Woodcock’s Lament
This weeks photo of a female Woodcock settling on her eggs in a bluebell wood is just a past memory. It was taken as a colour print in 2005 when I spent five hours a day in my hide for three weeks waiting for the eggs to hatch. In those days Woodcock bred in most […]
Gathering Feathers
There is little doubt that the most exciting time to photograph Long Tailed Tits is when they are lining their nests with feathers. The only problem of course is that you have to find a nest at the time when it is being lined which takes less than ten days. This year , because of […]
The Speyside Gem
There is no doubt that the top bird on any birdwatcher’s visit to Speyside is the Crested Tit. Normally by late March they are nest-building and very hard to find in the forest. This year, because of the extended winter weather, some were still coming to feeders and I was able to obtain some shots […]
Mountain Hare Spectacle
When you have been involved with wildlife all your life there are days that stand out when everything comes good and one of those days occurred this week. With sunshine, no wind and the spectacle of Scotlands Findhorn valley I climbed up into the snows at 3000 feet with camera, lens and tripod and spent […]
Missing Longies
No two years are ever the same in the species that winter in Britain. This winter has seen virtually no Waxwings, a few Fieldfares and hardly any migrant Owls. The photo in this weeks blog is the only Long Eared Owl I have come across despite some searching.It is deep in the cover of a […]
A New Garden Bird
Last weeks severe winter weather had a dramatic effect on the number of birds feeding in the garden and we had a record fourteen Long Tailed Tits and six Reed Buntings. What we didn’t expect was a new species to appear after residing in Castleton for fifty years. As our local canal was frozen inches […]
Chough Problems
Whilst most visitors to Islay come to see raptors and the Geese the other attraction is Scotlands largest population of Chough. Unfortunately the fortunes of the rarest member of the Crow family have suffered in the last ten years. Global warming has led to more extremes of weather and of sixty young Chough that are […]
Sea Eagle Conflict
Last week on Islay was highlighted with a mid-air conflict between a Buzzard and an adult Sea Eagle. The Eagle had strayed into the breeding territory of the Buzzard and despite being only a third the size of the Eagle it fearlessly attacked and drove it off! The forest where the above encounter took […]
An Islay Winter
A dramatic week on Islay with heavy snow, gales, rain and one sunny day! It is winter of course and both we and the wildlife have to put up with it. On the plus side it does lead to dramatic photos so enjoy this weeks gallery.Click here
Breeding Season Commences
On a superb sunny day I visited my local Heronry to find six birds were present and had already re-occupied their two pine trees. Although there was much vocalisation no nest-building was seen during my one hour of observations. I was some distance from the two pines and the photos in this weeks gallery are […]