Eric & Lesley's Wildlife Blog - Wildscotphotos

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 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.

Chips to Go

13/12/2021

Like many others I like to recycle. This often manifests itself in appropriating stuff that's being thrown out. I can sometimes repurpose it; for example most of the hides I have built use pallets as sides.
Recently I collected some wood panels from the back of a hotel. I think it may have been a wardrobe in a previous life. I am slowly turning it into a Tawny Owl nest box. I cannot quite manage to do it for nothing - I need screws and a latch to open/close the inspection hatch. One task is to provide a floor lining for the nest itself. Fairly large wood chips are recommended. I managed to source them in an unusual way. Our town has active beavers. Out on a walk I found a tree active with Beaver gnawing so I collected the chips in a bag ready for the nest box lining. I'm stupidly pleased with myself.

Glossy Ibis

23/11/2021

It's not often I go chasing a rare bird these days, however, since this one was not to far away I decided to try. I'd only seen one Glossy Ibis previously in Scotland so it was good to reacquaint myself with the bird locally. It loosely associated with geese and swans and was quite unconcerned by our presence so we were able to walk away and leave it exactly where we found it.
The Glossy Ibis is the most widespread Ibis in the world, having colonised every continent except Antarctica. It now breeds in Spain, the nearest to us. The first year juveniles are known to be wanderers and a few have been recorded travelling to the UK and Ireland where they winter.

Black or White

6/11/2021

Last week we travelled west to Argyll and Islay. Wild Goose central did not disappoint since we found all the geese and goose species having arrived for the colder months. I may post a picture from our visit next.
This picture was taken in a harbour on the way. Unlike other Guillemots, Black Guillemots change plumage from a silky black in the warmer months to this near white in winter. The feet and the gape remain quite red so there's no confusion with other birds.
You can see it is feeding although I cannot tell what kind of food it has. Crustacean, likely, but a piece of crab or something else. Possibly it is a discard from a fishing boat.