Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)
Posted by: Phil
A distinctive and noisy wader which can be found around the coastline of Britain and Ireland, during the nesting season they prefer undisturbed shores. The combination of black and white plumage, long pink legs and bright red bill make the identification of this wader unmistakeable and a favourite of many folk.
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Posted by: Phil
Taken recently at Loch Spelve, this summer visitor can be seen between the months of April and August invariably at the margins of lochs and rivers. This is a bonny wader with an elongate tail end. It adopts a horizontal stance and bobs its body up and down. It flies just a few feet above the water.
Mute Swan
Posted by: Phil
Widespread throughout Britain and Ireland the Mute Swan is a large and very distinctive bird which likes to nest besides lakes and rivers. This is the mother and her four cygnets which has charmed the residents of Lochdon in the past couple of weeks. The male is never too far away proudly overseeing his family.
Sunrise near Lochdon, Isle of Mull
Posted by: Phil
An early morning 5am image from a few days ago. The light bathed the fields and water with a warm glow though the clouds very quickly burnt away as the sun rose.
Red Deer in velvet
Posted by: Phil
The Red Deer is the largest species of deer to be found in Britain and the Isle of Mull has a very healthy population. The stags have antlers which grow in the Spring and have a soft covering known as velvet which protect the newly forming bone, this can be clearly seen in the image below.
The antlers grow at the rate of 2.5cm per day and are testosterone driven for the approach of autumn by which time they have calcified in readiness for the forthcoming rut. After the rut has ended these testosterone levels drop and consequently the antlers stop growing and eventually fall off.
In the wild Red Deer can live up to a period of 15 years.
The antlers grow at the rate of 2.5cm per day and are testosterone driven for the approach of autumn by which time they have calcified in readiness for the forthcoming rut. After the rut has ended these testosterone levels drop and consequently the antlers stop growing and eventually fall off.
In the wild Red Deer can live up to a period of 15 years.
Website Recommendation - Alain Briot
Posted by: Phil
I am a great admirer of the photographic work of Alain Briot based in Arizona. Throughout his website there is much to be admired, from the quality of his Fine Art Photography to the excellent and informative tutorials and podcasts.
It is well worth a visit at Beautiful-Landscape.com
It is well worth a visit at Beautiful-Landscape.com