Phil McLean Nature Photographer Blog

Here’s a few more images that I took with the macro lens,as I walked Ollie down to the river.All of the images were taken along a 30 metre stretch of the track,which just goes to show that if you slow down and Really look,there are images to be had everywhere and without having to trek for miles.

Common Blue f,butterfly.

Common Blue f,butterfly.

Common Blue f,butterfly.

Bumble bee on scabious.

Seedheads abstract.

Grasshopper.

Painted Lady butterfly feeding,with little friends.

Painted Lady butterfly feeding.

Painted Lady butterfly feeding.

August is a great month to get up into the Lammermuir Hills.The major downer,of course, is that the grouse shooting season begins on the 12th but the hillsides are covered with various shades of purple and are transformed.The heather is in flower and as well as being a beautiful sight,the sweet scent can be intoxicating.At times you can taste the honey on the breeze…and I love honey.Of course alot of the breeding birds have left by this time but the red grouse remain and usually you can find a few amongst the heather,to give you a more pictorial image with all the colour.

Here’s a few to start with.

Red Grouse in flowering heather.

Just before the last of the visiting breeding birds left the Lammermuir Hills, I took a quick drive up the hill road with Ollie in the back.There wasn’t alot to see but we did come across these young starlings and this curlew.

Young Starlings,coming in to land on fence.

Squabbling young starlings.

Curlew,half asleep but keeping an eye on me.

Relaxed Curlew.

Curlew preening.

I recently dusted off the macro lens and here are a few of the images that I took while walking Ollie down to the River Whiteadder,here in the Scottish Borders.

Two quick visits to the Lammermuir Hills,here in the Scottish Borders and Ollie and I managed to get these few images.It was a particularly breezy day when I photographed the Red Grouse but a calmer,brighter evening when the Oystercatcher posed for me.

Oystercatcher posing on a fence post.

Posing on a drystone wall.

Female Red Grouse in the cotton grass.

Breezy.

I don’t do alot of flower photography but when I saw an image of Northern Marsh Orchids posted by Ronnie Richardson lately,I thought that I had to give it a go.So having got the rough location from Ronnie,off I set with my 300mm and my macro lens.Ollie had to stay in the back of the car,as four hairy paws and delicate plant stems don’t tend to mix too well,while I spent an enjoyable hour or two taking pictures.There were not only N.M. Orchids but also Twayblade,another member of the orchid family.

Here are some of the images.

To see some of Ronnie’s images,go to:http://www.ronaldrichardsonphotography.co.uk/

Amongst the buttercups.

The buttercups provide a lovely backdrop.

Some of the N.M.Orchids had spotted leaves.

Take away dish lid used as a reflector,to give more detail to this close up.

Lighter twayblade against darker background,darker N.M.Orchid against lighter background.

Close up of the more delicate Twayblade flowers.

Pair of Twayblade flower stems with buttercup background.

The lighting helps to separate the twayblade plants from the background.

N.M.Orchid with spider,and buttercup background.

Here’s a few images from a Duns Camera Club meeting at Duns Castle lake one evening and an image from a walk along the River Whiteadder with Ollie.

Looking bedraggled during the summer moult.

Mallards,with selective focus and sharpening on the females’ head.

Mute Swan family pano.

Backlit Cygnet.

Mute Swan feeding.

Coot,through the bankside vegetation.

Diipper above the river in dappled light.

My photographic excursions are too few and far between these last few months.So when I do get out,I’m tending to go to the places I know there will be subjects to photograph.All very frustrating,but here’s a few more images from the Lammermuirs.

Curlew calling,in habitat.

Meadow Pipit singing in the heather.

Meadow Pipit singing.

Strutting Curlew.

Curlew in habitat.

Ollie was checking out the best paddling pools as we walked down by the River Whiteadder,not that there’s many as the river is so low at the moment,and I sensed a pair of beady eyes watching us from above.I looked up the rockface overlooking the river and this was the face that looked back.

One of the most attractive birds to breed up in the Lammermuir Hills,in the Scottish Borders,is the Golden Plover.Ollie and I came across a couple of different individuals but the one in the cotton grass was in a particularly attractive setting,I think.

Here are some of the images.

The male in the cotton grass.

The male on rough grassland.

The female.

The male calling amid the cotton grass.

Calling in the cotton grass.