Sixty Hours Of Sun
After last year’s poor weather on Islay we have just had a week on the island that produced well in excess of sixty hours of sunshine. It was like the Islay of old with spectacular sunrises and sunsets and the only rain falling during the night when we were asleep.
April on Islay is a fabulous time to visit because of the mix of both Winter and Spring migrants. Nine thousand Barnacle Geese left for Greenland the day after we arrived, with Swallows and Wheatears in many parts of the island having just flown up from Africa. On the eighteenth we found the first migrant Corncrake which was followed the following day by the first Cuckoo. In contrast Brent Geese and Great Northern Divers were still present before their long journeys North as were Purple Sandpipers and Sanderlings.
Nine species of Raptor were encountered, with the male Short Eared Owl, above, performing very well as he hunted most evenings. We had some good encounters with both Golden Eagle and Sea Eagle.
A female Adder was watched in the sunshine at Ardnave. However a trip to Jura, in perfect conditions, failed to find any Otters. Our success rate in locating Otters in now about fifty percent and I have great respect for this creature that is never predictable.
Published by
Gordon Yates
Updated on
April 22, 2012
Related Articles
There are not many times when you get the chance to photograph a Sparrowhawk on a hot-tub! This male failed to catch so he perched, momentarily, on next doors hot-tub
At long last with freezing temperatures and winter sunshine conditions were perfect for filming the winter thrushes on whatever berries were left. In a neighbours garden the crab-apples were being
It is always difficult to choose the best photos from a year, especially a year that was dominated by perfect photographic weather! During this last year I also photographed two
Gordon Yates - Wildlife Photographer
730 Followers
Achievements
Award-Winning Photography
Alongside filmmaking, Gordon has earned recognition in still photography competitions with the BBC, RSPB, Scottish Wildlife, and the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club — using his trusted Pentax equipment. One of his proudest achievements was seeing ten minutes of his work broadcast by Granada Television — a milestone in a lifetime dedicated to wildlife storytelling. Today, he continues capturing the natural world with his Canon EOS 7D and Canon XM2 digital camcorder.