Tails from Scotland

Just back from a week away in Dumfries and Galloway, and I must say, what a stunning place to visit. The landscape is beautiful, with a view around every corner, the coastline rugged and filled with nature, and birds and wildlife abound.

Whilst I did attempt to have a relaxing time as I really did need a break, I couldn’t resist trying to get my camera in front of some wildlife. One species I was really hoping to see was the Red squirrel, our native squirrel whose decline is well documented. This little russet rodent is still hanging on in there, and I’m really hoping the ongoing conservation efforts can save them. They really are gorgeous and it was a delight to watch their antics.

We visited Threave Garden near Castle Douglas on a very wet day, but the weather didn’t put these cuties off, who were very active and a real challenge to photograph.

Most of my photos ended up like this…

Maybe you could call it artistic? Squirrel in motion perhaps?

But I did manage to grab a couple of sharp shots.

I waited for a long time for the light to improve, but sadly it didn’t. We were treated to great views of a couple of Great spotted woodpeckers too, very handsome woodland specialists, who cut me a few nice poses!

I really hope I can go back again some day. A week wasn’t really long enough to explore this wonderful area!

Similar Posts

  • Hush Wing

    It’s 7.30AM and it’s snowing heavily. I’m questioning my reasoning behind stepping outside with my camera this morning, but with my new found determination to do more photography this year, I know I have to. I’ve been watching the Barn Owl’s on the fen and I know they’ll be out hunting at this time of…

  • Nearly but not quite

    Someone very wise once said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. It’s true, and that’s what we do as wildlife photographers. We visit the same spot again and again, hoping for that one moment when it all comes together. The light, the subject – we wait…

  • Hello Deer

    I’ve had a few new visitors to my blog recently, so I just wanted give you a warm welcome to my website, and also to introduce my local patch, where I do a lot of my photography – Redgrave and Lopham Fen. Redgrave and Lopham Fen is the largest remaining valley fen in England, and…

  • Paddy

    Since my last post, I’ve been spending a lot of time down at the Fen which is teeming with wildlife at the moment. Hoards of Teal and Snipe can be found throughout the reserve, but I’ve been unsuccessful in photographing them. The Snipe are simply too well camouflaged, I’ve lost count of the number of…

  • Footprints in the mud

    Winter is a great time for searching for tracks and signs of animals. These prints appeared in the garden recently, and setting up the remote camera showed they belonged to a rather handsome Muntjac deer. He’s a regular night time visitor now, finishing up the apple I put out for the Blackbirds. Take a look…

  • Project Turtle Dove

    As I write, it’s cold and dark and the rain is dripping down the window. The grey damp chill of a British winter is a far cry away from the heat of the savannah, which is where I imagine our Turtle doves are currently enjoying hours of hot sunshine every day. They are spending the…