I have been aware of Alan McFadyen’s Scottish Photography Hides based around Kirkcudbright for sometime and long fancied a visit. Their website boasts they are the Number 1 wildlife photography hides in the UK and there are few who would dispute this claim.
It was my birthday so some brisk negotiations with my wife and it was agreed that 3 days at Scottish Photography Hides would be my present this year. Everybody was happy and I had three days of wildlife photography to look forward to.
Day 1 – Friday
Our first session at Scottish Photography Hides was in the Sparrowhawk hide and indeed we very quickly had a female Sparrowhawk visit and two visits of a male. In the middle visit the male was harassed by a Red Kite and this meant the bird kept taking off and then returning to the post which enabled some good takeoff and landing shots. I really enjoyed spending a bit of time with one subject, dialling in the settings and seeking to improve on the shot. This isn’t something you normally get to do with wildlife encounters but it really does improve the photography.
Of course around the feeding stations there were more common woodland birds too, including Chaffinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Dunnock and Siskin. But the Jay, Woodpecker and Nuthatch were all strong subjects which I enjoyed photographing and I include some of the better photos of these here. Each of these are the best photos I have ever captured of these species. I was also starting to play a bit with birds in flight (see woodpecker flying towards me) and had time to get better at this key skill.
Next we were photographing Adder. I have seen Adder a few times in the wild but never spent time photographing one. I really enjoyed being on eye level with this subject and being able to take my time trying to get the forked tongue sticking out.
We did finish the morning session photographing Pied Flycatcher but the light was not as good so I returned to this subject on Day 3 and will include photos then. All in all a fantastic morning at Scottish Photography Hides and I was delighted with some of the pictures I had captured.
After an amazing wildlife filled morning at Scottish Photography Hides things were about to slow down somewhat. After lunch we visited a new hide where Alan had been reliably seeing a Fox and her cubs. We had to be completely silent to avoid spooking the Fox so it was a boring four hours with no chat in the hide and no Fox outside of it. We concluded afterwards that the mum was probably aware of our presence and extra cautious with the young cubs. So just like any photography hide you are not guaranteed sightings at Scottish Photography Hides either.
For the evening, we were revisiting the hide from the morning but this time looking for Tawny Owl and Pine Martin. Also Alan introduced us to his impressive flash setup which was included in the cost of the workshop. The Tawny Owl paid 3 visits and I captured some good shots but the Owl would turn up on day two and again I prefer these shots so will share them then.
Alan warned us that the Pine Martin might come after midnight but it was still a no show after midnight and with an early start I was last to leave the hide at 1am. It had been a day of famine or feast – a full on morning with so many lovely subjects and encounters contrasted with a very quiet (even boring) afternoon and fairly quiet evening – but this is nature. I can only begin to imagine what it would be like spending 3 months trying to film Snow Leopard, missing them and having to come back the following season!
Day 2 – Saturday
The next morning we were starting early with Red Squirrels. As well as getting cute portraits of this lovely animal we were also aiming to get photographs of them jumping. Alan had a setup to make this possible with many nuts which could only be accessed by jumping and a couple of markers to enable you to prefocus. It was a challenge but I ended up getting some shots about as good as my camera could capture in the light available (I was pushing the ISO to have fast enough shutter speed).
After lunch we were targeting Cuckoo and Redstart at Scottish Photography Hides. Alan used an audio lure to attract the Cuckoo and some photographers (and photograhy competitions) would take a dim view of this approach. It was good to see that Alan didn’t overuse this tho and we only got one shot at the Cuckoo. Again this was the best photos of Cuckoo I have ever taken and I was happy with by my ability to capture the landing.
Next up and the Redstarts at Scottish Photography Hides, these were much more relaxed as we had as long as we wanted to photograph this beautiful bird and both male and female putting in an appearance. For the male it was easy to blow the highlights with the white crown so under exposing a couple of stops was the order of the day.
In the evening we were back to the “forest floor” hide and hoping for day and night shots of badger and perhaps a visit again from the Tawny Owl. Looking back this was my favourite session of the visit to Scottish Photography Hides.
After a couple of hours waiting a badger poked its head out of the set briefly then disappeared. Then another brief sighting. Before long I counted a total of 9 badgers in one go. As well as the adults there were four cubs about which was great. I took a lot of photos but the light wasn’t too great so only included one daylight shot here of one parent and four cubs.
I then retreated to the night-time hide where again I was using Alan’s flash setup. I was the only one here by this time so had the hide to myself. Suddenly it all kicked off and I had to choose between photographing the badgers who were eating from the hollow log setup in front of the hide and the Tawny Owl which was taking bait from a nearby post.
The two badger shots above show what I love and what I am not so keen on about hide photography. First what I love – I have great photos of this beautiful animal and it was so easy with Alan’s flash setup and the thoughtful composition of his forrest floor setup. What I am less keen on?
Well everybody who comes here will take this shot or something like it. I was lucky to get two badgers at the same time but I bet everybody who does this session takes this shot and the skill level for the photographer is significantly replaced by the skill in creating the hide setup. But I will take it as it was a magical evening.
And of course in between taking hundreds of badger shots I also capture some great flash images of a lovely rufous morph Tawny Owl. I tried to capture it landing but was often pulled onto the badger and when the owl was arriving my settings were all wrong. But I captured one okay but not perfect shot – I will have to come back to Scottish Photography Hides to try this again.
Day 3 – Sunday
My final day at Scottish Photography Hides. A year ago today I was in Ecuador celebrating my 50th birthday with some fantastic birding. My 51st birthday I was out again photographing wildlife. We started photographing Stonechat and Whinchat and the odd Meadow Pipit that gatecrashed for the free mealworms on offer.
Then we visited another hide for Pied Flycatcher. Aware this was my last day I spent a long time with these birds trying to get perched and in flight shots. The light was much better than the first day which helped keep the ISO and noise down. I really could feel my shots improved as I started to get to know the behaviours of this bird and dial-in my settings for the inflight shots.
The plan for the afternoon at Scottish Photography Hides had been to try for the Fox and cubs again but they were not showing well, and then in the evening target Otters, which would be wonderful. However Alan had an alternative option which was a generous upgrade. Alan has recently setup a hide for Golden Eagle and the eagle had been seen the previous day. It would mean I would miss the Otter but I have taken good pictures of Otter before and how often do you get to see a Golden Eagle at close range. That would be a great birthday present.
So before long it was 4.30pm and I was sat in a fairly cramped hide with four other photographers. Alas, the eagle didn’t get the memo and at 10pm we were a sorry bunch walking back to the cars. This is nature, you win some and you lose some. Alan was very kind and has invited me back to the Eagle hide to have another chance free of charge. What a gent and I have something to look forward to. I also fancy a chance at Kingfisher, Otter and Pine Martin and might make another weekend of it.
So in conclusion these are great wildlife photography hides at Scottish Photography Hides. Real thought (and experience) has gone into creating this setup and you can literally photograph wildlife from dawn until dusk (well quite a bit after dusk with Alan’s flash setup).
The fieldcraft and composition skills needed to get great shots are significantly reduced and a developing photographer should really get a lot out of a visit here. But at the more advanced level you are also able to improve your craft too by working on capturing interaction, landing, take off and inflight shots. You can also really focus on getting to know your subject and maximising the settings you are using which in the field you often rarely get the time to review, improve and repeat but a hide setup makes this possible and can accelerate your learning.
For a review of another hide setup in Scotland see this Argaty Red Kites visit.
I think the standard and range of photos I achieved over one three day weekend really speaks for itself. I had a great time and I will be going back to Scottish Photography Hides and not just for the Eagles.
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