Isle of Mull 17-24th May 2014

A damp day to herald our return to a treasured and much visited Isle, we now know several good sites for wildlife so it was with much anticipation that we spent our first night in a lovely and comfortable cottage between Bunessan and Fionnophort in the south west.

As with the previous blog I will attempt a brief summary of our sightings...these lovely dunlin were our first beach sighting...

A brown hare is not what I expected in the sand dunes!

We thought at first that this was an otter sighting, it has been a while since we had live sightings...

It is in fact a female mink, confirmed by the appearance of the much smaller male...

Not native and not welcome, the sighting was reported to a local wildlife watcher who assured us the area was heavily trapped. We went to Iona as foot passengers, heard corncrakes and photographed a spotted flycatcher taking a break on a fence post...

Another day and patience and stealth was required to get a near water level close up of the enigmatic and beautiful great northern diver..

A calm and slightly misty early morning allowed me a reflective heron...

....and another near water level shot...a male eider duck...

A lengthy perusal of Loch na Keal....otters!

Unfortunately 70 metres+ away and impossible to get closer!

This nesting fulmar was photographed on Lunga, another fun and interesting boat trip! We also found a delightful wren...

Of course the reason for going to Lunga was puffins! Wonderful, photo friendly and photogenic beyond belief...what a delightful experience...

Another day, another boat trip and we enjoyed a full day as foot passengers to Iona. Peace and quiet and a feel of life in different times to be enjoyed here in the quiet bays away from the busy areas...

gannets dive....

Herons seem to pose well...

...and the corncrakes kept up their teasing....until we went into super patient mode! After much effort my first ever photograph!

Convinced we would get a better view we waited and waited and....

Oh my! how patience pays off...and luck!

Our last day and a favourite couple of locations, who knows what persistence and fortune would bring...

A hard bird to photograph well unless you wish to hike up steep hills with all your gear and wait all day to see potentially nothing is a golden eagle, we contented ourselves with some trusted information, great binocular views and a couple of long distance photographs...

We had some decent otter views during the day, on the way back down Loch Scridain for the last time on this visit we stopped at a favoured place. Dressed in very dark clothing and settled in some black rocks we sat for a while...waiting pays again....

The otter undoubtedly knew something was there but staying perfectly still works well, even with the shutter noise the otter was not too disturbed, just perfect...

And as if to provide a suitable last photograph...it did with a lovely silhouette as it returned to the sea.

A brilliant experience and a wonderful end to a special holiday.

Many thanks to all who view , don't forget if you do comment they come to me first for moderation.

21-30th September 2013, Still trying but not much to see!

Another difficult spell for my wildlife watching, but lessons learned in the past serve as reminders in difficult times. If you want quick and easy almost guaranteed sightings visit wildlife centres or zoos, if you decide you want to see animals in natural settings be prepared for barren spells and develop an impervious and indefatigable sense of optimism!

A busy time with other things has not helped but I cannot pretend I have not ventured out, walks both in my home valley of Airedale and also nearby Wharfedale have been undertaken and the weather has not been too bad.

Wandering through the fields and by the canal near home I found a lovely chirpy robin...

Taking a break for a coffee in a field edge I saw this rabbit approach quite close to me............

It seems to have been a good year for fungi, I have no idea of the name of this one but I wasn't taking it home as a supper accompaniment!

Mallards are always plentiful around here, most revert to water when I stroll along the canal towpath this one proved to be braver!

It has been a great summer for butterflies, now the main one I see is the speckled wood...

The trees are bearing good fruits, horse chestnuts ripening in the sunshine of the day...

Another day and an outing to Wharfedale for a walk in Strid Woods by the river.

The futility of trying to capture photographs of birds in low murky light as only the feet of this great tit remained motionless for the 1/30th of a second the shutter release took.

Down by the river we settled in at a good place to see dippers, we were not disappointed as one came gradually closer...

A favourite bird but hopes of really close up shots were dashed as two young lads decided to throw stones in the water, not at the birds I hasten to add and they were only enjoying themselves.

I resorted to a new smaller lens for a couple of shots, firstly the gushing Wharfe surging through the Strid...

...and a view up Wharfedale as the trees begin to gain their autumnal hues...

Back to the zoom lens for a grey wagtail and then a pied wagtail...

Another weekend and a similar story, lots to do including being interviewed for some voluntary fund raising for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, RSPB, a charity very close to our hearts...all went well, more on this subject in the future.

Time for a walk on a sunny afternoon and I am by the canal again, the local herons continue to amuse me with their antics...this one had taken to a walltop for a better view of the valley..

The canalside bushes have definitely become autumnal...

And the herons continue to pop up!

A trusting cygnet came in really close to see if I was offering food...I wasn't!

The grouse shooting season has passed its height now and a short walk on a local moor was pleasant enough, finding a sheltered spot in a cool wind I scanned around for grouse...

And then to show its versatility the grouse too took to a walltop for a look round its newly found peaceful habitat...splendid!

Soon the foliage on the trees and bushes will turn the glorious colours of autumn, a special season, as indeed they all are!

31st Aug-2Sept 2013, More research and a Leighton Moss trip

The research began early on Saturday and the camera and binoculars were packed and I was out before 6.00am. A quiet entry into the owl site was successfully achieved and I settled in to a good but not close vantage point for the little owls, a couple of unmistakeable views through the binocs before the sun was anywhere near high enough for photographs were early rewards, made my way silently through the fields hoping to see the tawnies.

The sky just before sunrise, tranquil and peaceful.

There was no sign of the tawny owls on this occasion and as I was now not too far from the canal I took the opportunity for a walk along the towpath.

My ever friendly heron looked surprised to see me so early!

Mist rose from the canal as the warmth of the sun arrived...

...and the water took on the beautiful soft colours and tranquillity of a late summer sunrise.

Back in the fields the early birds were out looking for food...a juvenile mistle thrush and a blackbird.

Another attempt at watching the little owls was somewhat ruined as a herd of unruly young bullocks took an interest in me, they were no threat and just being playful but they seemed to be taking it turns to come and inspect me so there was little chance of being un-noticed!

Time for home and an appointment in town beckoned, there would be time for another walk later in the day.

In early afternoon I ventured up towards the top of our local hills, pleasant wandering through lanes and fields, with the occasional challenge of the ancient squeeze stiles.

There was not much subject matter for my camera but the weather was warm and going was easy, nice to relax and just enjoy the exercise and fresh air sometimes.

Descending down a lovely lane I found a speckled wood butterfly..

I dropped down to the canal just in time to see a lovely fluffy duckling...

I had a good look for kingfishers but my luck seems to out with those at the moment, the grey heron however seems to look for me!

With the number of mallards in the area a number of crossbreeds occur, the lighter colours of this one are quite striking...

The swans have been quite successful with five of their cygnets surviving, this one came ultra close to investigate me!

Not a spectacular day but still a very enjoyable one.

Sunday was spent on necessary jobs at home, to be honest the weather was a little dull and would have done little to entice me out anyway.

A work related visit to Lancashire on Monday took me quite close to Leighton Moss RSPB reserve, a quicker than expected conclusion to business left me with a couple of hours to spare...an easy decision to make!

And what a surprise when my first photo opportunity was a heron!

A quick wander round some of the hides brought me a bonus as I found a red deer grazing in an adjacent field.

A chat to a fellow visitor disclosed that there were some good sightings down at the tidal ponds and we both headed off down there.

A curlew sandpiper and a spotted redshank, both relatively difficult birds to see so a real bonus to photograph them together..

There was a ruff...

A curlew sandpiper came in close...

And the black tailed godwits fed steadily...

Well worthwhile the short diversion and another great visit here.

The migration of autumn is almost upon us, birds will leave and others will arrive, I hope to continue getting out and photographing what I can.

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