Spring in the Highlands





I took advantage of the long weekend at the start of May to head to Inverness for three nights. The weather was good and there was lots to see. I am worried though that I might have forgotten how to do wildlife photography as I seemed to spend a lot of time with waterfalls!! I did plug a highland gap though with a lovely male (Scottish?) crossbill.

Focus4Nature raptor photography day

The weather broke just for one day for us in Mid Wales for the F4N raptor photography. And once again the birds were great and posed in lovely settings around the farm and estate.

I think that my fellow photographers were pleased to be able to practice on the large great grey owl before aiming at the rapid little tawny owl flying towards them

I will anounce some more dates for raptor photography very soon so if you are interested watch this space or email me for a heads up.

Spring Adders

Last year I made a date to get to the Forest of Dean and catch up with adders in early March. It was not long before I found one but it did not allow me to get at all close and slunk away. A cup of coffee later though and it was back in the same place. I used the long lens to get the shot without disturbance and was pleased that I had something to go home with.

 It was a bonus therefore that I then found a second snake that seemed entirely tolerant of my camera and allowed me to within a few centimeters without moving at all! I was pleased to see the real detail but would still like some more images so will aim to get back there again in the future.

Highland Winter

Only four days to get there, back and do some photography but my trip to Glenshee was great. My targets of winter ptarmigan, white hare and landscapes were all forthcoming despite the sunshine playing hide and seek most of the time.

Southern France

A very quick couple of days in Southern France allowed me to catch up with a few species I have never seen before including this confiding alpine accentor.

I am currently in Scotland for another smash and grab photography raid. The weather though has been poor so far so although my target is Ptarmigan, the best shots so far have been of rocks!..watch this space to see if things improve tomorrow for my last day.

Short eared owls

Very little photography the last couple of months but today I had a day to go and play and the sun came out. I decided to go owl hunting and found a great site with several short eared owls. None came very close but it was fun watching them sparring and hunting. Would be worth another trip if I can find some more time.

Owls, buzzard and falcons

A lovely sunny day at a Welsh Valley farm was completed with a wide range of beautiful birds. Our focus4nature workshop included some great locations to show the birds off at their best. Buzzard, barn owl, little owl, tawny owl, long eared owl, hobby and merlin all posed patiently for the group.

For future dates for the same raptor photo day please watch the F4N website.