The Dog
Its amazing what wildlife you can encounter whilst out walking the dog. Along our local canal last week I came across a pair of Goosanders. I had just about enough time to take the dogs home, grab my camera, and return to film the male before he took off. The light was perfect and his […]
Waxwing arrives
This weeks blog photo is of a Waxwing on top of a Rowan tree, in a Lancashire village, in the Ribble Valley. I found it on the 18th November when it was Lancashires first feeding Waxwing of winter. There are currently hundreds in Scotland and some in north-east England so by the month-end we could […]
Chough Decline
No visit to Islay is complete without time spent filming Chough. They are the rarest member of the Crow family and by far the most exciting to photograph, especially in flight.In fact all the photos shown in the gallery over the last four weeks were taken in just two days, in perfect weather, with exceptional […]
The Flying Barn Door
With an eight foot wingspan it is easy to see why the Sea Eagle is called the flying barn door. This winter on Islay adult and juvenile Sea-Eagles seem to be everywhere. It is rumoured that the two regular pairs have been joined by incomers from both Jura and Mull. All are now taking advantage […]
Sprainting Together
It is some years since I was able to follow a female Otter with her young but last week in the Sound of Islay I was treated to a good hour in their company.Female Otters regularly mark their territory by sprainting on rocks along the shore. Whilst I expected last weeks female to do this […]
Otter Magic
We have just had the best ever Autumn week on Islay with days of sunshine and only one day of rain. It is difficult to know where to start but the encounter with four Otters in four hours is just what I wanted on digital film. Click here. To follow next week are shots of […]
Autumn Surprise
When you have been involved with wildlife all your life you are ready for surprises and one such event occurred this week. A neighbour phoned up on the 24th to advise me that on his garden pond were a pair of Mallards with six newly hatched ducklings! As Mallards usually breed in Springtime and the […]
Autumn Arrives
A little later than usual but yesterday I watched my first Redwings of Autumn as they devoured the abundance of berries. This year there are masses of Rowan and Hawthorne berries so there should be some good photo opportunities and we may even be treated to some Waxwings if there are few berries in Scandinavia. […]
A Spanish Interlude
Last week we had a photo of me within 600 miles of the North Pole and in complete contrast this week’s photo was taken yesterday, within 60 miles of the Mediterranean! I was on a short non-birding break to the Murcia region of Spain, but on this job you can never switch-off. In the […]