sarahthurlbeck

Friday Foragers

At last, a dry day with morning and afternoon walks in the countryside with my camera and binoculars! Today I saw four jays and even managed to get this photo of one, albeit with branches in the way. They alerted me to their presence by squawking to each other. This morning we saw the canalContinue reading “Friday Foragers”

Tenerife birds and butterflies

What a treat to get some winter sunshine in Tenerife and do some birdwatching there. No surprise that being on one of the Canary Islands we should come across lots of canaries. They are amazing singers. For about a hundred years in Britain, miners used to take canaries down the mines as the birds wereContinue reading “Tenerife birds and butterflies”

Tufties

Its a great treat to watch red squirrels and one of the best places to observe them is in the wildlife hide at Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, Aberfoyle. They are smaller and faster than grey squirrels and have long ear tufts. The tufts provide a bit of extra insulation in winter and they can useContinue reading “Tufties”

Kevin the Kelvin Kingfisher

Today a friend and I took the bus then subway into the heart of Glasgow’s West End where we had a walk along the river Kelvin hoping to spot a kingfisher. We got very lucky thanks to looking at where a photographer was pointing his big lens. I didn’t have my big lens but itContinue reading “Kevin the Kelvin Kingfisher”

January Gems

Only a week to go until the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch – I wonder if this great spotted woodpecker will make an appearance when I’m doing my hour’s counting- probably not! Great to see him close up! I know it’s a he from the red patch on the back of his head which females don’tContinue reading “January Gems”

Winter Wander Wonders

This photo of Britain’s smallest bird, the goldcrest, feeding amongst the yellow gorse flowers looks like it was taken in summer. Actually it was on a cold winter’s day after a hard frost! Gorse bushes seem to be a favourite feeding ground of this tiny, flighty creature. It took hundreds of attempts to capture itContinue reading “Winter Wander Wonders”

Christmas Kingfisher

This morning I was gifted a new big lens. So of course it was off to the canal this afternoon to see if we could spot a kingfisher to test it out on. For three quarters of an hour we sauntered up and down the canal scanning for a glimpse of orange or bright blue.Continue reading “Christmas Kingfisher”

Seal Pup Season

I’ve seen lots of images of white fluffy seals on cards and on television documentaries. When my son was wee he used to have a pillow sized cuddly seal toy called Snowy which accompanied us on holidays. But until today I’d never seen a seal pup in the wild, let alone photographed them. It mightContinue reading “Seal Pup Season”

Small Wonder

I’m so chuffed that there is at least one kingfisher regularly fishing a patch of the canal near me. There may even be a pair. I think this one is a female, as there is orange on her lower beak. I tried to capture her in flight and managed a couple of shots of herContinue reading “Small Wonder”

Berry Banqueting

The trees and bushes are laden with red berries this Autumn and the birds are enjoying the berry banquet. Here are photos of various types of birds feasting on them, and even a grey squirrel getting its five a day! The fieldfares are back from Scandinavia for their winter holiday here. They fly around inContinue reading “Berry Banqueting”