Back to Scottish Wildlife

Posted byMichael CookPosted in1. Scotland & UK, Coast, Islands, LowlandsTags:, , , , , , , , ,
Red-backed shrike perched on a branch in Scotland. Back to Scottish Wildlife.

Having returned from our epic eight month tour of Latin America in August, I have now been back in Scotland for 4 months.

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With work to get stuck into, family and friends to catchup with and a transition to manage wildlife (and therefore blogging) has taken a bit of a back seat. But I thought I would end the year with another post sharing what we have seen the last few months (including 3 UK lifers) and my hopes for 2025.

The first UK lifer after my return was a very obliging Steppe Grey Shrike which turned up at a golf course near Dunbar. This is currently only a subspecies of Great Grey Shrike which I have seen in Morocco. This was just about the easiest lifer I have ever had if you discount the drive to get there. Turn up in a car park, spot half a dozen birders with scopes 100 meters away, walk towards them and I could see the bird on a wall before I even got there. It made frequent forays for insects but the best shots were when it was on the wall throwing the backdrop out of focus.

  • Loggerhead Shrike perched on a rock, close-up. Gray and white bird with black mask.
    Steppe Grey Shrike
  • Grey and white Northern Shrike perched on a rock, looking left.
  • Loggerhead Shrike bird perched on a rock, looking over its shoulder.
  • Loggerhead Shrike perched on a lichen-covered rock, gray head and white breast.
  • Loggerhead Shrike perched on a rock. Gray and white bird with black mask.
  • Grey shrike bird perched on a rock, with a black eye stripe and grey and white plumage.

Shortly after this I noticed on BirdGuides that a Spotted Sandpiper had turned up in Fife at Cameron Resevoir. I had seen dozens of these already this year in Central America from Mexico to Panama but I did still want it for my UK and Scottish lists. It took a while to find but we caught it in flight and followed it to the shore. Ironically I now have Spotted Sandpiper on my UK list but not Common Sandpiper as they had all gone by the time I got back.

  • Sandpiper bird perched on rocks near water, with white underbelly and brown feathers.
    Spotted Sandpiper
  • Spotted sandpiper standing on a rock in shallow water near green reeds.
  • Spotted sandpiper foraging on a rock in shallow water near vegetation.

In October we took a few days break on the Isle of Arran. Ferry reliability and the weather conspired to limit our time on the island and I was pleased to find 2 Mediterranean Gulls on the beach at Troon before we set off and also some Purple Sandpipers.

  • Resting Bonaparte's gull in shallow water, showcasing its white body and reddish beak.
    Med Gull
  • Seagull standing on one leg in shallow water, reflecting in the ripples

Whilst still on the mainland I photographed a pair of Stonechat and a messy Hooded Crow (hybrid?). From the ferry I kept scanning for gulls hoping for something exciting – Sabines – but had to settle for a Kittiwake.

  • Female Stonechat perched on a dried plant stem, with a blurred green background.
    Female Stonechat
  • Female European Stonechat perched on a thorny branch. Small brown bird with orange breast.
  • Stonechat bird perched on a thorny branch, showcasing its orange breast and black head.
    Male Stonechat
  • Hooded crow standing on a rocky ground near dried plants, dark plumage with grey patches.
    Hooded Crow
  • Bonaparte's Gull soaring over the ocean, showcasing its distinctive wing pattern.
    Kittiwake

Once on the island, we saw the usual suspects on the shoreline and it was nice to remind myself of the UK birds. I kept going to South American birds like Neotropic Cormorant as my first guess which was funny. Takes some unlearning.

  • Harbor seal resting on a rock in the water
    Common Seal
  • Harbor seal resting on a rock in the ocean water.
  • Redshank bird perched on seaweed, with bright orange legs and a reddish beak against a blurred background.
  • Redshank bird standing on seaweed at the beach, orange legs visible
  • Redshanks wading near water's edge, orange legs visible
  • Cormorant swimming in dark water, its long neck extended
    Cormorant
  • Curlew wading in marshland with redshank birds in the background
    Curlew
  • Two Eurasian oystercatchers wading in shallow water
    Oyster Catcher
  • Brown hare sitting in a grassy field, camouflaged in the green and yellow vegetation.
    Hare

Probably the best bird we saw on the Island was a female type Hen Harrier (Ringtail). We were driving at the time and by the time we had parked up for a photo it was gone. Along the shore big numbers of Rock and Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails were to be found.

  • Meadow Pipit bird perched on a concrete edge near green grass.
    Rock Pipit
  • Meadow Pipit bird standing on grass, brown streaked plumage.
  • Meadow pipit bird standing on green grass against a blurred blue background.
  • Kittiwake perched on a rock near water. A seabird resting by the shore.
    Black-Headed Gull
  • Pied wagtail bird with black and white plumage standing on a textured surface.
    Pied Wagtail
  • Black and white wagtail bird standing on a textured surface, looking towards the viewer.
  • Pied wagtail bird standing on gray pavement, black and white plumage, long tail.

At Lochranza the red deer had come down low to forage around the golf course. Driving further south I was looking for divers but had to settle for a neat male Goosander. This coast had lots of Buzzards flying and occasional Ravens too. Looking out to sea we saw a Minke Whale surface about 6 times but I never was quick enough to get on it with the camera. But in my efforts I did accidentally photograph a Porpoise which I only noticed when I looked at the photo later.

  • Red deer hind standing alert in a grassy field, looking to the side.
    Red Deer
  • Alert red deer hind standing in a grassy field, looking towards the camera.
  • Alert red deer hind standing in a grassy field, looking towards the camera.
  • Male Common Merganser swimming in rippled water. Black head, red bill, and white body.
    Male Goosander
  • Buzzard perched on a wooden post, looking alert
    Buzzard
  • Buzzard in flight over a field
  • Buzzard soaring in flight against a blurred hillside backdrop.
  • Brown hawk soaring in flight against a blurred background of grassy hills.
  • Buzzard in flight over a stone wall, wings spread, hunting in a grassy field.
  • Buzzard soaring in flight over a stone wall, wings spread, hunting for prey.
  • Harbor porpoise swimming in choppy ocean water
    Harbour Porpoise

My third and final UK lifer of the year was a Red-Backed Shrike which again turned up near Dunbar. After the Steppe relative a few months previously I think I was expecting an easy find and it was anything but. I walked around a woodland for a couple of hours coming across other birders doing the same. I considered leaving but decided to give it one more go and check a track I had not been on yet. And there it was being very Shrike-like. It was such a thrill to find it after a real hunt and to have to find it myself and not just follow the angles of the scopes of birders already in situ. It performed well for photos and I was able to share the location with several other birders too which is always satisfying.

  • Red-backed shrike perched on a twig. Bird with brown head and white chest with light brown markings.
    Red-Backed Shrike
  • Pancakes with dripping syrup, a brunch favorite.
  • Red-backed shrike perched on a branch with a blurred yellow background
  • Red-backed shrike perched on a branch, showcasing its brown and white plumage.
  • Female Red-backed Shrike perched on a twig, displaying its brown and white plumage.
  • Red-backed shrike perched on a branch, looking left. Birdwatching image.
  • Red-backed Shrike perched on a branch, a common European bird.
  • Female Red-backed Shrike perched on a twig, showcasing its brown and white plumage.
  • Red-backed shrike perched on a twig, detailed feathers and brown plumage visible.

With a paltry 127 birds on my UK year list (well 4 months) I took my world list to 1545 for the year. This is massively my best year to date and will probably be the high mark of my birding life. Looking ahead I plan to share some more posts about local wildlife in the new year. I have set up another wildlife camera in Menstrie Woods and have a new Hikmicro Falcon Thermal Monocular to add to my toolkit.

Hope you all have a great holiday season and happy nature experiences in 2025!

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Published by Michael Cook

Wildlife Photographer based in Scotland

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