Author Archives: sarahthurlbeck

Waxwings are winter visitors from Russia or Scandinavia and are a rare treat for birdwatchers. I’ve only seen a flock of 9 of them once before, 6 years ago and during an “irruption” when hundreds came over to UK because their own stocks of berries back home were so low. This year their numbers areContinue reading “Wonderful Waxwings!!”

Here are a selection of photos from walks in the sunshine these past few days. The hares were enjoying a bit of late autumn warmth in the fields, hunkering down low as we walked by. I tried not to overly disturb them although they were on high alert at my presence. Here is one sittingContinue reading “Late November Wildlife”

This past month a common sight has been buzzards perched on roadside posts. Last Saturday, driving over the hills, we saw as many as half a dozen perched on posts by the roadside. They seemed to be enjoying the morning sunshine after a few days of rain. Another common post sitter in winter is theContinue reading “Post its”

On our recent trip to Mull we heard a lot of plaintive moaning and loud bellowing coming from the bracken covered hillsides. This was the sound of red deer stags announcing and defending their territory. The rutting season had begun with stags rounding up their harem of female deer, known as hinds. to mate with.Continue reading “Stag Do”

I’ve been hunting otters all year, first with early morning walks down the River Tyne in Haddington, then keeping an eye out on North Uist, earlier this summer. But I had no luck, that is until a trip to the Isle of Mull! We were told on arrival at our seaside campsite that there wasContinue reading “Otterly Magical !”

Sometimes there’s a scarcity of wildlife to see in the summer, especially in the afternoons when I think the birds take a siesta and stay hidden in foliage. However you can usually depend on deer to appear somewhere on a walk. Sometimes they can be spotted at the edges of fields, grazing the wild flowers.Continue reading “Dependable Deer”

I wonder if in the past people thought they were seeing ghosts when in fact they were seeing ghostly barn owls. Barn owls have the latin name Tyto alba meaning white owl. Their feathers are white underneath and a golden caramel colour on top. I’ve been trying to photograph them at dusk but when theContinue reading “Hunting for Ghosts”

Yesterday evening I went down to the river and almost immediately saw not just one but two kingfishers zipping along the river in tandem. They would then disappear into the thick leafy trees on the riverbanks. They were almost impossible to see once they hid themselves amongst the foliage. Here is a glimpse of one,Continue reading “Rocking It”

I’ve been trying a new technique with my camera called “back button focusing” and so today I went a walk up through fields to try and practise it on the hares I normally see there. But typically wildlife doesn’t appear to order -no hares were seen at all. So I put my heavy camera intoContinue reading “Stoatin’ Aboot”

Today I had fun trying to distinguish molehills and boulders from actual hares lying low in the grass. Hares are nocturnal but spend the day lying out in scrapes, often in plain sight but blending in perfectly with the landscape. Here is what I saw when I first spotted the hare above. Subsequent images showContinue reading “Let Sleeping Hares Lie”