In the last fifty plus years we have never had as many species of birds visiting the garden with their young. During the last two months seventeen different species have brought their young to feed on the fat balls and sunflower hearts.Of these the star species was a female Great Spotted Woodpecker and her two young.They still come regularly but are now able to feed themselves.For gallery  photos see www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife

Once young Long Eared Owls fledge the nest your chance of a photograph has usually finished. They are, however, still fed by the male for up to three months at which time they have usually mastered the skill of catching prey.
In the last ten days I have been watching four juvenile Long Eared Owls that have translocated to some pine trees around a large house in the high Pennines. It was a privilege to watch them each night as they practised hunting and interacting with one another. All the time they were hungry and calling for food which the male provided as it got dark and there was no light to film!!For gallery photos see https://www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife

In more than fifty years of filming wildlife I have never been in a position to film a Stoat. All that changed last week on a moorland road near Inverness. As we drove around a bend in the road I noticed a Stoat  with an injured Rabbit. I just had enough time to reverse back down the road, grab the camera, and take a few photos before the Rabbit was despatched by the Stoat and taken away to its young.It may be the only one that I see in hunting mode.- or will it? more photos see https://www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife

No trip to the Highlands is complete without searching out the Red Squirrels. The Caledonian forests are their stronghold and we were rewarded with some good views and photos.
One of my favourite Highland areas is Lochindorb which not only has Red Squirrels but Ospreys, Peregrines, Divers, Red Grouse and an abundance of butterflies. A spectacular fungi encountered was Bloody Tooth fungi whose name is a perfect description of this rare species. gallery photos https://www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife

With less than thirty breeding pairs in Britain the Slavonian grebe is one of our rarest breeding birds. Last week, while walking on a public footpath around a reed-fringed Scottish lock, we could not believe our luck.Amongst the reeds were a pair of Slavonian grebes with two small young. They paid no attention to us and in the next few minutes we obtained all the photos in this weeks Gallery.
They fed their young on invertebrates and feathers, which help with digestion, as shown in the blog photo. It was an encounter we will never forget! For more photos in my gallery see my Facebook

One of the spin-offs of going to Islay in summer is the additional wild-life subjects that come along. Last month we found Herons nesting in rhododendrons, mating Red Breasted Mergansers, singing Skylarks – on the ground! Hares, fields of Buttercups, newly emerged Marsh Fritillery butterflies and delicate Banded Demoiselle Damselflies. For gallery photos see my Facebook page