Trip to Newcastle.

A trip to Newcastle gave me a chance to catch up with a few species that I haven't seen for a while.

Kestrel.

Little Owl - not seen one of these since Oct 2008.

Smew - not seen one of these since early 2008. I've never had a view this good though.

Splendid looking bird.

Good to see the bird stretch it's wings.

I hadn't seen Roe Deer since 2007.

It was good to get into a feeding station and see the likes of Great Spotted Woodpecker...

...Magpie...

...Nuthatch...

...and Stock Dove.

A quick trip to the coast produced Short-eared Owl...

...and Tree Sparrow.

A trip to Turkey followed this so that'll be the next post.

Merry Christmas!!

Another selection of pictures from November and December to see you over the festive season.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - enjoy!

Mum and cub heading for the holt.

Goldcrest flitting through the gorse.

A nice view over Loch Beg.

A Redwing that was fresh in from Iceland in November.

It looks like the Raven is on the back of the sheep but it's actually on a rock just behind.

Goosander - a nervous bird up here.

Robin - I had to put one in here!

Good views of Kestrel over the last couple of months.

A passing shower with Ben More in the background - this image was shown on the BBC weather forecast.

Whooper Swans continuing their journey south. They left in the half light early in the morning.

The ever playful Otters.

Nothing more exciting than a male Hen Harrier in a blue sky.

White-tailed Eagle doing the same!

Size comparison between White-tailed Eagle and Hooded Crow.

Common Buzzard making a kill.

A pale morph Common Buzzard.

Immature Golden Eagle - very impressive bird.

A direct comparison between the two eagle species - Golden Eagle on the right.

Redwing.

Otter rolling in the seaweed.

I like this shot of Hooded Crow landing.

It was nice to see the moon a few times in December - it's been a bit wet.

Greenshank.

All the best for 2016.

Colours

The ever changing colours of the landscape are something to behold at the moment. It really does change from minute to minute. Further enhancement is provided by the sheep!

There are plenty of Red Deer to be seen close to the road in the mornings but I have missed every chance - the best I've got is the bum shot as they leave.

Another tour, another request. This time it was Golden Eagle at the top of the list and we achieved that in the first 10 minutes. We took in all the common birds along the way with a couple of Yellowhammers, a raft of Eider, a Sparrowhawk mobbing the Goldie, GN Diver and RB Merg were the highlights. There were plenty of Redwing and Fieldfare to be seen.

Four Hen Harriers were seen including 2 males, Greylag, Barnacle, Pink-footed and Greenland White-fronted Geese were all seen in the same field while a Kestrel was hunting just down the road.

The highlight of the day was an immature Golden Eagle hunting the roadside a good distance away from any known territory - awesome!!

Hard to get

The final tour before a trip to Newcastle was a real raptor showcase. We started the day with all the gulls going up in a panic as a Peregrine came charging through. We got decent views of an Otter that was moving away from us and couldn't relocate it when we moved to a closer position. A couple of RT Diver were on the loch in the same location. There was no sign of the juv WT Eagle but Sparrowhawk, Whinchat, Stonechat and Hen Harrier filled the gap nicely.

An adult WT Eagle played hard to get before circling overhead.

A couple of Golden Eagle played hard to get as well but with a bit of patience we had one bird cruise over us.

We'd had another couple of Hen Harrier and nice views of a Northern Wheatear before we came across a Kestrel hunting. By the time the camera was out it had settled on a post.

A couple of Curlew were resting up and preening quite close to the road.

A Black-tailed Godwit was a nice find as we viewed a Mountain Hare. A couple of Adders showed well as they sheltered from a stiff breeze.

We came across another Whinchat that posed for us on the fence - superb!

We paid another visit to see the juv WT Eagle and managed to find it this time. As we stood watching one of the adult bird came flying in with food and, for once, it was a case of 'right place, right time'.

Distant

Another quick run out didn't produce much and certainly nothing close - must try harder! A couple of Red Deer stags were resting in the long grass, the other one was closer but facing away.

A brief view of a Kestrel perched up was nice to see but it was on it's way before I realised the shutter speed was too slow!

Another one that was too far away was a nice looking juvenile Great Northern Diver. Another time...

A distant Otter was seen and despite the waiting around it never came any closer so a Great Black-backed Gull will have to do instead.