Eric & Lesley's Wildlife Blog - Wildscotphotos

April 20th, 2018

20/4/2018

Its been a long time in planning but I was able to have a hide session for Black Grouse locally. After being refused permission that I did not think I need two years ago we have been building towards using a different site.
Getting to the hide meant half and hour driving following by half an hour walking. The birds appeared in the dark almost one hour before sunrise. With that in mind you need to get up at silly o'clock.
Once you have light you are treated to one of the greatest spectacles of British wildlife watching and, of course, you cannot forget the unique soundscape. It's a good lek with at least 15 males struttng their stuff. The intensity noticeably increased when females appeared to watch the show,

Loch Visit

30/3/2018

Officially Spring is here but the appearance of the countryside says otherwise. We have still to see a genuine migrant. Farmers are reporting that grass growth is 2-3 weeks behind schedule. The immediate weather forecast predicts continuing cold with an east wind to deal with. No doubt the seasons will catch up but there's not much to suggest it at the moment.
We visited a local loch and were in for a treat. Some birds are defying the weather and displaying. These Great Crested Grebes are performing their ritual displays despite people walking fairly close by. They are banking on the Spring with small fish fry available to feed their chicks in a few weeks time. I hope the nest does not get washed out.

A Cunning Plan

13/3/2018

Increasingly I like to work close to home tackling the more difficult challenges or rare animal and birds.
I set myself the challenge this winter of getting pictures of Water Rail.
Perhaps the hardest part was choosing a site - one that was not much visited and where I could work. Eventually I found a spot and baited it. After about a week I needed to see what was appearing. I really wasn't sure but I sat and waited. After about a half an hour of seeing my regular birds the Rail wandered in front of the camera. I did an internal, silent high five. It is visiting regularly now but so is the big bruiser that goes by the name of Pheasant. So my issue now is how to deal with that dilemma. The bold one putting the shy one into the shade so to speak.

No Bunting Like Snow Bunting

11/2/2018

My flu has dragged on, in fact, we both have suffered with it; nevertheless we are well on the way to recovery now but still not quite there.
Earlier this week we had an appointments to fulfil so we visited Grantown. After I had delivered my presentation it ended up as mainly recuperation but we managed to see Red Squirrel, Mountain Hare, Golden Eagles displaying and Crested Tit. Alas, none of these provided a photographic opportunity.
The photographic highlight was provided by the Snow Buntings. Arguably the hardiest of our passerines; they are the only passerine to visit Spitsbergen and have even been recorded at the North Pole. They have also been celebrated in song - see Anne Murray and "Snowbird".
Its seems only appropriate to depict one on snow which is what we did.

Highland Chile

17/1/2018

Following on the previous blog: after our trip to the Falklands we spent a few days in Chile. Above all else there was one special target - the exotically named Diademed Sandpiper-Plover. If you are a fan of wading birds (shorebirds) then it is a must since it is in a family of its own.
The birds is found, uncommonly, from Peru to Chile in mid altitude Andes, often in boggy, marshy ground.
We were successful in finding it. A pair was with chicks so we were extra careful not to disturb them. We were able to leave them exactly at the spot we found them

Penguin Central

29/12/2017

We have not long returned from our second visit to the Falklands with a gap of 20 years. Not a great deal has changed; the wildlife is as wondrous as ever. The locations slightly updated with perhaps more international visitors and cruise ships.
Penguins abound and provide the icing on the cake but there's plenty more to enjoy. Albatross, a selection of ducks and grebes and various seabirds as well as giant marine mammals.
Far more pictures to sort out now since digital has revolutionised photography. Plenty of opportunity to try for the fleeting shot without worrying about the cost. A Penguin "in flight" was a particular target so here's an attempt that at least pleased me. Compliments of the season to all.

Coastal Treats

3/10/2017

A visit to the coast is always interesting at this time of year, as you never know what birds could have arrived or be passing through. At one end of the scale we've had encounters with Yellow-Browed and Barred Warblers this year.
On our recent visit to East Lothian we enjoyed Ruff, Redshanks and a Spotted Redshank that day. The incoming tide brought this foraging Curlew close to us letting us enjoy it's feeding and preening antics. It didn't seem a rare bird to us but recent bird studies have shown that it has declined by half in only 10 years. That's a really worrying statistic.

Life Skills

18/9/2017

As my last post suggested, autumn is very much the time of migration. This is particularly true for birds. They are positioning themselves ready for winter. However, there are other important activities going on at this time of the year. Many birds have bred; what happens next is particular to the species but many abandon their young. It is then up to the young to perfect the life skills which ensure their survival into the next year. Many young birds are unsuccessful.

Here is a Kestrel female which has captured a small vole. For this bird it is looking promising but winter will be a difficult time for Kestrels should we get snow since food can be particularly difficult to find.

May Break

3/9/2017

Just back from a week spent on the Isle of May, staying at the Bird Observatory. August can be a special time to be on the island however the hoped-for fall of migrants did not happen. The nagging west/south west wind put paid to that. Out of the wind we enjoyed the long spells of sunshine. That said, there was plenty to enjoy from the still breeding Fulmars, the burgeoning Rabbit population, and the building numbers of seals preparing to pup and then start the next generation.

Some small birds were passing through. As expected, the most numerous species was Willow Warbler with youngsters dominating the count. Here is one making that extraordinary journey to Africa for the first time.

Time for a Chat

23/6/2017

Summer is definitely here, with warmer and wetter weather. Lots of birds are breeding but, in general, they are less obvious since they are now paired up.
I don't use a mobile hide very often but I dusted it down for a pair of Whinchats. The male (pictured) is one of a pair, fairly close to a nest. I worked the hide close over three days and was able to verify that the birds were OK with the intrusion.
The only time the birds were genuinely worried is when a Kestrel came close, hunting. The chats abandoned the nest and perched together on the gorse until the danger had passed. The Kestrel did leave with a prey item but we could not ascertain whether it was furred or feathered.