Norfolk For Forty

Normally any sort of landmark birthday is celebrated with some a party, beers and usually a dreadful hangover. But as my 40th approached I'd worked out that most of my closest family were overseas on their holidays that week, leaving me wondering what to do. I couldn't face being in work for it, so I thought I'd head east for some bird photography, and drag Dad along too. Afterall, he celebrates his Birthday the day before mine and has been couped up in his house for months hiding from the hideous winter.

Rather than aim for the usual coastal location, I chose to stay in land a bit, in Fakenham. Only a dozen miles from the coast should the mood take us, but right next to the Hawk And Owl Trust's Sculthorpe Moor reserve, which is a spot I had visited before, but wanted to revisit, especially after helping the Trust out with some images recently.

After a remarkably easy run we arrived at the reserve, on my Birthday (I'd opened my cards before setting off), and we wandered down through the woods towards the hide, overlooking the extensive reedbeds. It was quite windy and the light wasn't great, but the view was promising and there were plenty of birds feeding from the stations either side of the hide.

Didn't take long to spot a flock of bramblings, which immediately became a target, and proved challenging, as they tended to fly straight on to the table, or down to the ground, littered with sunflower seed. Not particularly attractive.

Patience yielded results though, and eventually I managed to get shots of both a male and female perched in one of the trees.

Such colourful birds, and striking with the dark heads and flashes of bright yellow in flight.

Also providing entertainment was a pair of bank voles, darting out to grab seeds, before hurtling back into the vegetation at the slightest hint of danger.

All the while though, I kept an eye out across the reeds, as the one thing that really attracted me to Sculthorpe was the chance of photographing marsh harriers. I had a few shots already; usually chance encounters though I'd managed some from the visit back in 2010. But I hoped the site might yield more sightings and after a while, I finally spotted one, a male flying in quite high up.

His presence brought the female out too, and she flew much closer to us, giving fantastic views as she slowly scoured the reeds below.

As harriers often do though, they both dropped down and out of sight, and we were left watching the smaller birds again. Being April, the weather was rather changeable, and just as the sun looked like it was breaking through, it poured down. With the sun appearing again, we were treated to a fabulous double rainbow across the reserve and I joked to Dad that it'd be great to see one of the harriers fly now, against that backdrop. Well guess what. Enter stage left, the male marsh harrier, and, lit up by the emerging sunshine, he flew right across the rainbows. Fab!

Just as the buzz of seeing that had died down, one of the birders in the hide spotted a barn owl hunting, and boy did that give us a show! Quartering the reeds, it suddenly changed direction and flew right at us in the hide!

Maybe it'd seen one of the photos of the bank vole on Dad's camera and was trying for that, but it came so close I couldn't fit it in the frame, and it only veered off when one of the togs in the hide clipped his lens on the hide window frame.

The sunlight was very harsh on the owl's pale feathers, so I initially thought I'd ruined the shots, but Lightroom and Elements recovered the shots incredibly well.

Not a bad treat for my Birthday I thought, and that continued when we headed to a pub, recommended by Lin at the Hawk & Owl Trust - she was hoping to join us later after meeting for a chat in the hide already.

The Sculthorpe Mill - gorgeous pub / hotel, on a river, beside open countryside. Beautiful garden too, serving a great pint of Abbott ale and the food was top drawer too. The only downside came when I received a message from Lin, that they were about to release an osprey on the reserve, and we couldn't go see it, as our food was on the way. Apparently it had got into difficulty when trying to fish at a local fish farm but was lucky to be rescued, checked over and released.

When Lin did arrive at the pub later, with a few friends, the hawk expert who had had the task of releasing the female osprey told us how remarkably strong it had been - and had pushed itself away from him as he tried to hold her, commenting on how heavy she was too. A successful release, so a very happy ending there.

After an entertaining evening, we headed back to the B&B in Fakenham for a much needed kip, to recharge for the next day. I have to recommend Erika's B&B. Super value, great location and the breakfasts were just the ticket!

I had planned to return to Sculthorpe the following afternoon, after taking a drive around the area, just to see what was around. Never know what you might find. And within a few miles of the drive, we had seen some brown hares and also a fair few grey partridges.

Both obviously didn't like the look of me, and legged it, though I managed some half decent shots prior to their disappearing acts.

The weather seemed to be a bit clearer over the coast, so we drove that way, and a spur of the moment decision proved to be a stroke of fortune for the remainder of the trip. Heading to an area where I knew harriers roosted, we quickly spotted a pair chasing one another. They were distant, but fascinating to watch.

The light was terrible where we had chosen to watch from, and even when one flew right over us, the shots were rather disappointing. Wanting something better, I suggested to Dad that we look for a spot maybe closer to the action, but definitely with the sun in a more favourable direction, and, moments later we'd found just such a place. And within seconds of getting out the car, we saw a male harrier hover momentarily, in perfect light with a blue sky behind.

So where are the pictures you might ask? Erm, there aren't any, as hand-holding the bazooka isn't easy and I missed the focus - leaving it hunting for long enough to lose the harrier from view. I was furious and blamed the camera of course. Never me... But thankfully this spot we'd picked proved to be a gem, and the male powered away from the reedbed, over us and off into the fields beyond.

Still hand-held, but this time I nailed the focus, and got the reward.

With the weather improving and frequent views of the harriers, we stayed put. I'd never seen harriers so closely, especially in such great light.

By early afternoon though, the action seemed to subside a touch, and we fancied a change of scenery. It was sunny, we were on holiday and there was a pub down the road called the Lifeboat Inn, with 2 pints of Wherry with our names on! Irresistible! We even managed to sit out the front in the sunshine.

A visit to Thornham harbour proved worthwhile with views of a black-tailed godwit glowing in one of the channels as it fed, and returning to the harriers later provided views of a pair of them chasing each other high above us.

The sun was still out and I started to think about barn owls, so we headed to an area where I've had success with them in recent years and waited. Amusingly, Dad seemed to be weighed down with the camera hanging from his neck, so I suggested he ought to put it in the car for a bit, and I'd not finished suggesting it when I clocked a barn owl hunting right behind him!

Dad scuttled off to get to a spot giving him a bit of cover, while I scrambled to get my gear on the tripod.

Maybe a memo had gone out to the local barn owls about our Birthdays, as this one put on another fantastic performance, hunting only a few yards in front of us in gorgeous sunshine.

At one point, it was so close the sound of my shutter clicking attracted its attention.

And I only just got it in the frame moments later when it flew even closer!

What a fantastic day - ended as before at the Sculthorpe Mill, for fine beer and grub once again.

With it being only a short break, I had planned to head back early on the Saturday, but a cloudless morning soon changed my mind, and we headed back to the harriers once more. A female was busy chasing a common buzzard high over the marshes, while the pair of kestrels nesting up the road were whizzing around, hunting over the farmland nearby.

The sunshine sadly brought problems with heat haze, and despite having stunning views of the harriers overhead, most shots came out soft. Not all though, thankfully...

I certainly achieved my goal of getting a few better images!

Thirsty work though, and the lure of the Lifeboat was again too much to resist, with it being even warmer out the front on the benches than on the first visit. The harbour was fairly quiet, as was the one at Brancaster, though the pot of prawns and crayfish tails from the hut made a tasty treat to end a wonderful break in Norfolk, and a great way to celebrate reaching 40!

Forest Of Dean

I'm always looking at where I can visit that is new to me, and being centrally placed in England, makes it relatively easy to reach most. Even the border of Scotland is only 200 miles away, though that does make it a tad far for a day trip!

Over the years I've explored the Midlands mainly, and slightly further afield to the likes of Shropshire and Northants, Leicestershire and parts of Derbyshire, but an area that had started to attract me was Gloucestershire, in particular the Forest Of Dean.

SatNav reckoned the drive would be only just over an hour to reach the outskirts of the forest, so when the Easter break arrived, and it wasn't raining (or snowing either, of late!) I woke at 5am and headed south west, to an area called Parkend. I had a number of targets for the day. Hawfinches and goshawks being the main ones, though admittedly both unlikely, and also perhaps a glimpse of a wild boar.

The latter had certainly been busy, with almost every area of unfenced grass being dug up and turned over. Looks messy, but it seems to provide the birds with far easier feeding grounds, and the large numbers of blackbirds, robins and song thrushes around proved the point.


Despite my efforts, visiting several "hot spots" for hawfinches, the best I managed was a brief call from one high in the canopy, before it vanished, and in the end, I ditched the idea of looking for a goshawk. I've heard that the views from New Fancy View Point are distant, to say the least, with 2 different people telling me that they've seen them from there, but the goshawks are specks in the distance, miles away. The best I could muster was a buzzard in a tree.


A spot possible for finding hawfinch, although a local had informed me that they're "thin on the ground" at the moment, is RSPB Nagshead. My SatNav has the reserves within its Points Of Interest database, so finding the site was easy, though I have to admit that the Lower Hide was a disappointment. Who made it? The Normans? The "windows" are so narrow it was a job seeing out with my bins, let alone getting a lens through. Even if hawfinches do turn up there over the coming months, I can't see how I can get a shot other than a record one, unless the bird perches on the window ledge!

The day was turning into "one of those" when I clocked something rather large, poking around in some bushes beside the road. A wild boar! I was far too close to get anything decent with the camera - in fact I could barely squeeze just its head into the frame.


Completely unfazed by passing traffic, it continued snuffling through the vegetation, climbing up an embankment and off into the distance.

With the increased numbers of visitors, and most sites becoming crowded, I headed home, vowing to return again. Which I did, only a couple of days later, after reading that garganey had been seen on a couple of the lakes in the area.

I've seen these small ducks before, but always at a huge distance. They had been seen on two lakes, Woorgreens and Cannop Ponds. I had planned to get up early and head over to Woorgreens, but I awoke to cloud and decided it'd be better to wait for news before setting out. Wise move, as they'd gone from Woorgreens, but the Cannop ones were still present.

Unsure of where to go at Cannop Ponds, I spotted a couple in camo with cameras, and was just starting to ask them when I realised it was Clive & Jill. Nothing like great eye sight for you! We walked along the edge of the lake to where they'd seen them earlier in the day, only to find the garganey had moved to a smaller pond, and were feeding amongst cut-back reeds.


Not the most attractive surroundings, but pretty close, and by far the best views I've ever had.


There were 3 drakes and a single female. And they were busy feeding continuously in the pond, up-ending all the time, making timing the shot crucial, to avoid a headless duck.


With flat light from the clouds above, the pics were never going to win any prizes, but I was just pleased to have caught up with them. My attention switched momentarily from them to a few mandarin ducks which landed in the main pond behind. Such colourful, vibrant ducks.


And so plentiful, as I scanned the rest of the lake - maybe as many as 30 either on the water or sat under nearby trees.


Before leaving I saw a red kite soaring high overhead, being mobbed by the gulls. But the garganey seemed content in this smaller pond, and with time ticking on, I chose to head off. I fancied a bit of a mystery tour drive towards a place called Guiting Power, where an osprey had been seen earlier that week.

Having sold the Scooby recently, the twisty lanes reminded me of the fun that car used to provide, though to be fair, the Yeti handles very well and is genuinely amusing to drive down such roads. Hasn't quite got the same acceleration or noise, sadly. But perhaps the sound of a flat four roaring and the exhaust backfiring isn't the best thing to have when trying to find easily startled wildlife. And that's what I found. Rounding a corner, I spotted a pair of feathery bundles perched on an old gnarled tree. Little owls!


They seemed pleased to see me, as the local ones do. Unlike the local ones, these didn't move when I parked the car up and had to then reverse a bit when I found a branch obscuring my view.

The rest of the drive involved avoiding snow drifts, tractors and resisting the charms of Cotswolds' pubs, before finding my way back on to a main road, and heading home.

Nature's Feast For Siskins

There are many birds I'd like to see visiting my garden, but most I just have to accept are unlikely. It'd be a bit sensational if a merlin perched up on the fence, though to be honest, a sprawk doing that would make a change from their usual high speed attack runs, scaring everything away and not posing for a picture after.

One bird that I could hope for though, during the winter months, and one that has visited my Dad's garden is a siskin, but despite my efforts to date, I've not seen one. And it's not like I haven't tried. I put out all manner of foods for the birds, black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, general mixes, nyjer seed, peanuts, suet blocks and balls. The garden birds have a better diet than I do! Redpolls yes, siskins, no.

So when I was contacted and asked if I'd try out some products from a company called Nature's Feast, I thought "Why not". I have of course heard of the company before, as (Wildlife) Kate works with them and I'd purchased a Twist Feeder from her some months back.

Unwrapping the box I had been given, I found another Twist Feeder inside along with 3 packs of seed. Black sunflower seeds and hearts, plus a new one on me, High Energy Supreme. A mix of all manner of goodies by the sound of it: naked oats, sunflower hearts, red and white dari, red and Japanese millet, chopped peanuts, canary and nyjer seed, suet pellets, hempseed and vegetable oil. And most interestingly, on the bag it claimed to attract siskins!

Moving one of the feeder posts closer to my conservatory, to make it easier for me to see what was on them, without reaching for my binoculars each time, I rigged up an existing black sunflower seed feeder (attracts blue, great and coal tits, plus green, bull and chaffinches) and hung the new Twist Feeder next to it, hoping the familiar one would bring the birds in, and then the new one would take their fancy.

I was interested to see how the 3 seed mixes would fare, as before I'd used sunflower hearts, black sunflower seeds and a general mix, and the birds had barely touched the mix, favouring the hearts first and then the black seed.

Unsurprisingly after closing the conservatory door and plonking myself down to watch, nothing whatsoever arrived to use the feeders, not even the resident robins! Give it time, I thought...

I think the new feeders and food were in good time, as shortly after putting out the new feeder, winter had another blast, and I found the garden under a foot of snow! And both feeders were being used, thankfully. Aside from the finches and tits, I noticed that the house sparrows had also taken a shine to the new feeder along with starlings, which usually target only the suet balls / blocks. The robins seemed to enjoy chasing the dunnocks from the food, and anything spilled, was gratefully accepted by the blackbirds, collared doves and anything missed by them, hoovered up by the fat wood pigeons. Even the pair of song thrushes braved the blackbirds to reach some of the bits.



The benefit of the new feeder is that you can easily see which of the mixes is being consumed the most, and I could see that one was almost empty already. I initially thought as it was light in colour, that it must be the hearts but it wasn't. The High Energy Mix was proving to be popular, so I filled that back up, and sat back again to see what was eating it.



Finches - flocks of greenfinch, a couple of bullfinches and chaffies. The goldfinches stayed down the far end of the garden, hogging the nyjer seed feeder. Then I saw something bright and yellow. Despite being closer, I grabbed the bins anyway for a look.

Yes!! A vibrant male siskin, waiting in the branches of the nearby buddleia bush. A short fluttering flight and it landed straight on to the Twist Feeder and started to merrily peck away at the seed.



Better still, seconds later, a paler bird appeared - a female siskin, and she joined him on the feeder.



Fabulous. Getting a shot meant scuttling out of the conservatory and upstairs, for a clean shot out of the bedroom window.



I've only seen a pair so far, but I'm almost out of the favoured mix, so I'll have to get some more if it works this well.

The local squirrels have also found the feeder, and a way up to it, but as it's well made and rugged, it isn't damaged by them, unlike some feeders I've purchased and seen chewed to bits over time. And as the feeder is of a decent size, it doesn't need to be refilled daily.

Admittedly, I am fortunate to have a decent sized garden and a good variety of birds visiting it. People often ask me what they could do to attract different birds to their gardens, and I've always suggested using a variety of seed mixes. After this experience, I'd have to recommend Nature's Feast feeders and food to them, as not only have they kept the usual suspects well fed, but attracted a new one too.

Close To Home

Aside from my trip to Scotland, mostly I've been pottering around local sites of late, paying several visits to Marsh Lane NR. After a drop-off run to the airport nearby one snowy Sunday, I found that I had the site to myself. Hardly surprising given the state of the side roads and the weather at the time. 

Down in the Oak Hide I was pleased to see a number of common snipe taking advantage of the open water (everything else seemed to be frozen over) to probe for food, and they were very close to the hide too.  

Then a head poking up above the snow in front of the hide caught my attention. Another snipe, presumably feeding in a small trench in the snow beside the lake, but made for a different shot with snow in front and behind. 

Despite looking and hoping, none of the common snipe would transform into a jack, so I turned my attention to the feeders nearby. The flock of chaffinches increased in numbers and eventually a brambling appeared amongst them, though she wouldn't pose anywhere with an uncluttered view, so I grabbed a shot anyway. 

Back up by the car park, more snipe were feeding deep in the snow and I added more of this type of shot to my collection before dusting the snow from my car and heading back. On another snowy day I tried my luck for the common scoter over at Shustoke Reservoir, but reports placed it at one end, and as it turned out, the report was entirely wrong with the bird favouring the other end. Walking in deep snow carrying the camera gear isn't much fun, so I wasn't overly pleased to find that out. Still, I did see huge flocks of pochards and tufties on the smaller fishing pool at the back, and when wandering back I bumped into Dave Hutton, and we both then had a look for the scoter.

He spotted it, but whichever way we walked to see it, it headed the other way and I didn't even bother with a record shot, as it was so distant.

Dave suggested trying for the chiffchaffs and possible firecrest over at Hams Hall, so in convoy we relocated, and wandered down to the edge of the outflow and settled down in the snow to watch. I wished I'd put on my Stealth Gear trousers as they're more water resistant than my fleece-lined combats, and Dave had wisely brought along something waterproof to sit on. He hadn't remembered to put on both socks when donning his boots, which was amusing later when he was wondering why one foot was freezing cold!

No sign of the firecrest but we did get some very close views of chiffchaffs, though I missed one of the Siberian ones, which Dave had a clear view of.

.

Still a good spot and a large flock of long-tailed tits fluttered by too, adding more interest.




Later on when returning to the car Dave spotted a pair of firecrests amongst the trees between the river and a warehouse. I failed miserably to get a shot, but he faired a little better, although the bird wasn't out in the open alas.

Another local spot which has caught my attention of late has been Grimley. The flooded meadows attracted a great white egret last summer, and I spent many an hour down there photographing a hobby, and while that wasn't active, some of the numerous dragonflies around the wild flowers.

This time it was a short-eared owl that had been seen that brought me over, but it wasn't to be a good day. I waited for a good 2 hours in the morning and failed to see anything of note. I did finally meet Brian Stretch who runs Birding Today, after email exchanges over the years. But with nothing interesting going on, I headed off. Only to get a text off Brian minutes later to report that the owl had broken cover and was sat on a grass bank. ARGH!!!



Back to Grimley, and I hurried to the field where I'd stood all morning to discover the owl had walked up the bank and was now sat in deep grass, with one eye occasionally visible. And so it remained for the rest of the day, refusing to move even when a dog walker went by, at the foot of the bank with 3 dogs!

I did catch the pair of whoopers flying off though, so not a total waste of time.



And so we reach the last weekend where I had a choice. Head off with Stu, Ken and John in search of barn and short-eared owls, or go see the great northern diver down in Cheltenham. The diver was closer and I've only a few pics of one in winter colours, so with this in almost breeding plumage I headed down south, to meet up with Dave and Steve. Parking up I recognised the car in front of me as Carl's, and after a short wander along the bank of the lake in the park I clocked him crouched on the other side.



While the light where he'd chosen to set up wasn't as good as from the other side, the backdrop was better, with an island of trees casting shadow over the water and hence giving a dark background.



I quickly worked out that the 1.4TC wasn't needed, and reverted back to the straight 500 which gave the bird a bit more room in the frame.

Slightly concerning though, was the diver was heading down the lake, and trying to take off. It didn't, thankfully as Steve and Dave hadn't even arrived yet.

The diver generally paddled about, preening and occasionally diving, though I didn't see it catch a fish. We moved around the edge of the lake to get better backgrounds or as low as possible (wet knees!).



Lovely markings and such details on the feathers. Would be great to see one in full colours in the summer.

Later, we were joined by Vince (on his way to watch a thrilling 1-1 draw between Cheltenham and Aldershot), his son, plus Bob and Julie. And we all found ourselves chasing the diver up and down the lake, much to the amusement of the other park visitors.



After surviving the marshy land of the Highland moors, the ice, snow and hurricane-force winds on the mountains and the hidden dangers of a wood covered by deep snow, I managed to roll my ankle over a small tree stump beside the lake. Dangerous places these public parks!



Having filled 2 cards on the diver I decided to head down to Aust Warth for a look for owls, but none showed when I was there, and the light faded rapidly. Sunday was spent locally as again I couldn't face the long drive to see some owls - after all, I have a lot of shots already, as Dave pointed out!

Upton Warren provided some entertainment when a water rail broke cover, but in general it was a quiet day.



And that brings me right up to date. Oh, and the diver left the following day, so my suspicions about its actions that day proved to be on the money!

A Winter Scottish Highland Trip

After encountering a nesting pair near Loch Garten in 2010, I have been wanting to photograph crested tits ever since. Such quirky characters with their spiky crests and intricate markings, but confined to the woodlands around the Scottish Highland, which meant a planned trip would be required... so late last year I booked a week off work this year and started to make the necessary arrangements. 

Initially I had only thought to go for a couple of days, and had contacted a professional photographer (Neil McIntyre) who I'd met before a couple of times, to use his facilities for the crested tits and also red squirrels; it seemed a shame not to do them as well! But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to stay a tad longer, so in the end I had booked the Saturday night in a B&B, and then the next four in a cabin. 

And so, at 4am on the Saturday morning, I woke, packed the car and by just after lunchtime, I'd arrived in the Aviemore area. Initially I tried a spot near Boat Of Garten, where I hoped I'd see crested tits, but with the snow around, I thought I'd head up for the red grouse at Lochindorb, a favourite spot of mine. The road up there was a tad slippery, but I got up there safely, and on turning off the engine, heard the first calls of the grouse. 

With the snow amongst the grasses, gorse and heather, the grouse were a bit easier to spot than usual, and it didn't take me long to get close to one for some shots. 

Sat on a clump of snow, it stood out well, but the light was a bit behind. Still, made for some reasonable images. Heading down towards the loch, I found some more mooching around in the vegetation, and unlike those I've seen at locations like Long Mynd, these don't seem to be bothered about vehicles. 

After a while, with the weather seeming to be getting better, I thought it'd be a shame to let it go to waste, and headed to a site on the north coast where Chris Packham (on Winterwatch) had enthused over long-tailed ducks. From what I could tell, it would be possible to park on the harbour and view the birds from the car. And within seconds of turning on to the harbour, I saw my first ever pair of long-tailed ducks. Fantastic! 

Chris was right - they are fabulous ducks, and they were so close! With the clear water in the harbour, you could even see them diving down to feed at the bottom. 

The vibrantly painted boats and buildings behind the harbour made for some colourful reflections on the water, which really set off the photos. 

Also around were the females, plus eider ducks. I've seen the females of these close up before (Shetland), but only ever seen the males in collections like Slimbridge. This was a real treat to see them in the wild, and still so very close. As the light began to fade late afternoon I spotted a pair of common scoter out in the entrance of the harbour, and waited hoping they'd come closer. 

The female ventured in closer, but he didn't alas, and as I'd promised to be at the B&B for a certain time, thought I'd best head back down to check in. A great first day, and well worth the early start. Amusingly, as I chatted to the B&B owner, I realised a friend from Hereford was staying at the same place, and we ended up down the local pub having a laugh and a few ales, with me realising driving for over 500 miles doesn't do wonders for my eye sight, as I played very badly at pool! 

After a most welcome breakfast, I watched the local red squirrels in the garden of the B&B (was way too gloomy for pics) before heading back up to Lochindorb again. As before, it took only a few moments to locate a grouse close by, and this time it posed atop a mound, where it plucked at the heather. 

The weather was very gloomy, so I headed back to Burghead, to watch the ducks again. The light was flat but seeing these fine ducks brightened my mood considerably, and I again prayed the common scoter might come in closer. The seas were rather stormy though, and even in the sheltered harbour, the water was rather choppy. 

While the scoter again remained distant, I did see a guillemot venture into the harbour and provided a few minutes entertainment as it paddled around, diving occasionally, appearing metres from where it disappeared. 

On the walls of the harbour were small flocks of turnstones and redshanks, and one of the latter, when separated from the main group looked worth a shot or two... 

Neil had arranged for me to be in the cabin during the evening, so there was no rush back, but with sleet falling, I drove to the area nearby and chilled out, before meeting up with him at the cabin on the site. What a fantastic spot. Surrounded by woodland and mountains, in a spacious estate, the cabin looked great, and the interior was so welcoming. Canvas prints of Neil's photos adorned the walls, and I smiled when I read Paula's (Shetland) comments in the Guest Book. She'd been there for the black grouse lek last year. 

A comfortable evening with TV and internet available, and I was ready and waiting for Neil to collect me at 9am. I wasn't ready for the snow though, and wasn't sure (after comments from the lads on Sat night) that I wanted it. Over to the squirrels first, Neil put out the hazelnuts and we waited for a few moments for the squirrels to approach. 

With the falling snow, just starting to settle and cover the various perches, I soon worked out that the snow was a real blessing, as it added something a bit magical to the scene. 

I have shots of red squirrels (from here before) in the summer, so having wintery images was a bit special. If anything, the 500mm lens was a tad much on the cropped body of the 7D. Perhaps a 400 or 300mm lens would have been better, but careful positioning allowed me to get many full frame shots before the squirrels decided they'd had their fill, and scuttled off into the woods again. 

Not to miss an opportunity, when a treecreeper chose to creep up one of the trees next to me, I grabbed a shot of that too! 

Next stop, crested tits. Excellent. A short drive to a private site, and we hiked out across the rather sodden, snow-covered ground to the feeding station. An unusual set up I have to say, but logical I guess and it works a treat. Neil was using peanut feeders to attract the birds, and attract them it did; never seen so many coal tits! 

Didn't take long to see the first crested tit arrive, but it was harder to get one to perch where we wanted, especially when the coal, blue and great tits seemed to be everywhere. 

I got a few shots of empty branches before bagging the first crestie shot, but soon got into the swing of things, and with some second guessing, started to get keepers of these punk rocker birds. 

Moving the feeders around allowed for chances of different perches, though the windy conditions really weren't helping. Neil admitted that the day before in calmer weather, the birds had been providing so many more photo chances than when I was trying. 

Even so, I managed a shed load of shots, and wanted more when Neil called time on it. With a second day of the same planned, I considered spending the remainder of the day in the cabin relaxing and reviewing pics, but I didn't! 

Back to Lochindorb in even more treacherous weather, but definitely worth it. Deep snow covered the moors, and showers of it passed over frequently. With the snow showers and occasional glimpses of sunshine, I scanned the moors for other birds and found a pair on the top of a small embankment. The male was watching over a nearby female, and provided a great shot in a blizzard, which I duly took advantage of. 

Further up the road was a lone bird, on the road itself. It seemed reluctant to move for the car, so I bagged a few images for its portfolio of whisky auditions, before it moved to the edge of the road, and into the deeper snow.  

I actually drove alongside it, and even when I said "Hello" to it, as you do when you're sane like me, it simply looked up at me. Parking up a few metres further away (to get a focusing distance), I grabbed some portrait shots of the accommodating individual. 

Same plan as before, a 9am pick up from the cabin only this time the blizzards were back with a vengeance. By the time we'd reached the squirrels it was pretty deep and after only a short while, the squirrels seemed to be spooked by something and vanished. 

I'd still bagged a few dozen shots mind, and Neil suggested we look for the capercaillie instead. I was happy to do this, as I've never seen one. 

Despite an extensive walk through the woods where it lives, conversations with Marcus Conway and his group of adventurers, we never laid eyes on the capercaillie, so that remains one to get. 

So it was back to the cresties, only this time, Neil had allowed me to drive up, to spend as much time on site as I wanted. Which I duly did. 

The snow had eased and with it the gales had dropped. Low light again, but with the snow to provide ambient reflections of what light there was, decent conditions. 

Moving the feeders around, I chose a wide array of perches and had great success at most. 

It was cold though, and with frequent sleet showers, I was glad of the warm clothing and handwarmer to keep me going. 

Eventually, the rain came again and didn't look like leaving, so I did instead. Back to the warmth and shelter of the cabin, for a review of the hundreds of images taken that day. 

After a wild night (weather!) it was an early start to meet up with Andy (a friend from Twitter) to go in search of ptarmigan over on the west coast. Despite living in Scotland, neither he nor his friend accompanying us had winter tyres on their cars, so it fell to me to pilot the Yeti over there. Took a bit longer than usual (for Andy) as the roads were covered with snow, but we eventually parked up on the top of the mountains overlooking Applecross. A hotspot for ptarmigan apparently and we had some fantastic light too. 

Unfortunately we also had some hurricane-force gusts of wind too, and I found it a real struggle to walk only a few hundred metres to the summit. The wind literally blew you off your feet at times, and with solid ice underfoot, it was a miracle I didn't fall over. 

Sadly the ptarmigan failed to show - we found some tracks and also saw a pair of golden eagles, which were probably hunting the same birds as we were, but when a blizzard rolled in and we found ourselves clutching at rocks being battered by ice, snow and freezing temperatures, we thought it was wise to call it a day. Another one for next time... 

We stopped on the way back to grab some shots of deer beside the road. So it wasn't a complete failure on the photo front... 

Have to say though, the Paramo jacket and Stealth Gear trousers combo, in such conditions were amazing. I didn't feel cold (apart from my hands) at all - I was actually slightly too hot! Worth the money for sure! 

I had planned to leave on Thursday to avoid late week traffic, but had been considering hanging round if the weather was decent, but raising the blinds revealed snow falling softly, and was my cue to leave for home. 

A well planned trip which yielded some excellent results and as usual with Scotland, left me wanting so much more.