it’s Reindeer Time
This week’s photo was taken through my video camera in Svalbard ten years ago. The Svalbard reindeer is smaller than the Lapland reindeer but its antlers are much more impressive. On my last ever visit to Svalbard, three years ago, I had the unique opportunity to photograph a female Polar Bear with three cubs. This has hardly ever been seen before and only myself and a fellow traveller were in the right position at the rear of the boat to obtain any photos.
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The Kestrel might be our commonest bird of prey but you can never go out and plan to photograph one. This summer I spent some time watching a well-marked male as he looked for prey on the ground from some telegraph wires. I had to try to anticipate the split second he left the wires and more often than not failed to capture the action. However, with luck I did succeed occasionally as can be seen in this weeks blog photo. Some immature birds are shown in the gallery. 
Its amazing what wildlife you can encounter whilst out walking the dog. Along our local canal last week I came across a pair of Goosanders. I had just about enough time to take the dogs home, grab my camera, and return to film the male before he took off. The light was perfect and his bottle-green head showed up magnificently in the winter sunshine. 
No visit to Islay is complete without time spent filming Chough. They are the rarest member of the Crow family and by far the most exciting to photograph, especially in flight.In fact all the photos shown in the gallery over the last four weeks were taken in just two days, in perfect weather, with exceptional subject matter. Where else would you wish to go to in Autumn? 
With an eight foot wingspan it is easy to see why the Sea Eagle is called the flying barn door. This winter on Islay adult and juvenile Sea-Eagles seem to be everywhere. It is rumoured that the two regular pairs have been joined by incomers from both Jura and Mull. All are now taking advantage of the abundance of Geese with visiting bird-watchers witnessing the striking and taking down of Geese. I wonder how long it will be before Islay becomes THE place to see Sea_Eagles instead of Mull?