Planning your Spring Trips in the UK - Part 4

A few days ago, I shared some of the typical target species from my Mull trips.  These are the sort of things that everyone wants to see and get stunning photos of.  Well, they are not always at close quarters and getting stunning photos will involve a lot of patience, and some luck assuming you go there with the intention of trying to take your photos legally, particularly during the breeding season.  But if you are going then good luck and hope you do well.  Tips for Otters - generally from about 2 hours before high water on a rising tide usually seems to be quite successful.  In terms of locations, that is down to you or your guide if you use one.  There are quite a few regular haunts.

With regard to eagles - the same thing goes.  You will see plenty if you look.  I have seen ten Golden Eagle individuals in one day, and half a dozen WTSE - they are there, but you need to look, find, be patient and lucky.

However, if you are there for a limited time - I used to go for a week at a time then make sure you get after a lot of the other species.  You never have to go far from the road, which is handy when carting heavy kit and tripods.

Some years you get lucky, and the odd Slavonian Grebe hangs around

 

When it dives, get yourself down to water level for an eye height shot.  You have up to thirty seconds to move when they have dived.

Don't forget to get photos of the most common birds on the islands such as these two.  Oystercatcher and Meadow Pipit

One of the techniques I use when stalking a subject is to get two shots from a distance, then slowly take a couple of steps, bang bang, two more shots, two more steps, two more steps until the subject either clears off or it gets too close.

This shot of a Ringed Plover was taken at close to minimum focus distance for the 500 lens.

One trip definitely worth making is out to Lunga on the Treshnish Isles.  you only get a couple of hours out there to avoid ovestressing the wildlife.  But when you leave the boat, make sure you go to the end of the island.  DON'T let the first puffins beguile you .  Move on - there are lots more subjects at the end, such as the shot of a Shag through a crack in the rock.  Plus loads of close ups of Kittiwake, Guillemot, Razorbill and more Puffins than you can manage.

When you get back on the mainland - don't forget the mammals.  There are Red Deer everywhere, a small herd of Fallow deer in the middle of the island, plus plenty of Hare both at the southern and northern tips.  More gentle than the usual Brown Hare in appearance - although still just about as nervous.

My first sightings of Green Hairstreak butterflies was on Mull on my first trip.  very tiny and difficult to see.  It is their movement that is likely to get your attention.  These two were happy to stay around as they had their minds on other things than photographers.

 

Sunrise and sunset is both very early and very late if you are used to more more degrees of latitude, particularly in Spring/early Summer.  This sunset was taken after 10.30.

Make sure you get out on the north west facing sides for views like this.  Taken on the north west tip of Mull looking towards the island of Coll.

I hope you have enjoyed a little glance at some of one of my favourite places, and maybe given you the motivation to think about your own trips next year.

I will bring a brief update in the next part of some of what you might find in the Cairngorms in Spring.

Martin

Planning your Spring Trips - Part 2

This year was the first year that I didn't go to Mull for a few years.  I made six trips in five years.  It is a fine place.  There is a lot if ground to cover, and getting lose to the wildlife requires knowledge, skill, patience and some luck.  OK, so no different to most other places in the UK to be honest.

Now I am either tight as I don't like paying for someone to put me in front of my subjects, or prefer the thrill of my own explorations.  The truth is someone in between, and probably much closer to the last.

Let me explain what I mean.  When I go somewhere new for a holiday, I usually have more subjects that and photos that I want to get than I know is reasonably possible, although it never stops me trying.  With limited time in one location, I have tended to use a wildlife guide, rather than a photo guide to take me round an area so I can see what is where.  Photo opps on these days are usually limited by the activity, and other people.  However, if I can get a day trip out early on, I am then better placed to do my own thing for the rest of the week, or however long I have.

And so it was when I visited Mull on previous years, taking a trip out with Pam and Arthur Brown of Discover Mull, or Steve Duffield of Western Isles Wildlife this year on the Uists.

Mull is a great island with wonderful wildlife but not always close to you, so you do need to work at it.

The typical  big target species that people go to see are Golden Eagle, White Tailed Eagle, Hen Harrier, Short Eared Owl, Ottter, and Corncrake down on Iona.  Early May is a good time to see all of these species, with the SEO and HH being dependant on the vole population.  The first couple of years I went the vole population crashed so the Harriers and Owl were nowhere to be seen.

All of the above were taken on Mull or Iona, the images below were taken on North Uist or Skye, but can be found on Mull

However, many of my best shots, in my opinion were not of the 'big' species.  There are a staggering number of bird species on Mull, I usually just about cracked 100 in a week there.  Some of the best photography can be had working these other species, which I will bring you in the next part.

Martin

A great year for Sea Eagles in the UK

If you have been following Autumnwatch on the BBC this year, you will have seen the White Tailed Eagles on Mull.  This year has been the best for Sea Eagle breeding with a record number of 50 breeding pairs in Scotland having raised 46 fledglings.  It is worth remembering that they were only reintroduced relatively recently, in 1975 on the Isle of Rum.

More details can be read here.  I was lucky enough to see them at very close quarters in the wild this year on a boat trip out of Portree on Skye, as blogged here in June.

Reintroduction of the species into England has been a troubled process.  There has been an attempt in East Anglia but this has been thwarted so far largely by the farming community it appears who seem to think that it will spell disaster to them.  Guess they haven't thought through what their Scottish counterparts have been through.  Certainly the majority of opinion on Mull has been to welcome and jealously guard and protect the birds as a huge tourism opportunity.

Having completed nearly all my Christmas shopping today, it got me thinking about setting up some Christmas gift ideas for us wildlife photographers.  Over my next couple of posts, I will bring you a series of things to think about it to either buy for yourself, or get your spouses to link from us.

Martin

News (sad) - Sea Eagles on Mull update

I posted this story a few days ago which was good news at the time.

Well I received an email from the Isle of Mull Bird Club today with the sad news that chick no.1 at the RSPB Loch Frisa site has died. He was retrieved from under the nest site a couple of days ago by the Dave Sexton, RSPB Officer on Mull.

This bird had appeared to fledge early, approximately one and half weeks early. A post mortem will be carried out but it is thought possible that it had fallen out, and sustained an injury.

The good news is that the second chick now fledged normally and is being fed by it's parents in the usual place. So if you are on Mull over the next few weeks, good views can still be had from the hide. Details can be found here.

Mustn't forget to mention my good friends Pam and Arthur Brown who run wildlife tours with Discover Mull, and have never yet not seen Sea Eagles when I have been out with them.

And on a final note it is Happy 70th Birthday to my Mum today - have a good one Mum

Martin

Mull Trip Round Up

Well having finally got back from my trip north it is back to reality.

About 1000 images give or take to download and review over the next few days. Breezebrowser will come into its own there. See Dave's post from earlier this year here.

Weather conditions were rarely perfect - either bright harsh sunlight or when the light was spot on it was windy which made it tricky for the smaller birds and also turning to plants was also difficult.

I was pleased to get a lot of species photographed this year that I had either overlooked or where the opportunities hadn't previously presented themselves.

It was good to see the moth trap in action and understand a little about that side. I just need to get a book now and identify the ones I saw.

I also filled in some more gaps with mammals, plant life and the topography. All these areas will be important for widening the scope of my Mull talk, which I have to give twice more this year at least.

I will post a summary of some of my images later in the week as a final round up.

Martin

Trip Reports - Mull - Day 6

And so to the final day. Windy again and quite grey. Up early again and into the hide for a few more garden birds - mostly siskin again, plus a few more moths from the moth trap.

Out and about the wind made it difficult for the small birds so I found a few plant species to photograph including milkwort, sundew and helleborine. I used a series of flashes with the macro ring flash acting as the master to wireless trigger. I will do a separate technique section on that at a later date.

Then it was off to Craignure for the talk tonight and my thanks to the thirty or so that turned out. I enjoyed it and hope they did to.

Good view of a Tawny Owl on the way back. Final bird count at 89 species for the week so hoping for an early morning barn owl on the way to the early ferry to make it a round 90.

Thought I wasn't going to be able to post tonight, but just made it, keeping up our record of posting every day since Dave and I started the blog back in January.

Martin

Trip Reports - Mull - Day 5

Just a short one tonight as I am being serenaded by the twittering song of Swallows on the wing overhead in the warm evening sun.

It has again been warm here in Scotland, although quite breezy again and grey for a while.

I got up early again this morning and inspected the moth trap - a much better result as it was less windy overnight.

Here is one of the more spectacular captures. If anybody could identify it for me I would be most grateful.

I then spent an hour or so in the hide to get some of the garden birds here. Best of the bunch were the siskins today.

After a decent breakfast it was down the glen with a brief viewing of the Loch Frisa pair of White Tailed Sea Eagles as they flew almost overhead before I went to a location where I has seen Dipper. Well I drew another blank today. So that makes it about five hours in total watching for Dipper now and not an image to show for it. Some days work and some days it doesn't.
After a few other great spots around the shores of Loch Na Keal, I found a small flock of Golden Plover looking fine in the summer breeding plumage.

These really are great birds with such fine markings on their backs.

A quick sighting of another White Tail and Golden on the way back rounded the day off nicely.

So it is my last full day tomorrow so will look to make the most of it and catch up with a few things I haven't photographed yet, particularly some of the plants here such as Sundew, before I give my talk at the end of the day.

Martin

Trip Reports - Mull - Day 4

Yet another hot and very bright day with quite a strong breeze that made wildlife watching and photography more tricky.

Watched the garden stuff this morning first thing with a lovely Male Redpoll, plus numerous Siskins. I altered the set up after a while so am hoping to get some time in the hide tomorrow and get a few of some of the species I am a bit light on images of. Also got some great images of Rock Doves who also pop in every day.

Further afield, I had a great time watching Male Hen Harrier again as well as more Golden and Whiter Tailed Eagles.

Also find a nice small herd of Red Deer which enabled me to add these to my Mull image bank.

No other new species today to add, as it was quite a tricky watching day, plus I was feeling pretty lazy after the two previous tiring days.

As I mentioned previously on the blog last week, I am giving a talk on Friday to close out Wild Isles Week on the programme so caught up with the projector today to make sure it all connects properly. There is nothing more infuriating, particularly for the audience when IT difficulties surface. So preparation is the key.

So two days left - time flies by, sadly, when you are having fun.

Martin

Trip report - Mull - Day 2

Well I bottled out of the overnight camp - it was about zero deg C last night here and pretty much the same again tonight is forecast, so I have opted for creature comforts of a proper bed and warm room.

No pictures tonight as this is just a quick update. Left the accommodation at 0600 this morning, after scraping ice from the car and drove the 90 minutes it takes down to Ffinnaphort at the south western tip of the island to get the ferry across to Iona. Lots of great sights en route, including a lovely backlit heron that I got a few images of.

The Lochs were glassy calm and with the clear air the scenery was stunning.

While waiting for the ferry, I was entertained by a few Gannets fishing, with their characteristic dive bombs into the water.

Corncrakes on Iona were remarkably quiet today. I heard a total of five but just had brief sightings of one, of which I managed to get a few images, although sadly against a mown grass background.

I did see my first Painted Lady butterfly of the year which was an unexpected bonus though.

Great sightings of both Golden and White Tailed Eagles on the drive back through Glen More.

I stopped off at a couple of locations where I have seen Otter before but sadly none showing this evening.

A final drop in to a Sand Martin colony yielded a few more images to end the day. A great day, out for a total of 14 hours.

The light was stunning this morning so will be looking forward to a few more early starts.

Arthur put his moth trap out for the last two nights - I was hoping to photograph whatever we caught, but sadly none on either night.

Martin

Trip Report - Isle of Mull Day 1

I arrived on Mull yesterday after a very wet drive up, still it made for some great snow up on Glencoe.

Once on Mull I went to one of the first of the Wild Isles Week events, Confessions of a Wildlife Cop, an illustrated talk by Sgt Finlay Christine of the Argyll Police Force.

Finlay is a great guy and does fabulous work protecting the wildlife on Mull. My advice to all photographers who visit is to get in contact with him and let him know you are going to be on the island photographing. I make a point of letting him know before hand, with my car details so it is one less for him to worry about. There is a great network on the island who guard there wildlife passionately.

Great weather today - it has been pretty bad the last few days so I am told so was grateful for that.

I went on the Discover Mull trip today with 7 others. I usually do this on the first day as it is a useful reconnaissance to see what is about. Successful day with 68 bird species, 6 mammals, tow butterflies and a Common Lizard.

Saw all the big five of White Tailed and Golden Eagles, Hen Harrier, Red Deer and Otter by 2 pm. In fact the Golden Eagle count was seven separate birds by the end.


Wheatears, like this one were very common.

And just as I sit outside writing this, a Male Bullfinch has just flown over my head, glowing in the evening sun. Simply beautiful

Off to Iona tomorrow and will probably stay out overnight in my little tent so if you don't hear from me tomorrow you will know why.

Hope to be back the following day with some Corncrake pictures.

Martin

Mull Wildlife - Wild Isles talk

Just a quick heads up for a talk that I am giving on Friday 15th May at Craigure on the Isle of Mull.

During the week of 9th to 15th May, it is Wild Isles week on Mull with a wonderful series of events and acivities on the Island.

Last year Pam and Arthur Brown of Discover Mull asked if I could give a talk to the Isle of Mull Bird Club as part of the wonderful week.

So if you are on the island or nearby, let me know as it would be great to see you there.

Some of my trip reports from least visit can be seen here, here and here

Martin

Reviews - Looking back at your own work

Later on this evening I will be giving an illustrated photo talk on the Wildlife of Mull for the second time.

While putting the talk together and considering and processing the images, it prompted many thoughts.

But lets quickly step back in time as to why I am doing the talk to set it in context.

Last year while on Mull, I was asked if I would do a talk for Wild Isles Week which is
held every year in May. Naturally I was pleased to be asked and of course accepted. In order to give it a dry run, I asked if I could speak to Stratford Photo Group just to check out the content and flow - nothing like a home audience to see what works and what doesn't. Meanwhile, I have also been asked to give it to the Smethwick Photo Society Nature Group and later in the year to the RPS Nature Group

Well I was asked for the Smethwick talk at quite short notice and hadn't prepared a thing with a couple of weeks to go- so panic set in and I got to work quickly.

Tracing through four sets of images comprising of a total of about 2500, I was never convinced that I would have enough material and expected to have to supplement the talk with images of wildlife that is seen on Mull but not actually taken there, so I slight cheat if you like.

But once I got into the selection process, based around the story I wanted to tell, I found that I had more than enough and had to filter out hard.

So what?

Well what came out of this for me was that I had many more images that I revisited with a specific purpose in mind and found them both useful and actually pleased with a lot of them in a way that I had previously glossed over in the past.

It also got me thinking about the photography I do on these trips as I quickly realised that there were many holes in the story I wanted to tell with missing images. For example, I don't have any decent Red Deer shots from Mull. Red Deer are one of the major animals that many visitors want to see - I just took it for granted. Also it is worth taking some of the picture post card type shots to set the scene, show the landscape and show the topology, all important stuff for contextualising the wildlife environment.

So given that I need to do this talk later in the year, and I have another trip in May, I can fill those gaps in.

However, for me, the great benefit of doing this is that it really got me closely looking at some archive work, processing many images that were 'just there', occupying disc space and for no seeming purpose.

So with that in mind, I now need to go through the rest of my files with the same 'eye'

How many of us have got many 'photographic gems' on our hard drives that we overlook?

Tell us your views

Martin

Trip Reports - Mull - Day 4

So on to the last full day on the island. I woke up to dry conditions today, but sadly still grey.

While sitting down finishing off breakfast the first of today's White Tailed Sea Eagle was seen as it flew over the house in Dervaig.

I went to the south of the island today with Pam and Arthur who were doing a BTO Tetrad Bird Count.

En route, another two White Tailed Eagles were seen in separate locations, two separate pairs of Dipper.

For me, once I was settled down to my location, the photo opportunities were limited for a while although there were some great sightings of Goldeneye, Golden Eagle (three separate birds), and a female Hen Harrier amongst many other birds.

The best sight as I walked back to the van was a large Dog Otter coming across the loch towards me with a very large multi coloured fish in its mouth. Under the best cover I could achieve, and picking my moments to move while he was under water, I got myself as close as I dare to where he was going to come ashore. Laying down on the grass and stones with my camera and lens resting on the bean bag, he seemed totally oblivious to the sound of the shutter clicking.




Well I got a good few shots off but I have not been able to identify his lunch, a large fish with red and black parts and large white spots, so if anybody is up on their sea fish identification I would be most pleased if someone could let me know in the comments section.

After lunch, we pushed on further down the loch and had fabulous views of another female Hen Harrier, but much closer this time, with just a little sunshine too. Stunning views - too far for photos sadly, but great all the same.

So that is it for another short trip to Mull. I will be pleased to take a better look at the images when I get back on the large screen and with some better processing software to hand. And as I sit here and type this up, I am listening to Tawny Owls calling.

I have found some great opportunities for when I am back here in May, and look forward to seeing the summer migrants by then.

Update: - Well it seems like the Otter lunch was a Ballan Wrasse. Takes me back to when I was a small child fishing at Blackpool Sands in Devon with my father. Thanks to Alan Spellman and Arthur Brown from Mull for the id

Martin

Trip Reports - Mull -Days 2 and 3

Well the weather was very wet and the light poor for Day 2 which put some limitations on the photography options.

Nevertheless the wildlife was still out and I had some great spots today, starting with Treecreeper in the garden at Pam and Arthur Browns (of Discover Mull) garden. Locally in Dervaig Oystercatcher, Redshank, Curlew and Greylag Geese were in abundance. On the north west corner of the island at Calgary Bay, a couple of juvenile White Tailed Sea Eagles were hanging on the strong wind above the cliffs. As juveniles, they have not yet developed their distinctive white tail plumage. A couple of Ravens were not too impressed with their presence and flew at them shouting with their characteristic croaking calls.

A bit further round the coast and towards Loch Na Keal, a Dipper was seen at Eas Falls splashing around looking for food.

Near Ulva Ferry, the Golden Eagle I reported from Day 1 was seen again, and again being aerial bombarded by a very ambitious little Kestrel, which looked like a tiny dot by comparison with the massive wingspan of the Eagle.

Best spot of the day was a male Merlin who got under near me and flew off at great speed.

With the heavy rain of Day 2, the buzzards were pushed down and sitting on the wires or telegraph poles.

On the more sheltered bay of Salen and Aros, there were a number of divers, Great Northern and Red Throated, Black Guillemot and Common Seal. More Red Breasted Merganser were around along with Goosander which was sieving the surface of the water with it's sawbill, and also a male and two female Goldeneye were present. I usually come to Mull in May when these last two species have moved on so it was good to see them.

Fingers crossed for better weather on Day 3.

Well the weather didn't really get any better for Day 3- occasional dry but grey spells in between heavier rain or drizzle.

I covered the same loop of the north of the island again today, but saw a lot more. A total of 48 birds and 4 mammal species. Highlights of the day were many, but I guess it would be the Male Hen Harrier hunting, the two Golden Eagles, particularly the second one that was being heavily mobbed by a Raven and the two juvenile White Tail Sea Eagles.

I also had great views of more Goldeneye again as well as Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Curlew again and some close ups of a couple of flocks of Skylarks.

Mammals included Common Seal, Red and Fallow deer, and the obligatory rabbits. Sadly no Otter today.

I have been trying out a Canon 50D while I am here alongside my own 1Dmk3. Well I missed focus a few times today as I cannot switch back button focus from the AF to the * button - so a few swear words hit the Mull air. It is too early to tell what the image quality is like with this uncalibrated screen or on the other laptop. I will update the blog when I have had a good look on the big screen at home and let you know my findings. I certainly like the new rear screens on the latest breed of Canon cameras - very sharp.

Hopefully the weather will be better here tomorrow and I can get some more images, as the light today was again pretty poor and the images I have posted reflect that, sadly.

Martin

Trip Report - Day 1

Well after a long drive north through the night, it is a great pleasure to be back on Mull in Scotland. What a great start too - Otter after just five minutes after getting off the boat, thanks to a bit of advice. I watched a beautiful condition Dog Otter for about an hour, mostly through the binoculars. He did bring ashore a couple of fish but I was too concerned that if I got too close I would scare him off, but I did manage to get a few shots off. I will post them up a bit later as I cannot crop edit on this machine so will need to do a bit of jiggery pokery with another laptop.

Plenty of bird sightings including Red Breasted Merganser, Red Throated Diver, Eider, Black Guillemot, large flocks of Wigeon, Lapwing and Curlew.

Best birds of the day were the Golden Eagle and Buzzards. I had the pleasure of watching four Buzzards wheeling around in the sky display flying, and mock dog fighting. Followed about ten minutes later by a Golden Eagle who was also display flying, although I didn't see it's would be mate.

So a quick update as a taster, I am looking forward to a good couple of days ahead of me, although the weather forecast is a little iffy, but the weather does change very quickly here and sometimes the best forecast is not on the TV, but just outside the window.

Next update will be Saturday.

Martin

Views - Subject comes before Photo

Now clearly for the majority of wildlife photographer this is stating the blinking obvious, but trawling forums and other places in web land, there are a remarkable number of people who are not aware of the Laws, certainly here in the UK.

The Wildlife Photographer's Code of Practice is compiled by the Royal Photographic Society Nature Group in conjunction with the RSPB and the three Statutory Nature Conservation Councils. So it is worth a reminder that many bird species, including such birds as the Kingfisher and Barn Owl are Schedule 1 species and require the appropriate consideration of the Law when photographing at certain times of the year. Ignorance of the law is no defence as we all know so please familiarise yourself with the relevant points as we head towards nesting season in the next couple of months or so.

Last year on Mull, a photographer disturbed one of the White Tailed Sea Eagles nests, resulting in the bird abandoning the nest and subsequent failure for that pair for the year. More details here. This sort of behaviour is completely unacceptable and causes more problems for other photographers afterwards.

Mull is a fabulous place to visit, with wonderful wildlife throughout the year and a place that I try to get to every year to see my friends Pam and Arthur Brown who run Discover Mull Wildlife Tours.

Anyway, I'll step off my soapbox now, but if we do really care about what we are trying to photograph, we will make sure that their welfare comes first, tempting as that shot of lifetime might be.

Martin