Eric & Lesley's Wildlife Blog - Wildscotphotos

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.

May Time

12/6/2018

Last week we spent the whole week on the Isle of May in the Forth. Like other places we visit on our travels it felt a real privilege to be there as part of a fairly exclusive club.
It was the height of the bird breeding season. Oystercatchers were widespread, piping away, protecting their young from the marauding gulls, however the Terns were causing anxiety since they were late to arrive and even later to settle down.
The stars of the show for us were the auks, and in particular, the clowns of the sea - the Puffins. From the start of the week they began hatching their eggs. We know this by the fact that they carried sand eels increasingly as the week wore on. Being resident meant being able to use the whole of the day for photography which was a hoped-for bonus once the sea haar dispersed.

Hair of the Dog

2/5/2018

Its been fairly quiet at the hide lately with the usual suspects only. The Red Squirrels are active, chasing one another and gradually their coat is shedding to be replaced by the rich red of the summer months.
I was given some dog hair in a bag so it has been sitting in a corner of the hide for some months. Naturally the plastic bag holding it has been damaged by rodents but its otherwise intact. As soon as I put out the hair the tits - Great, Blue and Coal went for it and teased it before collection and removal. This shows clearly that they have not yet laid their eggs but are close. I'm sure they would advantage of the opportunity of good lining even a few days beforehand - they wont waste a good resource.

An Early Start

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,

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.

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.

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.