Eric & Lesley's Wildlife Blog - Wildscotphotos

Robins

10/6/2022

I am still enjoying the House Martins (see previous post). When their favourite puddle has gone dry I have topped it up with water. We have generally dry conditions prevailing at the moment so its quite gratifying so see how quickly they have responded, coming down to collect more mud for their nest building.
Other birds have been busy and are much further on. (Of course we are not far from the longest day of the year.) Resident birds come into breeding condition much sooner than migrants and my Robins already have young out of the nest. Despite that the young will forever beg for food so long as there's a chance an adult will feed. They make a nice picture with the reflections.

Nest Eggs Coming

25/5/2022

Last year was a disaster for Martins locally. Fewer Swallows and Sand Martins than usual and House Martins seemed even more scarce. Its therefore a great relief to see more House Martins this year.
Like a lot of migrants they arrive keen to get on with the business of breeding. Many House Martins make a new nest each year so its work work, gathering the material - mud and grasses. It was good to catch them in action. Of course, they ideally want typical weather - a spell of rain to create the mud, but not too much otherwise it will all wash away. That doesn't happen every year. You can see that gathering mud is a social activity. Together they brave the inherent danger of being on the ground.

Bee? or Fly?

11/5/2022

Spring migrants are arriving - Swifts arrived yesterday, one of the last to appear. However there are other stirrings.
Insects are emerging - some Butterflies have overwintered as adults but other insects such as the Dark-edged Bee-fly have remained in the pupal stage until now. The latin 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.

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.

A Little More from Down South

13/8/2021

Continuing from last theme, another picture from "down South", this time a Little Owl.
Little Owl is, in many ways, a controversial species since it was originally introduced to Britain. I don't think anyone would like it eliminated but it makes it more difficult to pursue the general theme of eliminating alien species. It is however, also present in New Zealand where it may be eventually culled.
This is an adult bird, likely a female, since there were two Little Owlets close by but no other adult. It nested in a fruit farm so was quite used to the comings and going of human traffic and their vehicles. It was pretty chilled.
Since I am unlikely to see one close to my home this was a thrill just enjoying that stern gaze.

Butterfly Time

8/7/2021

It's July now and the birds are off the menu. They have no reason to show themselves unless they have a second brood. The vegetation is as high as an elephant's eye. Insects are the order of the day.
Technically there's a challenge that comes with insects. Because they are so small there's little depth of field. Sometimes that's a good thing - a long telephoto exploits that fact. However with macro you have difficulty in getting even the whole insect in focus. With butterflies that results in two styles of picture. Top view or side view. In this way the whole subject is in the same plane. This is a Northern Brown Argus, a local species. The subject has chosen to offer me the side view.

On Reflection

30/6/2021

Sometimes I take pictures and sometimes I make pictures. I have set up a little reflection pool. Small, yes, but quite a lot of work to put it together. The longer that we have a dry spell the more it will attract wildlife to drink and bathe. Seed-eating birds like Finches need to drink regularly so there must be enough puddle to keep then going. So far it has been fairly quiet, just Chaffinch and the odd Siskin.
Jay and Great Spotted Woodpecker are fairly regular visitors. I have had one visit from a young Woodpecker but this is the male having a good drink.