Picture of the Month for February is a female Red Grouse taken during my second Glenshee trip.  Unlike last month I didn't have a lot of choice because I didn't get out as much in January as I did in December.  That said I am still happy with my Grouse and Hare shots I got in January.  In the area I photograph my Red Grouse there are very few high points for the Grouse to stand watch from.  Fortunately there is a dry stane dyke that is often used as a lookout post.  This female and a male were doing just this.  Unfortunately the male was too close to the car to allow me a decent photograph but I quite like this shot of the female poking out from behind a stone.

Cheers

Neil

Yesterday I spent a very pleasant day in the Highlands photographing Red Grouse and Mountain Hare in some beautiful winter sunshine.  With it being winter the sun doesn't rise very high in the sky and as a result the ensuing light is a nice soft yellowy -orange.  This is ideal for my wildlife photography.

 Male Red Grouse have combs over their eyes which they can fill with blood meaning that they are more prominent.  They do this to attract females in order to breed with them.  January is a great time to photograph the grouse because the males have filled their combs with blood and their plummage is particularly bright because it is in January that they begin to try to impress the females.

Mountain Hare as the name suggests live in the mountains and hills.  Their territory is white with snow in the winter and brown in the summer so the Hare are too.  I have photographed Mountain Hare in the past when their coats have been brown in the summer but until yesterday I hadn't had the chance to photograph them in Winter. 

With this winter being mild there was very little snow on the hills (even still there were people skiing on brown snow!).  This made the Hare easier to spot in a rock fall.

Here are a few shots from the day

Cheers

Neil

Happy New Year!!

Picture of the Month for January is a Red Squirrel.  This was a tough choice because I had a really good month and got Capercaillie, Crested Tits, Red Squirrels and various garden birds in the snow in December.  I chose the Red Squirrel because it wasn't the obvious choice.  It was great to watch them as they have so much character and are very very cheeky.  One Squirrel even ran up my tripod leg and along my lens!

I hope you all have a great 2012

Neil

There are some birders and photographers who work from a list and once they see something they tick it off the list and don't try to find it again.  I am definitely not one of these people.  Once I have shots of something I am constantly trying to improve on them (I have thousands of Dipper and Heron shots for example).  For one group of birds though I have strived to get a full house - a shot of every bird in the species group.

Obviously the more you are out and about the more you see.  A few years ago I got my first good shots of a Red Grouse.  This was closely followed by Ptarmigan.  When I learnt of a Black Grouse site about 2 years ago I started thinking I could get shots of all 4 Scottish grouse species.  In February 2011 I got my Black Grouse shots so all that was left was the hardest to find, the Capercaillie.

I have been after Capercaillie for a long time and I caught my first glimpse of one a few weeks ago.  I was back up north yesterday and did a bit better!  Full house complete!

Here are a few shots

Cheers

Neil

Yesterday I spent a very enjoyable day near Aviemore photographing Red Squirrels and Crested Tits.  These are two subjects I have photographed before but I have never photographed Red Squirrels in the Winter when they have their big ear tufts.  I have only photographed Crested Tits once before but not with the same success as yesterday. 

Both species have a lot of character, the squirrels are very cheeky and the tits are very vocal!  This is quite handy because it means that you know when they are around so you can be ready to photograph them. 

Here are a few shots from yesterday.  Have a good Christmas folk!

Neil

I hope this post finds you all in the Christmas mood and not too depressed that there are only 13 shopping days left.  For those of you who are still out there hunting for the perfect gift I may have it for you.

I recently had some work exhibited in a local gallery and now that the exhibition is over these two prints are looking for a home.  They feature two of Scotland's most iconic landscapes, Buachaille Etive Mor and Rannoch Moor.  They are framed in a silver leaf frame and are approximately 34 x 24 inches so a good size to put on any wall.  They are priced at £200 each including delivery anywhere in Central Scotland.

Thanks

Neil

Picture of the Month for December is a Teal.

November was a very quiet month in terms of photographing native wildlife.  I had my trip to Bavaria at the beginning of the month but other than that I took very few photos.  I took a few of the geese migration and this Teal.  I was fortunate to find him in nice evening light.  December should be a better month with plans to photograph Crested Tit, Red Squirrel and Ptarmigan.

Neil Mackie Photography 2012 Calendars are now available.  These are great gifts for Christmas and feature photographs of 12 Scottish species taken in 2011 by me.  Calendars are priced at £15 each and if you would like one please get in touch using the contact form and I will then be in touch for payment.  Deadline for Christmas orders is this Friday, December 2nd.  Calendars can be ordered after Friday but I can't guarantee Christmas delivery.  Here is a wee preview


Thanks

Neil

Well I am just back from a whirlwind trip to Bavaria to photograph Wolves, Bears and Lynx.  I have over 1500 shots to go through but I thought I should get some shots on here.  These may not be my best shots from the trip but they are 3 I liked at first pass through them.  The Lynx was particularly difficult because like all cats all it seemed to do was eat and sleep.  I'm afraid I am quite tired after a 16 hour day yesterday so I will let the shots do the talking!

Picture of the Month for November is a Red Deer stag.  This is the same stag as appears further down the blog.  He had gathered a group of hinds and was defending them against me.  He stood staring at me for about an hour before he decided I was no threat so he lay down to graze.

Afternoon all,

I had a lovely day yesterday at the Popinjay Wedding Fayre in Rosebank.  Thank you to Denise and her staff for their hospitality - especially for the tasty canapes!!

Also thank you to everyone who attended it was lovely to speak to you all.

Cheers

Neil

Majestic. One word, Two photographs, two completely different subjects.

Yesterday I got up at 4:15am to head to Glen Etive to try and get some photos of rutting Red Deer. I set off with two shots in mind. Firstly I wanted a shot of a stag with his head back bellowing. I particularly wanted this shot because I like the way that when a stag bellows he tilts his head back and I like the angle this creates between his antlers and his neck and body. The second shot I wanted was a shot of two stags just as their antlers collide. I really wanted to show the raw power these majestic beasts have.

Well it seems I was rather naïve. In the past whenever I have been in Glen Etive all of the hinds have been together. I assumed what would happen would be that this would still be the case and that there would be a dominant stag with them and others on the outskirts waiting to challenge. This was definitely not the case. I drove the whole length of Glen Etive and the hinds were in six groups. Three of these groups had a stag with them and of these three groups I only saw one stag chase off a challenger. It was just that, a chase. No challenge and no fight.

In the end I saw no fighting and the closest I came to a clash was when I tried to help a stricken camper push his car out of the mud. Me putting my shoulder against the rear of his car was probably the biggest exertion of power I experienced for the whole day!!

The first group I saw with a stag consisted of a young stag with two hinds. These three were right at the side of the road and were not bothered by me at all. As nice as it was to see the small group I wasn't going to get a shot I liked with them. The second group were far off across the heathland at Loch Etive. This was the stag I saw turning away a challenger. He appeared to have a good number of hinds with him but again no photos for me due to the distance.

The final group I saw proved to be the group I photographed the most. The stag had a group of seven hinds and there appeared to be another stag in the vicinity because he roared a few times. I didn't see the other stag but heard his replies. This group was gathered near a stream which leads into the Etive. On one side was the flat plain where they were grazing and the other was forest. I decided I wasn't going to get any great shots from the car so I decided to try and get closer using the trees as cover.

Now I don't know how many of you have been up close to a stag but they are big big beasties!! They are also very acute to what goes on around their hinds. Despite me wearing full Realtree camouflage and staying in the trees he clocked me straight away. I had to decide how brave I felt and I decided that I wasn't getting up at 4:15 for nothing! I carried on through the trees watching him as intently as he watched me. I reckoned I was safe as long as I was in the trees because the trees were too close together for him to get through with his antlers. Eventually I got as close as I dared and made my way to the edge of the trees and started shooting. He still knew exactly where I was and roared once to show who was boss. He then proceeded to paw the ground and I thought I was in trouble. I made a hasty retreat further into the trees but kept watching. He then set off at a canter in the opposite direction and I thought there may have been another stag nearby. He soon returned and moved the hinds further away from me and back towards my car. There was no other obvious stag in the area and I think he may have been trying to lead me away from his hinds.

I then returned to the car and spend some time taking portraits of him hoping he'd throw his head back and bellow some more. No such luck and when he decided to lie down I knew I wasn't getting lucky.

I then headed out of Glen Etive and just at the end of the road stands the majestic Buachaille Etive Mor. Every time I go to photograph it its wet or cloudy or both. Yesterday it was both but the sun made a quick appearance just as I was getting to the end of Glen Etive. Out I jumped and off to the famous spot, a few shots later and the rain was on again. You have to love the highland weather.

Anyway here are my two shots entitled Majestic

Well done if you made it this far!!

Neil

Two blog posts in a day.  I said I'd try and be busier in October!!

I spent yesterday (Saturday) in Glen Lyon with my brother who was kayaking with some friends.  It rained all day and I reckon I was wetter on the bank than the guys were who were on the river!

With the rubbish weather brought rubbish light and action photography was a challenge.  A fun challenge though.  Overall a good allbeit long day out.

Today (Sunday) was spent in Moffat at the Moffat Mill who hosted a wedding fayre for businesses in the local area.  Again it rained and unfortunately this resulted in a low turn out of brides to be.  It was still a good day and nice to see the people who made the effort to come out.  Thanks to Thomas and his team at the Moffat Mill for organising the fayre and providing tea and shortbread!!

Anyway here are a couple of photos of my brother kayaking the Lyon yesterday

Picture of the Month for October is a Nuthatch. This shot was taken at the end of the day, in a forest in very low light. In the past I just would not have been able to get this shot and it is testament to the modern DSLRs. It was taken at a Red Squirrel feeding station but unfortunately I didn't see and Squirrels this time. I'll just have to go back!

Good day in Strathaven today, nice to see so many people through the door.

Thank you to all who who stopped for a chat, particularly those who bought a print.

Cheers

Neil

Well I thought it was about time I started a blog.  It seems all the cool kids are doing it!!

My plan for the blog is to give regular updates from my trips and maybe add a photo or two.

August was a good month for me and my wildlife photography.  The month started quietly but things soon picked up.  I visited a favourite spot on the East Coast twice and got some of my best wader pictures to date including godwits, Turnstones, Curlew, Common Sandpiper and Redshank.  I will keep going throughout September as more and more birds will be flying in.

I also headed up north to try and photograph Pine Martens and Badgers.  Unfortunately the Pine Martens didn't show but I came away with my best Badger shots to date.

During a seperate trip to the Highlands I went in search of Ptarmigan.  I went with a good friend and we decided to try a different location to where we normally go for our Ptarmigan shots.  This proved fruitful but the birds are very very hard to spot at this time of year because they hide in big grey boulders and they look like a wee grey boulder themselves!!  Picture of the Month for September is of one such bird and we almost stood on it before it ran away from us.

My final trip in August was not a photographic one but turned out to produce some great photos.  I went exploring the north west coast of Scotland with two old school friends.  We had an enjoyable trip and there were many laughs.  I was lucky enought to spot a Black Throated Diver on Loch A Ghriama and fortunately managed to get quite close to it before it spotted me and swam out to the middle of the loch.  This is the first time I have photographed a Black Throated Diver.  Previously I have photographed Red Throated Divers and Great Northern Divers but never Black Throated so I was quite pleased.

If you've made it this far well done!!  As you can see I had a busy month.  I will try to get some images up soon

Cheers

Neil