Pick of the year 2023 - part two 

The Western Isles

This the second of three summary posts of my trip to Scotland in 2023. As I mentioned in the previous post and repeat here, I had to do so much in the field that I seldom had time to upload posts to the Blog. So, now that it is the year's end, I have managed to organise and edit all the photographs I took during the year. This post, and the other two, illustrate some of the wildplaces I visited and wildlife I saw in Scotland in May and June. It was a wonderful trip and I covered so much ground, I can't cover everything here. 

Please browse through the pics below and join in my explorations. I haven't given away most of the locations, although I will share the one above which is of Heb Pods where I stayed for part of the trip, overlooking the Uig Sands on the Isle of Lewis. Lovely accomodation in a wonderful setting. 

Click on any of the photos to open them larger and follow the other photos as they link up.

  

More owls

 Adult female Short-Eared Owl



The are high numbers of grey-sided voles in northern Scandinavia at the moment and consequently the owls are breeding well, rearing large broods of chicks on the abundant food supply. Yesterday I saw Hawk Owls with a large brood, today I saw a brood of seven Short-Eared Owls.

 Short-Eared Owls have beautiful big yellow eyes



Owl chicks are of different ages, by a day or so between each. This is because the female begins to incubate as soon as the first egg is laid. In a brood of seven there is a large range of ages and sizes of the chicks. In this nest there were only four chicks still in the nest. The other three had wondered into the nearby shrubbery, which all helps to ensure that if the nest is brood are attacked by a predator, at least some chicks should survive.

Four owlets in the ground nest of a Short-Eared Owl

with a grey-sided vole at the side - supplied entirely

by the male bird