In these magical times of not actually going on holiday to search for new things, I continued my virtual trips down memory lane by looking at a few old (and relatively not-old) Scottish albums from the last 10 years to see if there was anything worth slapping on here. Turns out there wasn’t, yet here I am anyway. Desperate times I guess. I’ve spent, in various sized chunks, around half of the last 10 years either working, living, or semi-living in Scotland. Despite not being the world hub of herping activity, I’ve seen a few nice sights including my only melanistic Adder (err yep you guessed it, no photos) and had a Common lizard snuggle into my hand for warmth one snowbound April day in the Cairngorms. But birds have been the thing that have kept me going, and raptors in particular have provided some of my most amazing moments in this time. So, if you like seeing blurry silhouettes of the handful of species that have yet to be shot, trapped, and poisoned into oblivion (or those that are still struggling with their minor comebacks from all these wholesome human activities), then I envy you, as you’re in for a treat…I’ve not included any photos of sheep or Red grouse. You’re welcome.
The mountains, lochans and the “tundra” of the Outer Hebrides have been, for me, by far the best place in Britain for encounters with some of our most majestical species. If you can’t appreciate a Golden eagle swirling over a ridgeline in the mountains of Harris, well, you’ll probably fit in well with the general mindset of the “guardians” of our upland areas who also prefer them not to be there. Lucky for some of us, there are still some left, and the Hebs are a particular stronghold within Scotland.
Now remember, I never promised quality.. Most raptor flight photos here are video stills, but as I don't really have the ‘tinternet quality to upload videos, well this is what we’re left with! I’ve always liked a good silhouette anyway, and for the most part that is the reality of raptor watching, and I like that. And it does make the odd better view all the more rewarding.
If the below images do nothing else, they at least show the size difference between Ravens and Golden eagles. Seemingly in a respectful truce at this moment, the Raven knows that he’s still firmly on the menu for another day.
And an even more impressive size difference is evident between the usually pretty big looking Herring gull, and the ridiculously big White-tailed eagles of the Western Isles.
Some more tundra-dwellers that are always a pleasure to see, and even more so in breeding colours on their chilly northern breeding grounds (would be even more of a pleasure if I could get a clear photos of them); Black-throated diver, Dunlin, and Golden plover.
A few more Golden eagles...
As great as the eagles are, and as magical as it is to hear the calls of Black-throated and Red-throated divers in the gloaming of the seemingly endless June twilight on the northern isles, they’re not my favourites. Hen harriers have held that spot for me since my first really good sightings of them 10 years ago when I first had the opportunity to live and work in the Highlands. I could ramble about these upland ghosts all day, and I’ve got shockingly few decent photos of them so I’d actually need to if I wanted to fill in a bit of space on the subject. But for now just a couple of snaps taken from distance at a not-so-secret spot in southern Scotland.
I’ll hopefully add to this if I can wangle some better stills out of my bijillion videos that I’ve still not properly gone through. But that’ll do for now. In summary, for now Scotland still has a few more big raptors to see than England, despite that same shoot first ask no questions later mentality of landowners and countryside workers nationwide. What a nation we live in....
