Bittern

One of my more unusual photos of a Bittern, taken last year. Usually solitary, the Great Bittern forages in reedbeds, which is where this one was photographed, walking stealthily or remaining still above a body of water where prey may occur. If it senses that it has been seen, it points its bill directly upwards and becomes motionless so that its cryptic plumage causes it to blend into the surrounding reeds: an action known as bitterning. It is most active at dawn and dusk.

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Siskin

While searching for Crested Tits in the Cairngorms, a good number of Siskin were seen, including this male.

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White-tailed Eagle

A rather closer view of a White-tailed Eagle compared to the previous post of this species, this one was photographed from Mull last summer. The White-tailed Eagle finally became extinct in Britain in 1918. On a third attempt, they were successfully reintroduced using birds from Norway. Since then, the population has slowly grown, but still these birds face persecution. Eggs have been stolen, birds shot or poisoned. Only two weeks ago, a satellite tagged eagle went missing over the North Glenbuchat Estate, an area the RSPB's Head of Investigations describes as 'a black hole for eagles'. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-27142843

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Nightjar

Despite having seen countless Nightjar from dusk onwards locally in the Forest of Dean, this was the one and only time I'd ever discovered one in the daytime, at Ynys Hir in Wales, during last years Springwatch.

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White-tailed Eagle pair

A pair of White-tailed Eagles on the isle of Mull, Scotland. This was taken from such a distance that I really needed the Hubble telescope for a decent shot. As it was, it was taken at 600mm using a tree trunk to lean the camera against, then cropped to death. They were barely just a speck to the naked eye, but their calls could be quite easily heard.

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Meadow Pipit

This Meadow Pipit was photographed on a fence post in the fields above the cliffs of Martins Haven, Pembrokeshire.

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Banded Damoiselle

Even when looking the other way, these seemed to know when a lens was being pointed at them. This one posed nicely though for a couple of seconds.

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Arctic Tern

This Arctic Tern was photographed from a boat just off the Island of Coll in the Hebrides. I have to admit that the symmetry and composition was almost entirely down to luck, as the boat was bobbing about quite a lot, and we were surrounded by Basking Sharks, which is what I was really trying to photograph at the time!

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Pine marten

A very brief video clip of a Pine marten, filmed last week in the Cairngorms, Scotland.

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Capercaillie

On the fourth day in the Cairngorms, whilst walking the woodland at around 9.30am, a distant Capercaillie could be heard. It's a bird I'd never seen before, but the sound was unmistakeable. If you've never heard the amazing sounds of a Caper, watch this short clip. Then this bird came marching out of the woods towards the trail, and put on a short but stunning display, before settling down to feed on the heather on the forest floor.

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Osprey

I'm back from another trip to the Cairngorm area of Scotland, but still working my way through the photographs. This one isn't one of the better pictures, and is a bit too distant, but I thought it was a bit different. The Osprey is approaching the nest carrying a Rainbow Trout. The weather was reasonably kind, and some rather special species were seen. Unfortunately my number 1 most wanted species remains just that - still wanted. A number of camera traps in well researched locations failed to turn up a Scottish Wildcat. It gives me another excuse to go back though...

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European Otter

This Otter was photographed on the River Stour in Dorset, August last year. It's become one of my favourite places to see Otters. Although there are obviously Otters closer to home, those on the Stour seem to be much more active in the daytime than their nocturnal Gloucestershire counterparts. The river also has a healthy population of Kingfishers, and in the summer an amazing display of demoiselles along the river bank.

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Hawfinch

I'm lucky in that I live in a place which is something of a stronghold for the Hawfinch, but that often doesn't seem to make it any easier to photograph them. They're definitely my favourite member of the finch family. This photo belies just how dark it was when I took it, which in my experience with Hawfinch is typical - they're always too high in the canopy, or in the shade, feeding underneath it. This one was under a large yew tree, which was doing a great job of letting no light penetrate through it!

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Great Grey Shrike

Back in November I posted a distant shot of a Great Grey Shrike. It was one of two that have spent the winter in the Forest of Dean. I've seen both on numerous occasions since then, and a couple of weeks ago I finally got some better photos of one of them. It's the same bird that I photographed back in Novemeber, at Crabtree Hill. I also noticed this small snack that it had skewered on to a hawthorn bush to eat later. No doubt both birds will be leaving for their breeding grounds in Scandinavia shortly.

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Great Skua

While travelling between the islands of Mull and Coll in search of Basking Sharks and cetaceans, my attention was diverted by an incredibly close Great Skua. It's tricky to take in-flight shots from a boat as it lurches over the waves, but if you take enough shots, sooner or later some of them will turn out ok!

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Badger

This photo is almost 5 years old, and is probably the first occasion I'd managed to get close enough for sharp and detailed shots. Over the next couple of years I made repeated visits to this sett along with one or two others. In more recent years I've not spent enough time with Badgers to get quite this close, but I still always enjoy seeing them. The Badger in this photo would be approximately 6 months old at the time the shot was taken - one of three siblings to make an appearance that evening.

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A New Look

With spring arriving, bringing with it a host of migrant species, and others coming out of hibernation, coupled with the fact that I've neglected this site for a number of weeks, I decided it was time for a re-design and a slight change of direction. Hopefully visitors will find the new design to be cleaner and more attractive. There's still the odd tweak or two to be made, but I think it's sufficiently complete for me to start posting to it again. If anyone spots any bugs, etc, please let me know!

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Black Grouse

This Black Grouse was photographed at the beginning of a trip to the Cairngorms three weeks ago. It was a pre-dawn start, with the hope of watching some lekking behaviour. The lekking didn't happen, but there was great views of both Black and Red Grouse, and it was a good way to start off the trip. I'm already looking forward to the next trip to the Cairngorms, which is taking place very shortly.

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Red-flanked Bluetail

More photos below text... The Red-flanked Bluetail is an exceptionally rare bird to see in Britain. With only 34 total records at the BTO, this small bird is seen on average once a year, but even more unusual is the fact that this one was seen in February - the first time this bird has ever been seen wintering in Britain.
If you don't catch a glimpse of the tail, or fail to notice that the red doesn't extend across the breast, then it would be easy to dismiss this bird as a Robin, but when viewed from the front, or particularly the back, it's obvious this is a special bird. Normally wintering in south-east Asia, and breeding in Russia, it's a long way from home, but seemed to be active and doing well in the surroundings of a valley in South Gloucestershire, where it was discovered yesterday. I wonder how long it has been there unnoticed...

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Northern Fulmar

Despite their looks, Fulmars are more closely related to the likes of petrels, shearwaters and albatrosses than they are to gulls. They are easy to recognise in flight due to their stiff-winged flapping. Found only on St Kilda until the 1900s, the islanders harvested them for a wide range of uses; fulmar oil (vomited over those who disturb the nest) was prized for its supposed medicinal properties.
This particular bird was photographed on the cliffs of Pembrokeshire, at Martin's Haven.

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White Ermine

The White Ermine is widely distributed around Britain and flies from May to September. It is distasteful to birds, which is an attribute that is possibly also of benefit to the Buff Ermine which shares a similar appearance. This particular moth was found near the Ynys Hir reserve whilst there for Springwatch in 2013.

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Wasp Spider

Found on heathland in Dorset in summer 2013, the Wasp Spider. It's a very large, colourful spider that is a recent arrival in the UK from the continent and has slowly spread over the south of England. They build large orb webs in grassland and heathland, and attach their silk egg-sacs to the grasses. The web has a wide, white zig-zag strip running down the middle, known as a 'stabilimentum', the function of which is unclear. Mating is a dangerous game for males; they wait at the edge
of the web until the female has moulted into a mature form, then take advantage of her jaws being soft and rush in to mate. However, many males still get eaten during this time.

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Slavonian Grebe

The newest addition to the species list is the Slavonian Grebe, which was viewed from Brixham Harbour in Devon. The harbour has witnessed some unusual birds recently, perhaps offering some shelter in the bad weather we've been experiencing. Also seen around the harbour that day were Purple Sandpiper, Great Northern Diver and White-billed Diver (the latter unfortunately not seen by me). In the breeding season
they are mainly found north and south of the Great Glen and in Strathspey and can be watched in the breeding season at the RSPB Loch Ruthven nature reserve. In winter they can be found around UK coasts with the Moray Firth, the Firth of Forth, the Clyde Estuary and Islay in Scotland and Pagham Harbour, Sussex being important sites.

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Cirl Bunting

The Cirl Bunting was once common throughout south England, but due to changes in farming practice, its breeding grounds are now restricted to south Devon, where this photo was taken. This RSPB page detailing their Cirl Bunting Project gives more details about the reasons for their decline and what is being done about it. The Cirl Bunting
is like a small Yellowhammer, 15-16.5 cm in length (wing-span 22-22.5 cm) with a thick seed-eater's bill. The male has a bright yellow head, with a black crown, eyestripe and throat, and a greenish breast band across its otherwise yellow underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back. The female is much more like the Yellowhammer, but has a streaked grey-brown rump and chestnut shoulders.

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Species List review

There were some really memorable additions to my photographic species list in 2013. Highlights included watching Basking Sharks feeding off the isle of Coll, Pine martens in the Scottish Highlands, watching a Hummingbird hawk-moth feeding in Lancashire in early November (!), and finally photographing a Water Vole in Gloucestershire. Avian highlights have included watching White-tailed Eagles, Golden Eagles and Hen Harrier in the Hebrides, watching territorial cuckoos chasing each other around the Dorset heaths, and searching for Great Grey Shrike and Two-barred Crossbills closer to home.

The 'one that got away' was definitely the Scottish Wildcat. Having spent a few nights out in the middle of nowhere on the west coast of Scotland I was rewarded with a sighting which will stay with me forever, but which resulted in no photograph.  Notable 'did not shows' for me of the year included the rare Tree Sparrow, Common Dolphins, and Pearl-bordered Fritillary among many others.

Finding new mammals is becoming increasingly difficult, but there are obvious opportunities amongst bats, rodents and cetaceans, all of which are under-represented, as well as some of the mustelids. Birds are also becoming harder to find, but there are still some obvious omissions. The reptile list is pretty much complete, featuring all native species and all but one introduced species. Sub-aquatic species are an obvious challenge, not least due to my lack of suitable equipment and general aversion to swimming. And I must finally get a moth trap going this year!

I don't make things any easier by insisting on a photographic record rather than just a sighting, but it's fun. The list itself is undoubtedly a bit 'trainspottery', but behind the list there have been countless hours spent enjoying everything that British nature has to offer - the list is merely an easy way for me to remember the characters I've met and observed along the way.

Happy new year!

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