Eric & Lesley's Wildlife Blog - Wildscotphotos

Rare Gulls

11/7/2020

Over the past month we have seen a number of rarer gulls. At Arbroath a full adult Mediterranean Gull has been consorting with the similar, but much more common, Black-headed Gulls. The Mediterranean Gull is a fairly recent colonist to Britain; another with an expanding range.
Close to home we found an adult Little Gull. These are found regularly on the east coast, as passage migrants in all sorts of plumage. However ours was decidedly inland.
Rare, however, was the Ring-billed Gull. This is a North American species. Occasionally they find themselves stranded on the wrong side of the Atlantic. Although the one pictured left is a first sighting of this bird for us it has been know to spend the summer in the same area where Common Gulls nest. I do not believe it was partnered with a Common Gull but it was certain looking good.

Bumbling Along

28/6/2020

A couple of days ago we went walking in a local den which is a strip of woodland with a steam running through. At this time of the year its usually hard to see much and so it proved.
We retreated to the upper slopes where it was quiet of people although a bit windy. There, we found a couple of bumble bees feeding. I had an inkling that I hadn't seen this pattern before so I took a couple of pictures but the wind made it difficult.
Back home I found another on the pavement in front of the house (pictured). Its a Tree Bumblebee.
Tree Bumblebees were first discovered in Britain in 2001. They have been steadily moving northwards. They are aided by a liking for nesting in bird boxes so humans have been helping them along if inadvertently. It was satisfying to find a new species literally on the doorstep.

In a Drop of Water

10/6/2020

Since travel is still a bit limited we have had time to enjoy things closer to home. My first love as a child naturalist was gazing into a pond and seeing the myriad of creatures that lived there. Even now I get a thrill from seeing them again.
Last week we found a huge number of these Ostracods locally. Named after the Greek word for shell they live within the shell just poking out swimmerets to propel themselves. How did they get there? Who know but their eggs can stand drought so they could have arrived with moss I placed close to the pond. It is probably thirty years since I previous took pictures of them. They do present a serious challenge since they are about 1.5 mm in size. You need all the magnification you can muster... and more. Even Daphnia are larger. Enjoy

At The Match

28/5/2020

It pays to have friends. People you trust and trust you. Recently I got a tip-off that two hares were in a field, close to home and were sometimes boxing. So I set off with camera in car and waited by the edge. Perhaps unfortunately we had some weather that day. Basically strong winds were blowing rain into the car on the side I had to sit whilst awaiting the action. As a result, I had to periodically take the camera kit inside the car and hope that I could shoot in between the worst of the weather.
In the end I got some pictures and was pleased to see that the rain enhance the images. The smaller male (Jack) Hare is on the right of the picture. After I left, a third Hare came so he would likely have to up his game even further. Although I have seen boxing Hare before, the only pictures I have were on transparency film so it was great to get some fresh footage.

Hope

17/5/2020

There'a plenty of new life out and about this month - we have seen young ducklings, goslings, Long-tailed Tits, Moorhen and Song Thrushes.
Following on from the previous blog note we find there's always some hope to be found. Revisiting the reedbed area a few days ago we encountered fewer breeding birds than usual. Hardly surprisingly since an estimated 30% went up in flames. We then visited a different part of the Reedbeds. Slightly more active with birdsong. We spotted a darker Warbler and suspected that we had found a Reed Warbler. Frustratingly we didn't see it again so we returned the following day and secured a picture. Reed Warbler is presently colonising the Tay reedbeds but, at the moment, it is heavily outnumbered by the less fussy Sedge Warbler. A real find - the first we have seen locally.

Up in Flames

30/4/2020

Its not often we have a natural disaster locally but we do now. We live close to the largest single reedbed in Britain. We visit regularly and are aware that bird migration to the reedbeds has been ongoing for about the past 10 days, however, on Monday a fire ripped through the whole area. It could have been even worse. With great fortune a local man stepped in. His job was putting out fires by dropping water from his helicopter. His contribution was immense since the Fire Service had difficult in taking water from the river due to difficulty of access.
It will undoubtedly be a poor year for the breeding birds, nevertheless there is plenty of hope that it will recover. Meanwhile the smell lingers.

Home Under Construction

26/4/2020

Well we have just has to get used to the major changes to our lives. One little project is that we are trying to further develop an understanding of what is on our patch along the river. We have walked it quite a few times in the past but now it generally is constrained by walking from the house. So far we have seen a creditable 69 species of bird and 5 mammals. It is already becoming more difficult to add new ones but there are a small number of migrants due in the next week.
We also found a Long-tailed Tit building a nest. Perhaps of all the local birds their nest is the most beautiful. This bird (pictured) is bringing in a little piece of lichen which will finish the outside. The interior decoration will finish the job. Life renews constantly.

March 30th, 2020

30/3/2020

Well the world has changed. Not just for me. Coronavirus dominates the headlines worldwide and will continue to do so for some months. Huge restrictions are begin imposed on our lives to save lives.
My photography will have to be carried out as part of our daily exercise. Nevertheless we have heard many Chiffchaffs and seen a few. Nature continues the cycle of renewal no matter what we do or don't do. It is reassuring and uplifting to witness. The current pandemic will be largely good for wildlife, in particular lower levels of pollution and people disturbing wildlife. The downside is the fraternity who wish to harm wildlife may do so without the likelihood of being caught.
Here is a recent pictures of one of our commonest birds in a setting which cries out Spring - the Blue Tit.

Hawkeye

8/3/2020

Just back from a week's photography in Sweden. We had hoped for some weather i.e. snow and frost to enhance the pictures. In fact we had only a couple of days of that kind of weather. A fair amount of drizzle though.
That said, we had a series of highlights with five raptors, including two eagles photographed, plus three Owl species. To get the raptor pictures we spent over 40 hours in hides. If you include travelling time it would be around 50 hours to get a series of pleasing images.
The Owl highlight was a Hawk Owl. This winter there are a few present; they are certainly entertaining the local birders and photographers. This Hawk Owl was finding food easily enough since it was caching the food for later.

The Jewel of the Pond

22/2/2020

Its been a long winter albeit without any real wintry weather. It continues cold, wet and sometimes very windy. A hard life for wildlife out in it all the time.
Dippers are coping well despite record high water. They hunt the water's edge where the current is less strong, apparently finding enough to eat. I know they are doing just fine because I see a pair and they have time to sit around and preen. They are built to thrive in these conditions.
It has been more of a surprise, therefore, to find a local Kingfisher. I have seen this female a few times now. Each time I wonder if she will survive the next onslaught of poor weather. Time will tell but my fingers are crossed.