A Shady Deal
The status of the Whinchat in the Pennines is very precarious and another year has gone without me encountering a breeding pair. It is a bird that I look forward to seeing when I go to Islay where they are still relatively common. Why there has been a drastic decline in the Pennines is open […]
Back To Square One
After filming on Islay for three weeks it was back to checking any nests that might be active in the Pennines. The Kingfishers that were on a second brood had fledged these also. Second choice was a pair of Kestrels that should still have had young in the nest in the wall of a ruined […]
Corncrake Appears
Our last week on Islay and still the cool weather prevails. It Is difficult to believe that after being here for three weeks we have not seen a temperature in excess of 18°C and have had in total seven days of rain. After some searching I managed to film a Corncrake calling away in the […]
Seabirds Suffer
Another week on Islay and everywhere you go you are reminded of the gale in May with Westerly facing woodlands looking like they have suffered a nuclear blast. I took the opportunity of visiting the seabird colonies on the West coast to ascertain what damage had been incurred in 100mph gale. Guillemot numbers were only […]
Short Eared Owl Stars
We have had another week on Islay. Some time has been spent trying to film a male Short Eared Owl as he brought prey to a brooding female, her nest being deep in the heather. The photo was taken through the video camera and was the only one I took, although I did obtain some […]
Redstart Delights
One day during last week I was filming Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers in the Forest of Bowland. The deciduous wood had at least eight pairs of each breeding and it was an absolute delight to await their next return to the nest with an ever changing array of insects and caterpillars. While the colours of […]
Wild Weather Continues
This May has been typified by high winds and lack of warmth and sunshine. On the one good day this week I went to photograph the Ladys Slipper Orchid and was only just in time due to its early flowering this Spring. The rare bit of sunshine also brought out a Duke of Burgundy Fritillary […]
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
It is now peak season for filming breeding birds and what happens? – we have two days of low clouds and rain! On Monday I sat in the car for four hours waiting in vain for the rain to stop and the cloud to lift, all to no avail. As I sat there a Mallard […]
Wind, Wind, And More Wind
Our second week on Islay has been typified by the wind conditions that were not favourable to hunting raptors. The male Hen Harriers were leaving it late to find food for their incubating females. One food pass was at 9.25pm which is exceptionally late, being a good fifteen minutes after sunset. The male Short Eared […]
Islay Visit
A week on Islay with five days of full sunshine but always a strong East wind, There has been a brilliant passage of Whimbrel with up to thirty two in one feeding flock. Amongst them have been Black Tailed Godwits now in full breeding plumage, with all of them feeding rapidly in readiness for the […]