End of 2104 & start of 2015 on the Exe estuary

30th December 2014 and a day around the Exe ,looking to hopefully see the Penduline Tits and the Black Brant among other species. At Darts Farm I was just too late for the Pendulines as I joined some others watching them just in time to see them fly up onto a tree and go, never mind lots of Brent Geese to look through and eventually found the Black Brant among them, stayed here longer then I intended just in case the Tits returned but no luck, but a few commoner species feeding among the reedmace was nice.
18th January 2015 and back on the Exe, no luck with the Penduline Tits this time but  lots of wildfowl and waders at Bowling Green Marsh and a very confiding Snow Bunting at Powderham as well as a unusually showy Greenshank at Cockwood along with a

Brief view of a Penduline Tit

Black Brant

Brent Geese on ice

Wren on the reedmace

Robin on reedmace

And finally Chiffchaff on the reedmace

Snipe at Bowling Green

Lovely Snow Bunting at Powderham-Turf

Snow Bunting

Wigeon at Bowling Green

Greenshank at Cockwood

Slavonian Grebe at Cockwood

nice Slavonian Grebe ,although the light had just about gone when I photographed this one.

A week in the Cairngorms.

Back in late November Joyce & I were joined by Dan & Mary ( son and daughter in law) for a weeks holiday in the Cairngorms NP in Scotland, a region we really love and have visited on a few occasions. We were based in a nice cottage near Granton on Spey which was ideal for getting to some of the sites I knew should provide us with good wildlife and scenery, I tend to drag them around with me but they have learned to trust me to take them to some nice places (mostly).A really nice week ,the weather was kindish (though they had snow a week later which would have been nice) and we managed to see some of the wildlife on the agenda, although we tried to find Capercaillie without any luck, saw Crested Tits but no photo and I decided against the Pine Martin hide (so a good reason to return in the future)

Cairngorms National Park

View behind the cottage

Roe Deer Buck

Roe Deer, pretty common

Red Grouse near Cairngorm ruffling wet feathers

Red Grouse calling in the rain

Red Grouse ,Cairn  gorm

Red Grouse in the Heather

Whooper Swan at Boat of Garten

Whoopers Swans at Boat of Garten

Scots Pines at Loch an Eilein

Golden Eagle at Findhorn Valley

Three of the five Golden Eagles seen together at Findhorn Valley

Golden Eagle-Findhorn valley

Golden Eagle joined by a White Tailed Eagle at Findhorn Valley

White Tailed Eagle-Findhorn Valley

View over Findhorn complete with Mountain Hare

Mountain Hare portrait

Mountain Hare, some of the whiter ones stuck out like sore thumbs

Mountain Hare

Mountain Hare

Mountain Hare

Findhorn Valley-Joyce walking on the right.

Red Deer Stag at Findhorn

Red Deer Stag by the roadside.

Red  Deer on the slopes

Trees in the mist-near Granton on Spey.

Lesser Yellowlegs

This Lesser Yellowlegs has made Copperhouse Creek in Hayle, Cornwall its home for the past week or more, so we had a day out down west. I found the bird after a bit of a search, but it was never really close enough for any decent photos , so a few record shots only,and the light was terrible. This was the third time I've seen one of these American waders, the others being at nearby Drift resevior.
While here I also photographed a Grey Heron with a very large flatfish which very unHeronlike it eventually gave up trying to swallow it and left it in the water, also a Curlew was very close. 

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs silhouette

Grey Heron with catch

Grey Heron

Grey Heron

Grey Heron, the fish is just too big

Nearly down but that was as far as it got.

Curlew

Chough

Choughs

We then went on down to Cot valley where some Choughs were resting on the rocks and I was able to photograph them from the car, although again the light was poor and the sky a white out,but a nice day out.