Category Archives: General

When we first visited Islay in 1976 we never even saw a Buzzard there were so few of them. Now, more than forty years later, there are more than one hundred pairs. They are so common because on Islay there is no persecution and they will eat almost anything. This weeks gallery includes both Barnacle Goose and Hare as prey, neither of which had been killed by the Buzzard. One was a road casualty and the other had hit a power line. There is more to this than meets the eye as both were provided by me in the hope of attracting a Sea Eagle! – instead all I got was the ubiquitous Buzzard!! click here

A week on Islay with gales, rain and snow with very little sun. What we did not expect to see was two Red Deer stags that were still rutting. This is normally an autumn activity but these two stags remained together with regular interlocking of Antlers. There were no female Deer anywhere around to impress.More Islay photos in the gallery. Click here

This weeks drake Goldeneye was photographed on a Pennine reservoir where it is happy to spend winter before probably returning to Scandinavia. A small population do breed in the Cairngorms but most of the Pennine birds come from further afield.
During the last fifty years that I have been filming birds some years have been better than others, but 2014 was exceptional. Not only did I photograph two pairs of Nightjars, two pairs of Kingfishers, Hen Harrier and Buzzard all at the nest, I also filmed a pair of Barn Owls with six young that were nesting on the ground in a barn.One or two photos of this unique event are included in this weeks gallery. Click here

Whilst on the Fylde last week what should fly into the photo was this juvenile Purple Heron. Apparently it had been in the area since November and spent all its time catching Voles in the fields. It was the first that I had ever seen and was a weird looking subject. Sadly it never caught anything in the hour that it was in view.The Pink Footed Geese that I went for were very impressive and are also in this weeks gallery.Click here

Wherever you go in the Caledonian forests you will find enormous dead trees that are hundreds of years old but are still standing. The dead wood provides last weeks star bird the Crested Tit with nest-sites. Many other birds and mammals like the Red Squirrel are to be found in the pines and boggy areas are home to the Large Raft Spider – one of the rarest in Britain. This weeks gallery has a variety of photos from the forests together with the Ptarmigan, which had a very poor breeding season last year. click here

There is no doubt that the star bird of the Caledonian forests of speyside is the Crested Tit. Last week we made a January visit especially for them and also a touch of Burns night. We were not disappointed on either count with the Crested Tits active at all the places that we visited. January is probably the best month of the year to see them for after that, especially in mild weather, they commence their breeding cycle and are much more illusive.This weeks gallery includes photos from one morning session. Click here