WonderfulWildlifeUK

Cloudy, 11°, breezy ESE. A Raven seen by Alan flying over Cholsey Church whilst photographing Jackdaws . And a Nuthatch amongst several species on the feeders in the garden. A male Blackcap and a Goldcrest in the Church yard on Tuesday, Per Alan, A Ringed Plover heard calling over Church road @ 19:55 yesterday.  Jackdaws Raven Nuthatch from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2019/10/samhain.html

Yesterday I set up a feeding station at, what must be, one of the most beautiful locations I have worked at; Ballintean Mountain Lodges.  Ballintean is in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park in 120 acres of woodland and open meadow right next to the River Feshie. It offers two very different self-catering properties both set in wild nature. Ballintean Cottage sleeps six in a secluded woodland setting whilst Ballintean Mountain Lodge accommodates groups of up to twelve with full catering included. The lodges are run by Pete Cairns and Amanda Flanagan and you can read more about their story and their wonderful properties at www.ballintean.co.uk You can see more of Pete’s work on his website HERE The wildlife in this location is pretty special, as you can imagine and, having met up with Pete last time I was up here in the Highlands, we had hatched a plan to get a feeding station with a camera, set up at the site. The new camera project I have been working on would be the p...

Overcast, 9°, light NE. A walk along the Bunk line did not produce much today. Good numbers of Fieldfare , Redwing and Starling in very mobile flocks, approx. 20 Mistle Thrush and a distant small flock of 8 waders that flew south. Too distant to identify but may have been Godwits of some description. Alan saw a Peregrine out towards Aston. Apart from some Roe Deer nothing else to report. One of the increased number of Robin around today. from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2019/10/not-lot.html

When we headed to the River Lossie, alongside Elgin, I had not expected to photograph an otter in the  environment I did. I have been lucky enough to see otters in the wild on a number of occasions. Most of my views have been when I have been in Shetland or on my trail cameras at Yew View, alongside the Severn. We walked all along the Lossie, close to Elgin. Otters are often seen along this stretch of river, despite its close proximity to shops and houses. The otters have become accustomed to people, which makes it a great place to possibly see and photograph them. It is a lovely stretch of river and I couldn’t help but hope for a view of an otter within the beautiful reflections of the beech trees… We looped around and headed back towards the car park, with no views of otter. Our last chance was the pond in Cooper Park… just a short dash over the grass from the river. They have been seen a number of times fishing in this pond. As we neared the pond, a couple coming the other w...

A sunny day at last, 10°, light NW. At last a sunny day but currently of limited mobility due to a pulled calf muscle making it painful walking. So having to rest up until it improves 😞 !!!!! Observations from the garden today with a brief visit of a male Sparrowhawk , but did not catch anything. And visits from a Great-spotted Woodpecker , Nuthatch , Coal Tit , several Greenfinch , Goldfinch and Chaffinch , Blue Tit , Great Tit and Long-tailed Tit . The usual Wren and 2 Robin present. from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2019/10/garden-stuff.html

I’ve headed back up to the Black Isle for part of my half term. I have a camera job up here to do, so tied it in with some time enjoying the seascape and wildlife here at Hillockhead. Autumn has well and truly arrived and, driving up the track to the cottages, the Whitebeam were heavy with an amazing berry crop. The birches are just changing and, combined with the lichen that adorn all the trunks and branches, it looks beautiful. With the sun out, I’ve headed out along the track with my camera in the last to days. I could hear the call of redwing and there were a few around, but they were incredibly flighty, disappearing as soon as I saw them. I only managed a couple of shots of these thrushes high in the trees at my first attempt. When the rain had cleared today, I had another attempt and managed to creep up on a few individuals, but I was unable to get very close. Often, those distant shots are more pleasing, as they put the bird in context with its landscape. I could hear t...