King Eider

I have a couple of mantras that I use when I'm out with the camera. The first goes something like - "See bird - photograph bird - get better photograph". The second is - "Always leave wanting more". So last year when I found "Elvis" on the Ythan estuary I was able to get some reasonable shots but the weather was working against me. Gale force winds were ripping up the estuary and my tripod and camera were in perpetual motion  - so when I left I definitely wanted more.

I had been monitoring the Aberdeenshire sightings for some time before we travelled up and sure enough he was back for the season. Unfortunately just before we arrived he went AWOL, sightings of a drake King Eider at Burghead and Lossiemouth on the Moray coast had me worried. Normally Elvis moves north in the winter and has been known to reside with thousands of common Eiders near Nairn. Had he changed his holiday plans? A speculative trip in the first week of the holiday confirmed his absence but on the Tuesday night of the second week a positive report - Ythan estuary by the river mouth at 2100. 

Next morning found us parked at the end of Beach Road, just by the golf course. I loaded up the gear and set off, as I rounded the boathouse I realised that I had a problem - high water. All the Eiders were at roost on the sand  and wouldn't be out feeding for another couple of hours. Not only that, the river was full of seals - just to add more distraction. I set up the scope and searched every flock of Eiders looking for that distinctive head - nothing to be found. His other favourite haunt is opposite the green hut on the golf course, so off I went as there were loads of Eiders on the opposite shore - all with their heads down. Finally I found him, about three hundred yards away - would he move?

Then a stroke of luck, I am sure Elvis has never found love on the estuary but he returns faithfully every year and I guess the instincts of parenthood are strong. A newly hatched group of ducklings were led into the river by mother and Elvis followed - almost as if guarding over them and for the next couple of hours he was always adjacent to these little black balls of down.

A strong wind was blowing but the ducklings swam directly to my side of the river, now they were only fifty yards away. Gradually they moved up river to feed on the wide expanse of mud that is on the southern shore and I inched my way towards them. Finally we were all in place and I knew that I could get some decent shots, the birds feeding contentedly in front of me and I was snapping away to my heart's content. In the end I tore myself away, two memory cards full and thinking that I ought to have a decent record by now - one minor problem - I had sunk to a considerable depth in the mud and I was in danger of losing a welly.

"See bird.....



....photograph bird...

.....get better photograph"

 Then go mad.

 

 



"An eider with a catchlight - rare"

Standing guard

 

Do I want more? - you bet - this is a bird that I would be delighted to see again, quirky looks and stunning colours - just couldn't get enough of this chap.

 

 

 

Ospreys

One of the highlights of our Scottish holiday is being able to see and photograph Ospreys without being in a hide, in fact most of the observations were made from the comfort of the patio. Last year the visits by "Osvaldo" were pretty predictable and I could sit and wait for him to arrive. I think he found the trout in the lochan an easier option than some of the wilder places in the Cairngorms.

This year it was different, we had just five visits from three birds, two of which turned up at the same time and were a definite pair. None of the visits were of more than five minutes duration and as I witnessed only one dive, only one trout disappeared.

I think these shots can be safely called "action crops"  as at one stage one of the pair flew directly over my head, filling the viewfinder of the camera. One thing that I found odd is that the resident population of ground nesting waders went apoplectic at the presence of the Osprey, a fish eating raptor, and tried to drive it away with utmost effort. The actions of the nest plundering Crows, Jackdaws and Black-headed Gulls went virtually unchallenged.

This one truly bounced me, we were sat having our evening meal when I heard a loud splash. I grabbed the camera and captured what I could, shooting into the evening sun made it difficult.

I still haven't got that definitive shot, looks like I will have to have another go.

The crystal clear waters of the lochan make the trout easily seen, I was surprised that more were not predated by such efficient hunters.

Chequered Skipper

Last year I made a late visit to Glasdrum Wood and was very fortunate to find a late but extremely tatty specimen of the Chequered Skipper. So top of the list this year was a revisit to find some freshly emerged subjects. The journey from Cromdale to Glasdrum is quite lengthy so we set off after breakfast with the overcast grey skies and a chilly 12 degrees recorded on the dashboard. The weather had been split, the east being cold and grey and the west sunny and hovering around 20 degrees. As we passed Loch Laggan the skies lightened and the temperature began to creep up, by Fort William it was a staggering 18 degrees - optimism set in at last.

As we reached Glasdrum Wood the sun disappeared but it remained warm, in the car park was the mini bus from Glen Loy Lodge - made a mental note that the Skippers aren't out at Glen Loy then!. Two camera toting butterfly enthusiasts gave us the thumbs up. They had seen at least twenty specimens in the wayleave and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries were about too. So I set off and thirty yards in I found my first obliging Chequered Skipper, it soon became apparent that they were everywhere - no problems finding some newly emerged subjects.

After a break for a brew and a picnic lunch Liz joined me, the sun came out from behind the clouds and the butterflies revelled in the warmth. Chequered Skippers and SPbFs were flitting everywhere, Liz even managed to take some shots with her mobile phone but she won't let me publish any of them.

 

Nice to meet Keith who unfortunately couldn't manage any of the footpath so requested a photograph, I have duly obliged and I hope he likes it.

A week later we decided to give the Butterfly Reserve at Allt Mhuic a go. A previous visit here had resulted in only day flying moths and Four Spot Chaser dragonflies, today however, the conditions were much better. We did the circular walk up to the waterfall and back down, by the top I was certain that we were too early yet again. Finally success as we started to find specimens on the path close to the ruined sheep fold/building on the west side of the reserve. It appeared to me that these butterflies were smaller than those at Glasdrum and were certainly in no mood to be photographed. Over twenty yards of path we had ten sightings, not many considering the temperature. My impression is that there are a lot fewer bluebells than before so less chance of finding them nectaring. After lunch I had another go and found a couple just above the tree line on the western side, this time nectaring on Rock Rose. Other butterflies were Green-veined White and some very tatty Green Hairstreaks.

We decided to move on and give Glen Loy a go, this resulted in a possible sighting of a CS but there were plenty of SPbF on the wing, some newly emerged too. I didn't have the energy to do an extensive search, better to sit in the warm sunshine and take in the stunning surroundings.

Marsh Fritillaries

I didn't have it in me to call this blog Great Spotted Cuckoo, as I only managed a couple of record shots on a day when I was expecting to nail the bird. It was a toss up between a bird and a butterfly or two butterflies. The bird won and we were on our way to Portland with an 0600 start to miss most of the traffic. Conflicting reports cost us a bit of time but in the end we staked out Reap Lane in Southwell where the bird had been spotted most days. We waited patiently but the optimism level was starting to wilt, then Martin saw a bird flying into the cuckoo's favourite haunt. A slight relocation and we had the bird, which was skulking in the bushes, in our viewfinders albeit at a distance. Unfortunately I think the bird was replete - stuffed with Brown-tailed Moth caterpillars  - and it remained on its perch for a good half hour before dropping down the hill to munch on even more caterpillars. Of course we tried to get clear shots but it remained obscured by twigs, then the inevitable happened - dog walker - and the bird returned to its perch in the dense bushes. We waited for another opportunity but we were keen to have a go at the Marsh Fritillaries of Cotley Hill.

 
Cotley Hill came up trumps though we had to walk a whole hundred more yards into the reserve than last time to find our first Marsh Fritillary. With some warm sunshine heating up the ground, plenty of butterflies were emerging, we counted between 20 and 30 sightings. Last time we visited we were later in the season and the butterflies were worn, you can't get them fresher than this.

 

 

 



As we left an obliging Wall popped up and posed for us.

Two freshly emerged Banded Demoiselles from the upper River Arun, today 17th May.

Finally some butterfly shots saved from previous outings.

Duke of Burgundy



Dingy Skipper



Two friendly Grizzled Skippers



Orange Tip

Pearl-bordered Fritillary