Scotland 2008

In May this year I spent some time volunteering for the RSPB in Scotland, at the trust's Vane Farm reserve, near Kinross. It is in a beautiful setting on the south shore of Loch Leven (the largest lowland Loch in Scotland) and with good road links to Perth in the north and Edinburgh to the south, its also quite accessible. During my stay on the reserve and in between working, I found time to photograph both there and further afield.

Mute Swan on Loch Leven (Cygnus olor) with Bishop Hill and Scotlandwell in the distance

Mute Swan on Loch Leven (Cygnus olor) with Bishop Hill and Scotlandwell in the distance

Taken on my final night at Vane Farm, looking out across one of the lagoons to a wind farm on the Ochill Hills

Loch Leven from the Heritage Trail.

Ploughed field at the eastern end of Loch Leven

Taken from the kitchen window at Vane Bothy... The bird feeders were well used, especially by Goldfinches, who seemed to top the hierarchy over the other birds at the feeder.

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

During my stay on the reserve, the courtyard at Vane was home to many nesting birds, all of which chose to nest in unusual places, but none more unusual than a pair of Great Tits that chose to nest in this cigarette bin. They even appeared on the local news and in the tabloid newspapers.... Maybe they were looking for their 5 minutes of fame.

View from the summit of East Lomond looking towards West Lomond. These are the Lomond Hills in Fife, not to be confused with mountains by the shore of Loch Lomond.

'Lady's Tower', Ellie, Fife.... This was built for Lady Jane Anstruther as a bathing house, where as a naturist she could bath in privacy away from the residents of Elie.... Incidently the village of Elie along with its neighbour Earlsferry form part of the East Neuk of Fife - a beautiful coastline containing a number of Scotland's Blue Flag beaches.

Male and Female Eider Ducks (Somateria mollissima), Ellie Harbour, Fife

The following photos were taken at Glen Turret, one of the southernmost tips of the Highlands in Perthshire. Glen Turret is famous for Loch Turret - the reservoir that supplies the water for the 'Famous Grouse' scotch whiskey distillery which lies further down in the valley near the town of Crieff.

Male Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)

Short Eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

At the other end of the Glen lies the mountain of Ben Chonzie, which at over 3000ft qualifies as a 'Monroe', and as I discovered is probably one of the best places to photograph mountain hares in this country.

Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus)

Ben Chonzie summit with Cairn