A late entry this week due to only just having returned from four days in the Cairngorms. What better way is there of spending your birthday than filming Crested Tits and other birds of the Caledonian pine forests. After -3° overnight Aviemore yesterday was the sunniest and warmest place in Britain  and of course we were there to enjoy it.

Red Squirrels. Mountain Hares, Deer and Goats were all encountered and Cairngorm Mountain was visited but not for long as it was sheet ice and very treacherous . I did however, find a pair of Ptarmigan part way up the slope that gave me some spectacular shots in winter coat which I will include in next week’s blog.

The only downside was that there were very few Crossbills in the forests and there were no longer  Long Tailed Ducks feeding in Burghead harbour as it had been dredged! There are, however, plenty of other reasons to return. Click here

Even on Islay last week, with wintery weather, the breeding season had begun with pairs of Ravens nest-building.

Upon returning home this week my regular Herons were well into breeding with several nests showing the signs and sounds of having young in them. This weeks gallery shows photos I took from this Heronry a couple of years ago when I filmed one nest extensively. It is a time consuming job with feeds sometimes five hours apart!

On the 4th March there was a big passage of Woodcock through Hopwood and in less than one hour I encountered four birds which is a March record. Any left after the month end may indicate breeding birds so we shall have to wait and see. On the same date I watched a pair of Long Tailed Tits building a nest that must have been started in February.(My earliest ever nest was one found on the 24th Feb).

In the garden 5 Bullfinches fed together on the 8th with at least four Reed Buntings now feeding daily. Will we have a return of last years Redpolls in the next couple of weeks?Click here

Another week on Islay and the wildest week we have ever seen with hail, snow, rain, gales and even a powerful thunderstorm that disabled telephone contact for part of the island. Dramatic conditions but good news from a camera point of view with many photos taken.

The Raven is one of Britain’s wariest birds to photograph at the nest and almost impossible to photograph away from it. This last week I have had a hide hidden deep in gorse bushes overlooking a field that I have baited with dead hares and even the remains of a Barnacle Goose. I spent many long hours waiting with only Hooded Crows for company and then at the height of a hail storm a Raven warily landed on the prey. Hunger brought it in and provided me with a wonderful series of photos that I shall probably never repeat.I didn’t always have success and one morning when I arrived at first light to enter the hide a Golden Eagle was already feeding on the Hare. It failed to return to feed and the three hours that I waited seemed more like ten!!

Despite the wintery conditions Hares had started to box and provided me with more photos. You can never tire of Islay. Click here

A week on Islay has coincided with the snowdrops at Bridgend being in perfect condition. As usual amongst them were some fine examples of Scarlet Elf Cup fungi. Three Bullfinches were feeding on the buds of a shrub in an adjacent garden.

The first wildlife photo of the week was of a Mink, on a loch edge and this is bad news for Islay’s wildlife as mink are vicious killers. The local gamekeeper has been suitably informed. A group of Red Deer stags close to the road provided a photographic bonus. Despite some searching only one Otter has been seen and this stayed its distance.

Along the coast both Glaucous and Iceland Gulls have been encountered along with Purple Sandpipers and Dunlin.

Raptors are always an attraction on Islay and Hen Harriers have been seen almost daily. Golden Eagle and Sparrowhawk appeared regularly but the highlights have got to have been the pair of Sea Eagles on a rock as we sailed up the Sound of Islay. The wild weather has produced few sunsets but snow on the ground one day was an unexpected attraction. Click here for some of this week’s photographs

During the last five weeks I have spent time in the Ribble valley trying to attract a Great Grey Shrike to food. A friend with a farm near Clitheroe has a cat that regularly catches mice and voles. These I placed on a stump for the Shrike to eat. Unfortunately the Shrike had to find them first and I spent long hours under a camouflage cloth (including a white one in the snow) waiting for it to appear to film it but I had no success. The closest it came was when it flew past thirty yards away and I am still convinced that had it seen the prey it couldn’t have resisted taking it and placing it in its larder. However, you can’t win every time. click here

With high pressure all week and  a low temperature of  -5°C  it made  perfect conditions to go looking for Jack Snipe. The aim is to locate a Jack Snipe before it flies off and this I achieved early in the week as the Snipe roosted in an iron water ditch. For five consecutive days I was able to return to the ditch, locate the bird, take a few photos and then leave without it flushing. As Jack Snipe feed nocturnally these are roosting diurnal birds and to prove this I returned to one five hours later and it had only moved one inch!

All was going well until day five when a Common Snipe was also in the ditch. This bird exploded out of the ditch upon seeing me and in so doing also flushed the Jack Snipe who has not returned since!

On one occasion the sun was shining on the back of the camera so it was difficult to see through the screen. Whilst I knew the Jack Snipe was in the middle of the picture you can imagine my surprise when I downloaded the photos to the computer and could see part of the head then the tail of a second bird!! I have included these in this weeks gallery but would have preferred a single picture of two birds together.

After last years winter of no snow or frost it has been a revelation to work with this little gem from scandinavia. Click here