August Blog

I wrote my blog whilst on holiday in Benbecula in The Outer Hebrides and I will start my blog from there.

I had a great holiday I always enjoy going up and visiting the usual places in Benbecula as well as North & South Uist, Berneray, & Eriskay. The wildlife is always worth it as well as the bird life. The first week was rather wet but still managed to do things the second week the weather got even better but I did see Short Eared Owls nearly every day. Sadly I didn’t get any pictures of birds on this holiday, I did think the bird life this year was rather quiet for some reason as well as Short Eared Owls I did see Oystercatchers, Eider Ducks,Skylark, Corncrake (heard it mostly) & Golden Eagles but this year didn’t see Sanderlings & Redshank but I also didn’t see any Lapwings at all until the last few days before I went home. Hopefully next year I might ssee more bird life it was still a great holiday.

Two weeks ago I was on my way to a dentist appointment and I could hear Swifts in the sky. I haven’t really seen a lot of Swifts this year so it was great to hear them however on my way home not only did I hear Swifts I also saw them flying around quite close so for the first time I managed to get decent shots that made my morning.

Recently my feeders have not had many bird activity on them I had filled them up before I went on holiday and when I came back they were still quite full so I decided to move the feeders they we’re hanging on the summer house before hand so put them back on my feeder pole down at the bottom of the garden and since then it has been attracting lots of Greenfinches as well as a Goldfinch it’s been fantastic because I have been filling up my feeders a lot more then I used to. It’s also been great to stand and watch them and get great pictures through my telescope.

Last week I went to my local patch Cammo Estate Nature Reserve I only saw two birds a Crow & Blackbird. Disappointed but it was also understandable because this time of year birds are hiding more because they are molting and growing new feathers after a busy breeding season they need to look their best for autumn. Though I didn’t see many birds I was happy insect watching and taking part in The Butterfly Count which I saw Small Whites & a Speckled Wood.

Also last week saw the amazing spectacle display of Gulls eating flying ants & insects in the sky it’s always great to watch.

My Birding outings are over for the month because I’ll be attending The Edinburgh Festival Fringe I have had a great Spring & Summer Birding so it will be Garden Birding for now and I’ll be back Birding again in September ready for the Autumn & Winter season.