Category Archives: General

A wild week with a raging gale and plenty of rain. As a result of having to spend so much time looking out of the window I was able to check on the activity of the male Sparrowhawk and what activity there has been. Last Sunday he caught a Starling which he ate over the next one hour fifty five minutes, with a rest for ten minutes in the middle! The next day he was in the garden for five hours watching for an opportunity to catch prey. None occured and at one point he was even looking to catch a Long Tailed Field Mouse but missed that also. The following day he caught a Starling again but this time I felt sorry for the Starling and went out to the rockery to intervene. He did not release his grip on the Starling until I was five feet away looking at me annoyingly for intervening. On the Wednesday he got his own back by flying into the lounge window at 6.30am and set the house alarm off! He was none the worse for it as he watched us inspect the window stood on the garden fence.

A visit to the hills during the week has produced pairs of Oyster Catchers returning plus Skylarks moving through. In one plantation a pair of Long Eared Owls were present and will soon lay their eggs in an old crow’s nest. Only one Woodcock has been seen this week but thirty five Fieldfares were moving east back to Scandinavia.

After a fortnight on Islay it is now back to basics with the first hide work of the year. I spent three hours on a Heron’s nest hoping for a changeover on the eggs but the male Heron incubated the eggs throughout my stay. However he turned the eggs twice and some good video was obtained.

During the week I watched two pairs of Goosanders on the river Roch at Bury but failed to find a rare fungi that was the original reason for my visit!

I paid a visit to Queens Park, Heywood and had some good views of up to a dozen Herons as they built their nests on the island in the Lake.

A moorland plantation was searched for Long Eared Owls and although one was seen it flew before any film could be obtained. Three woodcock were also flushed from the high plantation.

The coldest morning of the week produced a low of -5C and by 7am I was on a high moorland in the Northern Pennines looking to film Red Grouse. There were good numbers of displaying Grouse and more than three hours was spent on the high moor. Plenty of video was taken and it was well worth the effort of getting up at 4.30am.

On Hopwood two pairs of Long Tailed Tits are now starting to build their nests in gorse bushes – two days later than last years start date. Many other pairs are ready to follow

Finally, the villain has returned, with the male Sparrowhawk catching his fifth bird in the garden this Winter that we know of and probably a lot more. This time catching a Starling that took one hour fifty five minutes to eat!!!

Malcolm Ogilvie in his recent review of the movie for the local Islay & Jura newspaper, the Ileach, wrote:

“I sat enthralled through the film and then wished for more. So I watched it again! This by far and away the best film you will have ever seen of Islay and its wildlife, and a wonderful advertisement for the island.”

Read the full article…

Order your copy of the Movie

We have just returned from two weeks on Islay, mainly to establish outlets for the sale of the DVD. There are now six places where the DVD can be bought. It was also given a superb review in the local Islay newspaper, more about that later.

During the fortnight on Islay we had everything from the most perfect Winters day to raging gales and heavy seas.

We covered more than a thousand miles before we saw a Hen Harrier, this being only one mile from the ferry as we left the island! An Otter was seen in front of the cottage, with a female and young watched on another day.

The highlight of the visit was a party of four Snow Buntings that were feeding along a farm track at Ardnave. We watched and filmed these on several days but they were quite wary and we never got nearer than fifteen feet before they moved on further up the track.

On another day a Golden Eagle was admired as it stood on a fence post contemplating its next meal. The Geese of course are always a spectacle on Islay at this time of year.

Its now back to a heavy programme of talks for March when I shall be taking the Islay DVD around with me.

After a Winters work the DVD ‘The Wildlife Gems of Islay’ is now available for sale. For those of you who don’t know, Islay is part of the Inner Hebrides, off the West Coast of Scotland and is inhabited by approximately 3200 people. It has eight working whisky distilleries, stunning scenery, amazing wildlife and friendly people.

In the last two years I have spent nearly half a year on Islay incorporating all the seasons and amassing fifty four hours of material. It has been a ruthless task to reduce this to one hour but the finished product now portrays a good insight as to what Islay has to offer.

The DVD is for sale at £15 plus postage and packaging.

You can view a two and a half minute introduction of The Wildlife Gems of Islay on the DVD Movie page.

At last some better weather this week. I climbed up to the high Pennine tops and spent a good three hours with the Mountain Hares. Saw at least a dozen different individuals and finally found two in their forms that allowed a close approach and some good video was had. Unfortunately they don’t do anything but look at you with those big brown eyes, then run off! Golden Plover were also calling, which is a very early date to be on their breeding grounds.

Green Woodpecker and Dipper are still present on Hopwood with a party of a dozen Fieldfares at dusk – the largest local flock I have seen this Winter.

On a mossy dead tree there was a fine showing of Scarlet Elf Cup fungi – the first I have ever seen around Rochdale.