Eric & Lesley's Wildlife Blog - Wildscotphotos

Hare Today

26/1/2019

I don't really make New Years resolutions as regards wildlife photography - the target species are the same as the last ten years. I'm too embarrassed to state the species but a little progress has been made on all three. None are rare but all difficult in different ways.
Anyway, this year I have resolved to spend quite a bit of time on the local mammals. Brown Hare will hopefully feature and I expect that the best results will be in a couple of months time. I was therefore so pleased to be able to settle fairly close to this Hare and wait. After not too long it stirred and had a good stretch before cantering about and then settling down again. Result all round.

Hebrides for Otter

30/12/2018

Last week we had a little adventure, visiting the inner Hebrides for some R & R and to be in a more remote and wilder countryside for Christmas. Mostly we drove around to see what we fouls find. In the event there was lots to enjoy from Eagles to three species of diver, to the thousands of yelping geese, Barnacle and White-fronted. Then there were the Deer, Red and Roe.
The undoubted highlight came with the three sightings of Otter although each was in fairly poor light. Today's equipment can deal with that situation much better then the equipment of yester year. Time spent watching Otter is always quality time. This one caught crabs, otherwise drifted along the shoreline investigating each kelp bed for tasty morsels.

October 30th, 2018

30/10/2018

When we think of Deer locally we think about Red and Roe Deer. In the right places they can be found. Neither is easy to get close to for photography but that's the challenge and I welcome that.
However, there's another deer to seek out - the Fallow Deer. There's a population close by. As with the Red Deer, October is an important month for rutting. You can often hear them before seeing them. In other areas, notably in England, selective breeding has promoted the pale form of Fallow Deer which is most attractive but in unmananged populations a darker form will predominate.
It was not possible or advisable to approach during the rut so I waited close to the woodland edge and was rewarded by a sighting of this youngster.

Roe at Dusk

5/9/2018

I like to take pictures from hides where you are likely to see natural behaviour. A car is often referred to as a mobile hide and that can work too. However, as a wildlife photographer who wishes to realise a good range of pictures you need to be flexible in your approach.
Last night I set out to get pictures of this Roebuck. I've tried before with, at best, limited success. As a prey species Roe Deer have superb senses with sense of smell and sight being particularly acute. On foot I am limited in carrying ability so, for once I left the tripod behind and relied on a bean bag to rest on the wall.
You can see it worked; I was able to get a very close but obscured view before the buck moved into shorter grass and showed the whole animal.

A Clean Beaver

14/7/2018

We have been following Beavers in our area for a while now. This is our seventh season. In that time they have spread, but equally, they have been killed in some places. They now have legal protection but with caveats. For me, as a wildlife photographer they are exciting and challenging but when you get lucky, very rewarding. Last year, for the first time I enjoyed watching mutual grooming and, on a different evening one suckling. The enjoyment was spread over 33 evening visits.

This year's highlight so far has been this one grooming. To me, he resembled a large fat hairy man with a bar of soap in the shower. I even have a short video clip of his behaviour. Since I am not far away and visible a part of the pleasure is when your subjects allows you to share a moment.

A Fox Find

29/6/2018

Its high summer now. Birds are difficult to find since they are often with young or active only very early and late in the day. It is, however, high season for mammal and bug watching. Today we found ten species of butterfly with a few dragonflies thrown in for good measure. Since we are in a heatwave they are relatively easy to find but a challenge to get close.

With mammal watching you either have to get up incredibly early or stay out until dusk. Earlier in this week I was able to stay out until some Foxes came out to play. In all I saw five foxes but had to be content with fewer in any one picture. In my part of the world there are no easy Fox pictures so this was a thrill. I'm sure I've seen many more dead ones than live ones.

Hare Today

13/4/2018

Perhaps we expect too much of our weather but it still seems that the season is limping on towards "proper" Spring rather than galloping. A few projects are underway at an early stage some of which might produce a result - Kestrel, Black Grouse and Badger.
I was parked up by a field scanning for Black Grouse when I noticed three very active Hares running around. They continued carousing around for some minutes and once or twice came in range of the camera.
I suspect that Mad March Hares were more likely to be an April phenomenon in Scotland anyway.

Return of the Stoat

18/1/2018

Winter is here - lots of snow and unpleasant weather. That said, it is probably worse both to the North and the South of where we live. The roads can be tackled with care so I ventured out to my hide to get photos of the smaller birds that visit, in particular the Long-tailed Tits. A snowy backdrop is generally very photogenic.
At one point I saw a movement in the distance and thought it was a Squirrel then No, it must be a Stoat. It soon approached giving me an all too brief once-over before departing. Last August I witnessed a Stoat take a vole in exactly the same spot. This time it left empty handed.
A rare moment of thrill for a cold day and it was soon time to return to the car, try to warm up, then head home.

Over Ear

19/11/2017

My hide is at a particular location to get pictures of Red Squirrels so I see them all year around. At this time of the year I am looking to see if the ear tufts are present. There's a little bit of variation; I think that the adults have fuller and earlier ear tuft production but its hard to be sure. The ear tuft season is generally November until March.
The squirrels are still coming to grab my food offerings then beating a hasty retreat. They seem bent on thwarting my efforts in getting a picture, however this day one relented. I had, what I call, moved the furniture around a bit so it was initially a bit confused. As a result it went to the end of the branch and swished its tail to indicate displeasure. Nevertheless it got the food and I got a pleasing picture. Result all round.

Dormant?

18/10/2017

Last week we visited Norfolk and Suffolk. We have fairly regularly spent time in that part of England. It is rich in birds and sometimes opportunities for bird pictures. That said, it is now full of photographers with big lenses and sometimes bigger voices. We did see a good selection of waders and wildfowl. The waders were either passing through or arriving for winter. In the case of the wildfowl they will mostly spend the winter there in milder conditions than the northern climes they choose for breeding.
Our highlight of the visit was not a bird but a mammal. Its not often I get to see a new mammal. We were able to meet up with an field worker who was able to show us a Hazel Dormouse. Fortunately it was dormant otherwise it would have bolted. We were able to leave it safe when we departed. A thrill.