Puffin drawing

A pencil drawing of an Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) based on a photograph taken on the Isle of May in 2006.



You can see a larger version on my main site :
www.fssbirding.org.uk/sketches.htm

Diversion - part 3: Accidents with glycerol and other substances

...then photographed with a Macro lens.

New drawings

After drawing this Whooper Swan with pencil I scanned it then transferred it to a grey background. This enabled me to obtain a similar same stand-out effect as the day I saw it against a dark Swedish forest in snowy conditions (without extra mundane and uninteresting sketching!) I opted for a lighter grey (dark cold blue in reality) so as not to overpower the ghostly image of the bird in flight.




This Tawny Owl drawing is based on a photograph of one of the breeding adults in Kensington Gardens in central London.

Eurasian Crane on Birdwatching Magazine

I was very happy to get a front cover photograph on this month's Birdwatching magazine. Below is the original shot, taken a point blank range from a hide at Hornborgasjön, Sweden in 2009 (Canon 500mm f4 L IS; shutter: 1/160; aperture: 4.0; ISO: 200).

Diversion - part 2: Taste

Before I get back to the birds, try some of these...











More here: www.fssbirding.org.uk/lightbox150.htm

Previously...
Diversion - part 1: Aqua

Back from Florida

I'm back from the Keys and it feels like I have been constantly away since late March! Well, expect much more regular updates now... Estonia trip report coming soon. For now here is a link to my main website with a short trip report on the Florida Keys.



www.fssbirding.org.uk/floridatrip2010.htm

In the mangroves of Florida Keys

I’m in Florida on field work in the Keys. Although I’ve not had a chance to do any proper birding yet, species noted from kayaking in the mangroves or on the drive along the Overseas Highway/US-1 include Brown Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird, Great White Heron, Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron, Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Bald Eagle, Willet, Royal Tern, Least Tern, White-winged Dove, Common Ground Dove, White-crowned Pigeon, Mangrove Cuckoo, Burrowing Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Gray Kingbird and Boat-tailed Grackle.

Below are a couple of photographs of an immature Double-crested Cormorant.

Otters in Strathardle

Writing a blog reminds you just how quickly time passes, particularly when posting on an annual event. I was in Perthshire again for a field course based at Kindrogan FSC field centre at Enochdhu last week and finally I saw some Otters (following Scottish Wildcat last year, and Pine Marten the previous year... or was it 2007?). I'm usually up in the woodland for several mornings of the dawn chorus which start around 0300h in the second week of June here, but one morning I was along the River Ardle and chanced upon these fine aquatic mammals. Other highlights included a Quail singing at 0307h on the 15th along with Osprey, Ring Ouzel, Dipper, Redstart, Crossbill and Mountain Hare. A short trip report summarising birds found over the week can be found on the main website here:
www.fssbirding.org.uk/kindrogantrip2010.htm

The Sound of Estonian Nights

Just got back from a trip to Estonia. Here is the typical sound of Estonia at night in early summer... Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) song echoing across the countryside. Sound recording here is really nice as there is far less noise pollution than in the British Isles. This bird is my favourite vocally after the Blackbird and much preferable to the western ranging Nightingale (L. megarhynchos)... it's delivery is so much cooler and laid-back and it has a better taste in habitats! This one was recorded just after midnight with a Sennheiser ME66/K6 (with Rycote Softie windshield kit) and an Edirol R-09HR.

Still, in this recording you can hear other species in the background and the snapshot sonogram below (click for bigger version) shows: the omnipresent (and very irritating) mosquitoes in the first four secounds at 0.2-1.2 kHz; a Corncrake which is rasping at 1.8-3.8 kHz; the continuous stitching reel of the River Warbler at roughly 4-8 kHz; and a distant barking dog between 5.5 and 6.7 seconds at 0.55 kHz.





Anyway, this is just a quick update to say I'm still here! More news to follow on Estonia's great birds such as Great Snipe, Citrine Wagtail, White-backed Woodpecker, Three-toed Woodpecker, Greenish Warbler and, of course, Eurasian Cranes.



View of Männikjärve raba - bog with Black Grouse and Wood Sandpiper.



Finland and Sweden have great bird observation towers but in Estonia they really know how to construct very tall ones!



Part of the 700 metre boardwalk at Sutlepa meri - excellent for getting close to Savi's Warblers and Bitterns booming in stereo in both ears!

Investigating Spain's Ecology

Here is some footage I filmed for UCLTV last month on the undergraduate field trip to Zahara de los Atunes in southern Spain. Bird-wise, only a Griffon Vulture features!

Eurasian Cranes at Hornborgasjön in Sweden

Finally, here are my photographs from Lake Hornborga of one of Europe's most impressive species (I may have a crane bias though!). I'm planning a trip to New Mexico in the winter (I know it currently still feels like winter here) to photograph the Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese at Bosque del Apache. The dream, one day, would be to go to Hokkaido in winter to photograph the Japanese Cranes in the snow!
All images are available to purchase as large, high-quality prints.
Larger and better quality versions can be viewed on my photo site:
http://www.frasersimpson-birdphotography.com/