Ospreys and Red Kites in Scotland
I have been fascinated by Ospreys, since following some of the online 'nest-cams' at locations around the British Isles. Most of the locations are run by the RSPB, or Wildlife Scotland and many locations have purpose built hides, which are available to the public to watch these amazing birds. With a wingspan of 1.5 metres Ospreys are one of europes largest birds of prey and the only kind that exclusively eats fish. My first visit, was near to Castle Douglas, where I had been told there were a nesting pair. Although I did manage to locate the nest site, it was at least half a mile from them and simply not worth trying to photograph anything due to the distance. The following images were taken at my next location 'Loch of the Lowes' Wildlife Reserve in Perth, which was two hours north. Here, you can access two purpose built 'hides', overlooking the loch, but quite some distance from the nest site. I was using my 500mm lens with a 1.4 teleconverter, giving me 700mm