Office Ospreys
Working from the home office has it’s advantages but people often report that it can take great self-discipline to avoid the distractions. […]
Category: birds
birds
Kingfisher battling with a huge fish
I took a walk along the riverside on my break today. There have been reports of kingfishers down there but up till […]
Barnacle Geese in Winter
One of my favourite things about winter is finding flocks of geese that have come here to over-winter. Spending a lot of […]
Dont Blame the Predators
I’ve noticed a worrying and increasingly frequent trend recently. Often, when there is a bad news story (and there are many of […]
Short-eared owls
This autumn seems to have been a good year for short-eared owls that are coming over from mainland Europe. There have been […]
Rosy Starling – Shetland
There have been a few rosy starlings around Shetland in the last eighteen months but somehow I have managed to miss all […]
A Tale of Two Rings
I’m a big fan of colour-ringing as it makes identification of individual birds easier in the field and can lead to more […]
Ecological Walkover Surveys – Orkney
July has been a busy month with a lot of survey work across the Orkney Islands. It has been a great opportunity […]
Hermaness Puffins – Shetland
Puffins! Aside from being quite photogenic and capable of making even a bang-average photographer look half decent, there’s more to know about […]
Redshanks – Warden of the Marshes
Redshanks have an old country name of “Warden on the Marsh” because of their habitat of being one of the first birds […]
Nest Finding
I’ve found hundreds of nests over the years, but I still get a buzz each time I discover a new one. Here […]
Curlew NestCam – Hatching Chicks
The curlew nest I have been monitoring has hatched. Still wading (no pun intended) through a lot of camera footage, but here’s […]
Wader Wednesday – Upland Wader Nests
I am fortunate enough to be staying in a house in Shetland that backs onto rough grassland, marsh and upland areas. The […]
Wader Wednesday – Purple Sandpiper
The other day I was fortunate enough to come across a group of summer plumage purple sandpipers on a Shetland beach. The […]
Night Heron – Shetland
The last few days have seen south-easterly winds and low cloud and fog over Shetland. This has resulted in a good number […]
Great Skuas (Bonxies) – Shetland
The great skua (Stercorarius skua), known locally in Shetland as bonxies are aggressive but somehow lovable predators. Their favourite tactic is to […]
International Dawn Chorus Day – Upland Birds
This Sunday, 7th May, is International Dawn Chorus Day, a day to celebrate the natural wonder of bird song. This first dawn […]
Wader Wednesday – Eurasian Whimbrel
The Eurasian whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) is the subject of this week’s Wader Wednesday. Here are a few facts about an often overlooked […]
Caithness and Orkney Ecology Surveys
Last week I had the opportunity to go over to Caithness and Orkney to carry out some ornithological surveys and ecological watching […]
Brambling in a Shetland garden
One of the great things about Shetland is you are never quite sure what is going to turn up in your garden. […]
BTO Upland Rover Surveys
One of the best things about living in Shetland is the sheer volume of amazing scenery and wildlife on my doorstep. I […]
Ground Nesting Bird Surveys – Ringed Plover
Its that time of year again when the on site checks for ground nesting birds are coming into full swing. Today I […]
World Curlew Day 2023
Today is World Curlew Day. Here are a few interesting (and sometimes depressing) facts about curlews. Curlews are called “the whaap” in […]
Shetland Environmental Watching Brief
Early start today for an environmental watching brief on the shoreline. Incredible weather at both ends of the day, lends itself to […]
World Sparrow Day 2023
Today is World Sparrow Day. The tree sparrow population in the UK has suffered a severe decline, estimated at 93 per cent […]
World Wetlands Day 2023
Today is World Wetlands Day, a day to raise global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and planet. Today, is […]
Wader Wednesday – World Wetland Day
In anticipation of World Wetlands Day tomorrow, this week’s Wader Wednesday is a few wader chick pictures to remind us all of some of […]
Wader Wednesday – Bar-tailed Godwit Migration
For Wader Wednesday this week, it’s the incredible bar-tailed godwit. Last autumn one of these birds broke the world record for the longest […]
Wader Wednesday – Oystercatcher Courtship Display
Cold weather and snow might stop ground nesting birds like waders from actually nesting but it doesn’t necessarily mean they will wait […]
Wader Wednesday – Lapwings
The lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), once a common sight across the UK, but now in decline and UK red-listed. Initial declines were due […]
Winter Plumage Greenshank and Redshank
Getting the chance to compare winter plumage greenshank and redshank together at the same time was a nice treat today. Its not […]
Winter in Norfolk
Had the opportunity to spend a few days in Norfolk during December, which meant a spot of birding and visiting some of […]
Urban Peregrines
At one time you would have to travel to the uplands of the north or find a rocky sea cliff to see […]
Autumn at Musselburgh
Musselburgh also known as Levenhill Lagoons is one of my favourite places to go in the central belt. Positioned just outside Edinburgh […]
Cattle Egrets – Somerset
Nice to see cattle egrets doing their thing while I was down in England last week. It wasn’t that many years ago […]
Wheatear – Shetland
Shetland is famous for its passage migrants and rarities. At the moment there are good numbers of wheatear around (some will be […]
Black Guillemots
One of the joys of working up in the north of Scotland and the islands has to be the number of black […]
Puffins – Sumburgh Head
It’s a wildlife photography cliche but sometimes you just have to go with it. Puffins have bags of character and are very […]
Magpie – A Shetland Rarity
Finally caught up with the Shetland magpie today. This particular individual has been spending time around Sandness, Shetland for a few weeks […]
Weekend Waders – Sandness, Shetland
Some photos of the waders encountered at Sandness beach, Shetland including dunlin, turnstone, ringed plover, sanderling and a bonus red-necked phalarope feeding […]
Wader Nests
One of the best bits of my job is looking for and monitoring nests. The site I am on currently has lots […]
Gannets – Noss, Shetland
Noss National Nature Reserve is one of the most important seabird colonies in Shetland. The 180m high sea cliffs are home to […]
Great Northern Diver – Shetland
A post-work evening walk down at Minn beach last night produced a surprise of two summer plumage Great Northern Divers (Gavia immer) […]
Oystercatcher Eggs Hatching
Today was one of those days where I just couldn’t believe my luck. I was out checking the ground-nesting birds and their […]
Black Kite – Kergord, Shetland
There are some days when work is a little more exciting than others. Today was a perfect example of that. I was […]
Upland Rover – Breeding Bird Survey
While I’m working in Shetland I’ve been using some of my spare time to carry out volunteer bird surveys to contribute to […]
Starling Nest in Machinery
To you or me this might look like the vent pipe on an excavator. To a cavity-nesting bird like a starling, it […]
Bird Survey – Glen Coe
Yesterday I was out near Glen Coe carrying out my last wintering bird survey of the year. There weren’t too many birds […]
Green-winged Teal – Tain
Nice little Christmas present today, good views of the green-winged teal at Tain, Highlands. Comparison of green-winged teal and common teal
Winter Waders – Embo
One of my favourite winter birding trips is a visit to the coast at Embo, near Dornoch. The beach is always a […]
White-tailed Eagle – Highlands
Today started off as a normal day at work. Off up to a wind farm site near Inverness to carry out water […]
Diver Survey – Wester Ross
This week I have been carrying out diver surveys under licence in Wester Ross. It has meant some early starts to try […]
Common Sandpiper
The common sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) is a summer visitor to the UK, found mainly in upland areas of North of England, Scotland, […]
White-winged Gulls – Mallaig
The north of Scotland seems to do well for white-winged gulls, especially in winter. A recent trip to Mallaig gave the opportunity […]
Pine Grosbeak – Norway
One of the joys of being in a foreign country is that you never quite know what wildlife you might encounter. Walking […]
Garganey – Somerset
Me and garganey (Anas querquedula) don’t have the best of relationships. They are often described as secretive and are scare summer visitors […]
Lesser Yellowlegs – Skye
A trip over to Skye yesterday, which is always a nice place to visit. The bonus was we caught up with the […]
Black Grouse Survey – Highlands
An early start to carry out a black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) lek survey today. These guys just make me laugh, when its […]
American Wigeon – Inverness
This american wigeon (Mareca americana) is probably the closest rarity to my house that I have ever seen. A five minute walk […]
Tawny Owl Chick Branching
It was a nice evening last night, so we went for a walk along the Speyside Way near the house. It is […]
Heermann’s Gull – Monterey Bay, California
If there was a beauty competition to find the best looking gull in the world, then I think the Heermann’s gull (Larus […]
Goldfinch on a Teasel
There are some wildlife photos that are cliches – a robin in the snow, a red deer on a misty morning in […]
Dalmatian Pelican – Gwithian, Cornwall
A Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus) turned up in Cornwall in May 2016, when it was first seen over St Gothian Sands, Gwithian, […]
Alpine Chough – Spain
The alpine chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus), also known as the yellow-billed chough is a striking looking bird native to the high mountains of […]
Icterine Warbler – Laggan, Cairngorms
The middle of the Cairngorm National Park in June might not be the first place you’d think of to look for migrant […]
Camping near Lochgilphead, Argyll
I’m currently spending a few days down in Argyll carrying out bird surveys. Rather than stay in one of the local hotels […]
Osprey – Ythan
Today was a rare day off during survey season so I took the opportunity to head up the A90 to the Ythan […]
Ring Ouzel- WWT London Wetlands Centre
I was down in London yesterday attending the Wader Quest trustee meeting at the WWT London Wetland Centre in Barnes. I was […]
Ring-necked Duck – Pitlochry
Sometimes rarities turn up in the strangest of places. Take for example, this ring-necked duck which is on a small lochan at […]
Hoopoe – Hinksford
Rarities often turn up in nice coastal locations which sort of makes sense. Rare gulls can turn up in many different less […]
Penduline Tit – Horsebere Pools
A small group of penduline tits appeared in the most unassuming patch of water near a Premier Inn next to a roadside […]
Great Grey Shrike – Crabtree Hill, Forest of Dean
Great grey shrikes (Lanius excubitor) are a winter visitor to the UK. I’ve seen them in several places such as Gibraltar Point […]
White-tailed Eagle – Perthshire
Sometimes you see something and wish you had your camera to capture it. Other times you have your camera but can’t manage […]
Angry Owl
There’s a bit of a joke amongst birders that the smaller an owl is the angrier it will look. This little owl […]
Blue Tit – Nesting Behaviour
Saw some interesting behaviour today. This blue tit was clearly nest prospecting and had decided to utilise this house martin next on […]
Black Redstart – Brean, Somerset
The black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) is a robin-sized bird that has adapted to live in urban and industrial areas from its original […]