Wildscotphotos - Eric & Lesley's Wildlife Blog

Bee? or Fly?

11/5/2022

Spring migrants are arriving - Swifts arrived yesterday, one of the latest. However there are other stirrings.
Insects are emerging - some Butterflies have overwintered as adults but other insects have remained in the pupal stage until now. Such as the Dark-edged Bee-fly. The lain name is a bit of a giveaway. It is in the genus Bombylius. Without knowing the higher classification it sound like a Bumble bee, however it is a fly with a strong connection to bumble bees since it parasitises them. Fortunately is is harmless to us, in fact it is a pollinator so should be encouraged. The long proboscis is used for feeding and cannot be used as an offensive weapon.
I did not know this species in my youth - it is one responding to warmers Springs.

Reed Bunting

26/4/2022

We don't have many species of Buntings locally. The Snow Bunting is a specialist breeder in the mountains, wintering either on the coast or in the foothills of our mountains. The Yellowhammer is principally a farmland bird as is the Corn Bunting, the so-called Fat Bird of the Barley. The Reed Bunting (pictured), despite its name, is not confined to reeds - we often find it in scrub. In winter both sexes are rather sparrow-like but come Spring the male undergoes a transformation and dons the finery of a black head with while scarf. He sings his little scratchy song, often from a prominent perch, where he hopes to attract a female.

Spring firsts

12/4/2022

If you are keen on birds you tend to note firsts - the first migrant of the year (usually Chiffchaff) then the other early birds such as Sand Martin, Wheatear and Willow Warbler. As the year progresses into summer its less of an issue.
There are some Butterflies which are also notably early. These are the ones that overwinter as an adult. Mostly they are the larger species such as Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell. Another is the Comma (pictured). The Comma is new to our area. For a while it was doing rather badly in the UK however it managed to switch foodplants and has made a spectacular recovery, moving north quickly and now is regularly seen in Central Scotland. The warm Spring day when it appeared it was one of four seen together at the site.

Short Stayer

27/3/2022

Its always good to see a bird that you missed last year. Short-eared Owls were quite scarce last year but a few are wintering in our area now. They will move on soon if they haven't already.
Short-eared Owls are a problem species like Barn Owls, Kingfisher and Waxwing. There has been an explosion of photographers and these are species which are charismatic and much sought after. Consequently, some people overstep the line. Six years ago there were three photographers at this same site; this year about three times as many. Fortunately where the owls favoured there was a natural barrier which was well respected and everyone went home happily (I think).
I chose an in-flight shot when the bird (one of two) was scrapping with a crow for possession of the site.

The Other Northern Eagle

11/3/2022

The other Eagle.
We had two chances for eagle photography from last month's visit to Sweden. The first gave us great views of White-tailed Eagle (only). The second visit we had the joy of a visit from a Golden Eagle. This bird is probably around three years old - there's still a bit of white in the tail but the golden feathers are developing well. To get a full adult would be unlikely since it would already be breeding and within a defended territory. The Golden is dominant over the White-tailed - this bird is bossing what's left of the carcase.
When the bird looks directly at you its difficult to believe that its not staring at you even although you are looking at it through the camera optics. Its quite a stare.

Communing with Scandinavian Eagles

26/2/2022

Just back from Sweden, our first trip for two years.
Needless to say we had a great time. The travelling out and back was OK but room for improvement. Hopefully this will be better next time. The weather was similar to back home but instead of rain we got (welcome) snow and much lighter winds. We put in very early starts and spend half the time in cosy hides.
This is a pictures of a young White-tailed Eagle taking off and was in fact the last picture of that day before all the birds went to roost. At one point we had seven eagles in view at the same time.

The Orange Finch

10/2/2022

For the past few years, I have debated in my mind whether it is a typical winter and whether there is such a thing. This winter has seen no Waxwings around town. No great surprises there - overall it has been poor for them again. However, there have also been very poor number of winter thrushes, Fieldfares and Redwings. Initially large number were seen entering the country but locally most berries fell from the trees without attendant berry eaters.
A success story has been the Brambling. These Northern finches are in large numbers; either in large flocks, or more typically, with Chaffinches. You just have to spot the odd orangey Chaffinch. On this occasion I had to wait a while before I could get a snowy backdrop for this male. In a couple of months he will return to Scandinavia.

Snow by the Sea

26/1/2022

Snow Bunting is a bird we expect to see every year. We didn't last year. Finding it is, in theory, relatively simple. You either go to the mountains or the coast. There are records between these two extremes but these are the preferred places. Snow Bunting is one of the hardiest birds of all - it is the only passerine in Spitsbergen so, probably, the one that exists furthest north.
Anyway we tried both options at the end on 2021 without success. It took a further two attempts this year before we found a flock of about two dozen. I'd hoped to find them feeding on grass seeds and so it turned out. I had the additional bonus of this one doing a wing flap to add interest to the picture.

Great Northern Diver aka Common Loon

13/1/2022

A flexible approach is required to get a wide range of good pictures. I love my long telephoto but also love my macro lens for close up work. I love the detail in the environment, bringing out small effects and magnifying them to reveal something interesting.

On this occasion I was able to benefit from another's observations. This Great Northern Diver had the habit of working a shoreline an hour of two after high tide. Get in position and wait. Its too far from home to go regularly but on the day we chose the right time was quite late in the day, however a bit of light shone through the clouds.
Like many birds from the Americas it was not shy and allowed us to reposition between dives. A great end to that day, enjoying close views.

Tufty's Continental Cousin

26/12/2021

We rightly prize our Red Squirrel in Scotland. In fact the term iconic is often applied. The past is a bit darker though. Not so long ago they were widely persecuted as vermin. Foresters, in particular, despatched them as counter to their objectives of planting and maturing forests.
The numbers fell so low that they may have gone extinct. We don't know for sure since there was a re-introduction programme carried out. Likely the population went through a bit of a genetic bottleneck.
Our Squirrels are brownish in all months but support ear tufts from about November to March. Pictured is a Red Squirrel from Sweden in April. The tufts are much longer and his winter coat is much greyer, so much so that some would initially query whether it is in fact a Grey Squirrel. Not so.