Corncrake Spectacular
Last week’s superb weather has had Corncrakes calling from all over the west side of Islay. In one evening alone I encountered eight different birds and whilst I did not see everyone of them some gave me great views. Best of all one climbed up a drystone wall and then stopped on top to preen […]
Greenland Bound
A week on Islay with fabulous weather and wildlife. In a newly sown barley field, away from the shore, upto forty one Sanderling were finding an abundant supply of leatherjackets. Many of these birds were now acquiring their Summer plumage and within two days all had left for the long journey to Greenland. Black Guillemots […]
Swifts Of Summer
You can only really say that Summer has arrived when the Swifts are screaming through the picturesque Pennine villages, as they were in last weekend’s glorious weather. Most will nest under the eaves of the cottages. Some may breed in the crevices of quarries and in Scandinavia many now nest in the disused holes of […]
Treecreeper
Whilst looking for Woodpeckers in a Pennine wood I came across a pair of Treecreepers that were feeding their young at less than three minute intervals. As is usual with Treecreepers they were extremely bold and I took many photos whilst I was in their company. I was amazed at the number of prey items […]
Otterly Fantastic
The last three days on Islay were spent searching for Otters and for the first time ever we had 100% success rate with sightings on all three days. A female and her large young were located on the first day and surprisingly relocated two days later. On both occasions they provided me with hours of […]
Islay Magic
With only two hours of rain in the last fortnight Islay has certainly made up for the dreadful weather that prevailed in February. Packed with newly arrived migrants and good sunshine I have had the best photography in Spring for many years. The passage of Whimbrel continued to increase and on the 4th of May […]
Godwits and Surf
A visit to Islay is always good but especially so in late April when hundreds of wading birds are on the move. This week’s photo illustrates the spectacular setting as Bar Tailed Godwits get ready to migrate to the high Arctic against the backdrop of Islay’s pounding surf. They were new birds for me as […]
Redpoll Invasion
Wherever you have been in the last two weeks Redpolls have been singing. In the garden the maximum number we have had at any one time has been eight but there must be at least a dozen or more Redpolls coming to feed. Click here. One has a ring on its leg and it would […]
Dipping Out
In Twitchers terms dipping out means failing to find the bird you set off to see. This happened twice to me on the 9th when I failed to find the Two Barred Crossbill at Dovestones and the Great Grey Shrike at Watergrove reservoir. Fortunately I had already seen both earlier in the week and […]
Spring Waxwing
In late March I visited Weir Street in Blackburn to have a final look at the four Waxwings that had spent all Winter feeding there. They were still present and feeding in the Rowan next to the one I last saw them on several months ago! The tree they were roosting in was now covered […]