A Snowy Barn Owl
At long last we have now had some decent winter weather and the camera has come out again! You always know that conditions are hard when the local Barn Owl appears over the frost and snow looking for prey. In the garden Reed Buntings have now returned to feed along with more than a dozen […]
Snow On The Dee
A short break at Rivercatcher on the river Dee last week produced good views of two snow-white Little Egrets. They have incredible white plumage and you can see why their feathers were much sought after by Victorian Ladies. In the woodlands of North Wales we saw our first Fieldfares, Redwings and Bramblings of winter and […]
The Highs And Lows
As there is nothing local worth photographing this winter I have decided to do the year-end review and choose my dozen favourite photos of the year. 2024 has been a year of extreme highs and lows. In January we still had some Waxwings around from last winter’s invasion so I had to have one of […]
The Bearded Reedling
Deep in the reed-bed of a nature reserve in north Lancashire is an amazing bird that seldom shows itself – it is the Bearded Tit or Reedling. It is one of the few species of bird that change their diet from insects in summers to the seeds of reeds in winter. To do this every […]
Harrier Delights
Before leaving Islay, until our return next June, it would be remiss of me not to mention the bird that first brought us to Islay in 1976 – the Hen Harrier. There can be few better places to see Hen Harriers in Winter than Islay. It is not uncommon to encounter five or six different […]
The Battle
In Winter Islay must have at least twenty Sea Eagles, all attracted to the Island by the abundance of prey in the form of the Geese. As these Eagles move around the island they regularly come into conflict with Islays resident Buzzards. Surprisingly, the Sea Eagles don’t always win these disputes.
An Islay Autumn
The river Sorn on Islay in October looks as good as anywhere else at that time of year.Over the years we have seen day hunting Daubentons Bat and Kingfishers on the stretch of river shown in today’s photo. Some years ago we found the first pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers to nest on Islay, feeding […]
Spot the Sea Eagle
On Islay in winter there are now more than a dozen Sea Eagles.They are there for one good reason – to eat some of the thirty thousand or more Barnacle Geese that visit Islay every winter. Whenever an Eagle takes wing it causes chaos amongst the geese. Whilst the Eagle does not catch every time […]
Whooper Delights
Any visit to Islay in mid October is bound to coincide with the migration south from Iceland of Whooper Swans, especially when there is a north wind blowing. It is an incredible sight to watch more than 150 Swans feeding amongst Grey Lag Geese in a recently harvested field of Barley.
Redwings Arrive
A week later than last year but at long last the first local Redwings have arrived. Unfortunately the Hawthorne and Rowan berries are very few this year so they may not stay around too long.At roost time I watched two entering a neighbours Holly bush – a safe place away from our local Barn Owls