Ptarmigan and mountain hares

A wee break in the storms early march - Coronavirus was out there in a small way - travel was still permitted. and hotels had cracking deals so with the boss we went up north for a little break.Of course I took a camera with me :)

We stoped off at a spot past Dalwhinnie where mountain hares were seen and was accessible from the car with a short walk in.. Grabbed these with the Fuji XT3 and 100-400mm after crawling a bit in the melted snow and heather. The spring time is the easiest time to spot the hares, as they still have their winter coat on and stand out against the darker brown heather that is revealing itself in the thaw.

Video below of the trip -

Get in touch if you want to book a 1 to 1 trip to photograph mountain hares this coming winter (pandemic allowing)

Ptarmigan - (& Red grouse)

Another iconic winter species . The Rock Ptarmigan - a wee bird, a little larger than a partridge. It is exclusively found in the Scottish Highlands. Mature birds eat seeds, berries, nuts and leaves, while juveniles also eat invertebrates. They are renowned for turning white in winter to match the snowy landscape - and boy do they match it well.

These photos are taken up in the Northern Corries - Cairngorm.I spent a good 3 hours trying to find this one - incredibly lucky to find it, as I was giving up and the weather was turning on me. Fantastic to watch and follow for a bit - definitely re-visiting next winter if I can, to spend more time with them.

On the walk down we spotted a couple of Red grouse which was a nice surprise. .

Click on images to get full sized. Give me shout if you are keen to do 1-1 trip up north for these wonderful and difficult to spot birds