White – Out
Despite enduring three storms last week on Islay one thing did not suffer – the Snowdrops at Bridgend were as good, or even better, than ever as shown in this weeks blog.As always the attraction of Islay is that you never know what is around the next corner. We had everything from five Herons roosting together, Sea Eagles flying overhead and disturbing Greenland White-fronted Geese or Sanderling and Turnstones flying along the beach into the gale. Wild Goats, Chough, Fieldfare and of course Hen Harriers were the support acts.
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We have just returned from eight days on Islay during which there were three named storms! While on some days no film was taken there is always a bonus from raging gales- as the forests were battered by 80mph winds the Red Deer stags came out into the open to get away from all the noise. The result was seven stags that provided some wonderful portraits in perfect light. www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
Any visit to Speyside is not complete without time spent filming Ospreys as they catch trout in the numerous lochs. It is almost impossible to determine where they are going to fish and even if you guess which loch they will visit they are going to be a long way off your camera so the image you obtain will be quite small. There is a way around this but it may cost you more than one hundred pounds per day – two places stock trout in smaller lochs with permanent hides especially for the Osprey photographer.All this weeks photos were taken at one such place in Aviemore and in my view it was money well spent – there is no better experience than having an Osprey dive into the water less than thirty feet away and then rise holding an enormous trout. www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
There is little doubt that the best place to see Red Squirrels is the Caledonian pine forests of Speyside. They are found in virtually every forest and thankfully do not have to compete with the more dominant Grey Squirrels. If you are going to visit Speyside then make sure you have a pocketful of Hazel nuts and you will soon bring Red Squirrels within camera range. www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
No trip to Speyside is complete without time spent with its Ospreys – either when they are catching fish or better still when they are at their nest.One of the most magical days I have ever spent with wildlife was when I was in a hide overlooking the nest of a pair of Ospreys.I spent ten hours in the hide, twenty foot off the ground, and in that time the male brought fish an incredible nine times. The excitement generated when he arrived with his fish was hard to describe and I do not know who was more excited me or the female Osprey!! www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
No trip to Speyside would be complete without time spent in the forests filming Crested Tits. They will readily come to feed on a bag of peanuts and the more severe the weather all the better for your photos. However, make sure you go before mid March because in most years by then Crested Tits thoughts turn to breeding and they head deep into the forests and are hard to find. www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife