A week on Islay with fabulous weather and wildlife.

In a newly sown barley field, away from the shore, upto forty one Sanderling were finding an abundant supply of leatherjackets. Many of these birds were now acquiring their Summer plumage and within two days all had left for the long journey to Greenland.

Black Guillemots are delightful birds to encounter in Summer and one spectacular dawn I took some flight shots, against the light,as they enjoyed the sunrise.

This is our ninety ninth visit to Islay and the bluebells are the best we have ever seen. The  first Marsh Fritillary butterfly appeared on the 27th with no doubt many more to follow. Roe Deer are all over the island and we have also seen two Otters one fishing on a fresh water loch which is a first for us. Click here for this week’s gallery

You can only really say that Summer has arrived when the Swifts are screaming through the picturesque Pennine villages, as they were in last weekend’s glorious weather. Most will nest under the eaves of the cottages. Some may breed in the crevices of quarries and in Scandinavia many now nest in the disused holes of Woodpeckers, something that has not yet caught on in Britain.

During the past week I spent an hour with a pair of Willow Warblers that were busy nest building and as usual they were very tame. Click here. Along the canal ten pairs of Canada Geese were nesting with two female geese looking after a creche of thirty one goslings!!

As a professional wildlife photographer I should know that you never go out without your camera and that was more than emphasised last weekend when I didn’t take mine in all that glorious sunshine. I drove up onto the moors and by the roadside were a pair of Curlew with four newly hatched young> Around the next corner was a Snipe on a post and further down the road a Little Owl was looking at me and I am sure it was laughing!!

Whilst looking for Woodpeckers in a Pennine wood I came across a pair of Treecreepers that were feeding their young at less than three minute intervals. As is usual with Treecreepers they were extremely bold and I took many photos whilst I was in their company. I was amazed at the number of prey items that were brought in on each visit.click here

This Spring I have managed to find two pairs of Goosanders nesting, as they do, in hollow trees. It makes an unusual, photograph looking at the ten eggs at the base of a hollow tree. On a re-visit the female was incubating the last eggs with two young around her. Somehow all the young have to climb six feet out of the tree and follow her to the nearest water. Unfortunately that never happens when I am waiting with the camera!

In the Pennine forests most pairs of Long Eared Owls now have young out of the nest. At dusk these young make a hunger call that sounds like a creaking gate. It is an evocative sound on a still Pennine evening.

The recent warm spell has resulted in the emergence of Orange Tip butterflies with several sightings in our garden.

The last three days on Islay were spent searching for Otters and for the first time ever we had 100% success rate with sightings on all three days. A female and her large young were located on the first day and surprisingly relocated two days later. On both occasions they provided me with hours of good filming. To view the photos click here. The female is the one with pink on her nose which is a common occurrence in Otters.

Back home wet weather has prevailed and I fear that one of my regular pairs of Kingfishers have had their young drown in the tunnel. The early breeding season continues unabated with Long Tailed Tits already fledging their young during the first few days of May. On Hopwood Linnets now have eggs which is a very early laying date for this normally late breeding bird.

If last years flowers were exceptional then this years Bluebells are even better with a profusion of Hawthorne blossom to follow.

With only two hours of rain in the last fortnight Islay has certainly made up for the dreadful weather that prevailed in February. Packed with newly arrived migrants and good sunshine I have had the best photography in Spring for many years.

The passage of Whimbrel continued to increase and on the 4th of May a flock of 126 was counted which must be close to the Islay record. Wheatears were everywhere and presented good photo opportunities along the roadside walls. The first Whinchats had just arrived as had the Grasshopper Warblers. Resident Stonechats had their first brood of young and looked magnificent on the gorse bushes.

Of the larger birds Ravens had young while Buzzards were just starting incubation. On one day we encountered five different hunting male Hen Harriers so hopefully  they each had females incubating eggs.

It is not just birds on Islay that attract the wildlife watcher it is the abundance of Hares, Deer, Goats, Seals and Otters that provide the spectacle. Click here for this weeks gallery.

Next week’s entry will feature Otters in abundance.

A visit to Islay is always good but especially so in late April when hundreds of wading birds are on the move. This week’s photo illustrates the spectacular setting as Bar Tailed Godwits get ready to migrate to the high Arctic against the backdrop of Islay’s pounding surf. They were new birds for me as I have never managed to obtain film of Bar Tailed Godwits on either cine, video or still as they are always very flighty birds.
During the week there has been a massive movement of Golden Plover with flocks of up to four hundred or more all bound for Iceland. Whimbrel are now beginning to arrive with groups of up to forty present and constantly on the move.
The weather this week has been fantastic with good periods of sunshine, although always with a cool Easterly wind. It has been a pleasure to watch displaying Hen Harriers a bird that may have disappeared as a breeding species in England. There are not many place in Britain where you can see more Golden Eagles than Kestrels but Islay is one of them.
It continues to be an early breeding season on Islay with Cuckoos calling in many localities and the first two Corncrakes having just arrived. Click here for some of this weeks photos.