Eric & Lesley's Wildlife Blog - Wildscotphotos

A Prickly Customer

24/9/2020

Because we live inland all our breeding migrants are gone. The winter arrivals are just beginning but there are other subtle changes afoot.
There are a small number of species that are more often seen dead than alive. Badger is one, Hedgehog is another. Mostly Hedgehogs are nocturnal but before and after hibernation they can certainly be active during the day. This one, in two separate days, came trundling in from the scrub to forage in front of my little hide. As far as I could tell it seemed pretty fat but, for a Hedgehog, I guess it's never too much when your life depends on plenty of reserves.

Patch Bird

11/9/2020

Birders talk about having a patch where they visit frequently throughout the seasons. Over time, they get to know it intimately and are aware of how and when to look for something unusual.
My "patch" is where I feed birds. I also provide water which hugely adds to the attractiveness to wildlife although that is largely dependent on the amount of recent rain.
By dint of spending so much time I find more unusual birds. Earlier in the year I had a Crossbill. Two weeks ago I heard a Nuthatch in the area but it wasn't until a couple of days ago that it decided to present itself in front of the camera. (Nuthatch is becoming more often seen but is still uncommon) It was raiding the seed feeder to find the Sunflowers and then taking them away for later storage. I fear that it may have moved on since I no longer hear it but, nevertheless it was a treat.

Stoat(al) Suprise

21/8/2020

The coast is where it's at just now. I had a productive session yesterday with waders in my tidal hide. Large numbers of Curlew (heartening) and Redshank. The number are building; some will be young birds and some failed breeders. The number will swell further soon with migrants and breeders.
However at the woodland hide its been very quiet, so much so that I was going to stop feeding for a while. However, the most recent visit was entertaining. Not too much had happened when I heard the Blackbird alarming. Then the Robin began to tick. I waited quietly, watching the other birds. After about 5 minutes the small birds seemed to be going back to feeding normally. I was on the point of leaving when this Stoat appeared and raced up the tree.
It then ran about excitedly so I tried to follow with the lens. It couldn't see me but it could see the lens moving hence the opportunity to see it rise up. A lot of fun.

Gotcha

6/8/2020

There are perennial subject that I try to photograph every year (subject to season). One of these is trying to get the perfect Pond Skater showing the weight of the insect distorting the surface layer due to surface tension. I have "wasted" a few pixels on that subject this year again. Another is trying insects, and particularly dragonflies in flight. It often seems a hopeless task. Often, I have either taken no pictures during the session or none with the intended subject in the picture.
Today I had a bit of good fortune with this Common Hawker. Or perhaps the equipment is the only improvement. It is not perfect but hey, it is the best so far. Nevertheless I will be back again for more "punishment". It is the game we play. We know the rules. You must suffer for your art. Then you really appreciate the successes. Its part of the human condition.

The Smell of the Crowd

22/7/2020

Lock down from coronavirus has restricted our movement as it has to all our fellow Scots. Now that it has eased we have been able to travel further. Since we do not live at the coast one of the bird groups we were missing was Seabirds. We lost out on our planned trip to the Isle of May. It is a great place to see and experience seabirds, however it is not the only place. Accordingly we headed up the East coast and found a good mainland site.
From the outset the noise and smells assault the senses but a world without that would be a very much poorer place. Being late in the season we saw young birds but this Razorbill caught our attention. It seemed to be checking out the lower "flats", perhaps to check there's no collision when it takes flight.

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.