Tag: scotland

  • Back to Assynt

    Back to Assynt

    I was in Assynt on the west coast again last week to get footage of the red deer rut for my latest Opticron video. If I wasn’t already in the mood for autumn, there’s nothing like roaring stags, soggy fungi and fiery bracken to get me even more excited for the dark half of the…

  • September Roundup

    September Roundup

    I say this every month… but honestly what a month! We’re moving towards my favourite time of year – there were still some randomly hot days in September but autumn is definitely in the air now. This morning I crunched through my first frost since February and it was finally cold enough for my mittens.…

  • Mindful Creative Retreat – Day 3

    Mindful Creative Retreat – Day 3

    For the last day of the mindful creative retreat, we began in Burgie Arboretum. The grass was soaked with dew and I soon regretted not bringing my wellies! Still, fungi loves damp ground and we soon spotted one of my favourites: amethyst deceivers. These lovely mushrooms are bright purple, and in contrast to the usual…

  • A Cabin on Stilts

    A Cabin on Stilts

    I can’t believe we’re almost halfway through the year already! June has flown by… I spent the whole of last week on the west coast of Scotland for an MA assignment. I had to organise a self-led trip and two of my previous plans had already been cancelled, so it was a relief to finally…

  • Mammal Month

    Mammal Month

    What a month! It’s usually birds that take up most of my camera’s memory card, but over the past few weeks I’ve been lucky enough to get some fantastic mammal sightings, including the second rarest carnivore in Britain… Badger Recently I visited a friend’s private hide. I arrived at 2:30pm and enjoyed squirrels, siskins and…

  • Picking up a Paintbrush

    Picking up a Paintbrush

    Painting always takes a backseat for me. Writing and photography take up all of my creative time and energy, and as a result I barely ever get round to painting even though I love it. The second I actually set out my equipment and get started, I spend hours doing it! The other obstacle is…

  • The Whisper of a Stream

    The Whisper of a Stream

    Once restrictions were eased in Scotland and I was given a precious piece of freedom to venture outside of my county of Moray, I planned a day trip to the Cairngorms. One of my favourite sounds is the whisper of a stream in a forest – it’s the epitome of fairytale magic for me. So…

  • An Easter Weekend of Firsts

    An Easter Weekend of Firsts

    Despite the cocktail of sun, rain, hail and snow all in four days I managed to have an excellent Easter weekend of wildlife watching. I heard my first chiffchaff this week, which can only mean spring is on its way despite the occasional blizzard! Osprey season has begun and I spotted my first of the…

  • Sixth Birthday

    Sixth Birthday

    Six years ago today I started On The Wing. In some ways it feels even longer than that, especially when I rummaged through the archive and found my first ever blog post – I was still in school! I had my whole BA ahead of me and little did I know I’d then go onto…

  • Harbour Happenings

    Harbour Happenings

    Last week on one of my many coastal walks I glanced down to see a pair of fulmars perched on an earthy shelf on the headland. Fulmars are one of my favourite seabirds so I was delighted that there was a possible mating pair setting up shop on my daily walking route. They were cackling…