Eric & Lesley's Wildlife Blog - Wildscotphotos

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 Other Northern Eagle

11/3/2022

The other Eagle.
We had two chances for eagle photography from last month's visit to Sweden. The first gave us great views of White-tailed Eagle (only). The second visit we had the joy of a visit from a Golden Eagle. This bird is probably around three years old - there's still a bit of white in the tail but the golden feathers are developing well. To get a full adult would be unlikely since it would already be breeding and within a defended territory. The Golden is dominant over the White-tailed - this bird is bossing what's left of the carcase.
When the bird looks directly at you its difficult to believe that its not staring at you even although you are looking at it through the camera optics. Its quite a stare.

Communing with Scandinavian Eagles

26/2/2022

Just back from Sweden, our first trip for two years.
Needless to say we had a great time. The travelling out and back was OK but room for improvement. Hopefully this will be better next time. The weather was similar to back home but instead of rain we got (welcome) snow and much lighter winds. We put in very early starts and spend half the time in cosy hides.
This is a pictures of a young White-tailed Eagle taking off and was in fact the last picture of that day before all the birds went to roost. At one point we had seven eagles in view at the same time.

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.

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.

Does Size Matter?

27/2/2021

We are currently waiting on tenterhooks to see whether Spring has arrived. It looks like it has, it feels like it has, but we have here before in other years and its not even March yet.
Birds are singing; new songs to challenge identification. In most case being alerted means that a view is possible to aid Id. This is when size comes into play. Just as we have all identified a large white object as a Swan or a small blue one as a Kingfisher, we can get it wrong with smaller birds. Here we see two finches, both sporting yellow and green plumage and sometimes misidentified. But, the Siskin on the left is much smaller than the Greenfinch on the right. Side by side - easy peasy; in the field less so. Other clues will help - Siskin may be feeding in Larches or Alders whereas Greenfinch might be at the top of a pine tree giving the sneezy call. Happy hunting.

Whiteout

9/2/2021

Well, far from winter abating it is still here with a vengeance. Snow has been building outside since the icy rain has departed. The forecast for the next four days is more of the same. As a result I have not been able to get to my feeding station. Fortunately I have kindly people to assist with the feeding.
We have been walking from home more than usual. Snow is much easier to walk on than ice. Of course the snow will likely turn to ice before it departs.
We found a Mandarin, a rare duck locally on a pond within town but we can see that wildlife is struggling as the snow takes hold. Today we found Blackbirds "enjoying" the conditions.

Brambling Time

26/1/2021

Winter is still firmly ensconced here. The snow is hanging on in many areas and looks like it is going to be supplemented soon. A difficult time for most wildlife.
I can still get to the hide most days; opportunities for wintry birds are always there. New snow has fallen overnight, turning to rain now.
As well as the "usuals" I am still getting Nuthatch. Long-tailed tits and Woodpeckers are regular. Amongst the commoner stuff you hope for something a bit rarer. The seed has attracted Finches, Siskin, Goldfinch and Greenfinch so I wasn't too surprised to get a Brambling. Bramblings migrate to us in winter, sometimes forming big flocks but many hang out in Chaffinch flocks. This is a female; the day before a male visited.