James Alan Moore's Nature Blog.

19 19 19

2012-01-28T01:16:00.001Z

I am patiently waiting for my big break in photography, which will come in the form of a call from National Geographic or BBC wildlife magazine. If the big break doesn’t come from them, then perhaps I’ll win the Wildlife Photographer of the year, or British/Scottish Wildlife Photography awards (come on, I’m allowed to dream).

Until then(whenever then is) I will keep my hand in by entering competitions at my local camera clubs in Cromarty and Dingwall. The latest competitions was at Cromarty where these three little beauties all scored 19 out of 20 with the last image of a Borneo sunset winning as the best overall image. (*Note to self, send bottle of malt to the judge and some treats for his guide dog). The other two images were second and third overall which is really excellent.

Other competition news came from the postman earlier in the week when a Royal Photographic Society silver medal arrived courtesy of an international exhibition I had entered last year. The winning image was a breaching dolphin calf taken off the Cromarty Sutors last summer. I am really chuffed with this as the standard in these competitions is really high.

As well as competitions, I am currently working on a presentation for Inverness Carema Club which I will give in February. To say I'm terrified is an understatement, hope they like it!

Happy days!

James

Mull of Kintyre

2012-01-22T21:59:00.002Z

I’ve just returned home from a windy weekend on the marvellous Mull of Kintyre. We stayed at the scenic Stonefield Castle Hotel near Tarbert as part of my 40th Birthday treat from my very generous (and lovely) wife. The weather was typically Scottish but gorgeous with it. A strong (very strong) westerly was coming in on the Saturday and putting up some amazing waves along the shore between Tarbert and Campbeltown. I would estimate that some of the rollers were as high as 15’ further out and were an amazing sight as the crashed against the rocks.

The majority of the weekend was taken at a snails pace and we feasted on fine food from the moment we arrived on Friday until our departure on Sunday. There’s not a lot to do at the hotel itself but it does boast beautiful scenery, well cared for gardens and some nice walks as well as being perfectly located for further exploration by car.

We took quite a detour on the way home on Sunday and eventually found our way to a seal sanctuary near Oban. It was home (sadly) to some captive seals and shoals of shimmering sea fish. I make it sound quite sad but the centre does loads of great work with sick and injured seals with many more returned safely to the wild than they have in the centre. It was also home to two very friendly Otter who appeared to be nuts for nuts. I am no fan of captive animals and it was sad to see these cute critters in an enclosure no bigger than an average garden. When we first looked for them there was no sign but another peek just before we left proved to be a good choice as they were both out to play as feeding time was fast approaching.

Isla and Lewis posing.

All pictures by my wonderful wife.

When I grow up I want to be......

2012-01-19T22:58:00.000Z

John McaPherson was Cromarty Camera Clubs guest speaker tonight and put on quite a show. Not only is he a great photographer, but he is also a superb speaker with loads of character and enthusiasm for his job. All this was great but what struck me about John was his story, or part of it. He used to work in a shipyard in the west end of Glasgow. I did too although I was on the opposite riverbank. He was also a Social Worker for a few years, which, by coincidence, is my current job.

The last bit of the link is that he, like me, has a passion for natural history photography and all the add-ons that go with it. John is part of the 2020Vision team and has the task of bringing the Moray Firth Dolphins to our living rooms as part of this mammoth multi media masterpiece that will appear in newspapers, exhibitions, TV shows and who knows what else over the next year (hopefully more). Now don’t get me wrong, I am not for one second comparing myself to John, far from it. What I am saying, I think, is that I would love to have the same skills and knowledge in my photography toolbox that John has. I’d also love a job like Johns; maybe I just need a break. John spoke about Chanonry Point and obviously feels the same way about the place as I do. I’ve met his before, shared a BBQ with mutual friends but I don’t know him. We know the same people and as I said, we are both mad about dolphins and everything that goes with watching them at Chanonry.

John had judged The Highland Challenge back in November, which is a photography competition between all (almost all) camera clubs in the Highland region. I never went but feedback from those who did go told of John being harsh in his scoring and ruffling a few feathers. John isn’t afraid to break the rules (of thirds) in his photography and his advice to CCC was good advice, take photographs for yourself, to enjoy, to share but not for judges and not by the rules.

Wise words.

Happy days.

James

Out of Doors.

2012-01-15T16:35:00.003Z

So it actually happened, we made our Radio debut, well I did anyway. Russell turns out to be a close friend of BBC Radio Scotlands Tom Morton after starring on his show afew years back to talk about the local music scene in Highland. Andrew hides his light and is very, very modest about the undoubted photographic talent he has.

Our 5+ minutes of radio fame went out on BBC Radio Scotlands Out of Doors programme on Saturday morning and in their repeat show on Sunday. They cut us down from 25 minutes of chatter and sound effects which had been recorded at Chanonry point on a bright and breezy day. It seems that quite a lot of folk heard it and feedback has been good. My son, Jack finds it quite amusing that his geeky father was on radio but I think/suspect that he's secretly pleased.

The impact of our appearance on the wireless has been instant with increased hits on our websites, a few book sales and the possibility of further press articles through a Radio Scotland listener.

Self publishing has been an interesting expierence and I will admit that there were times when I thought we were mad. We've not made a million, far from it nor have we had book sales to rival Jamie's cook book, but we have done well, very well. We have sold well over 1000 books and had coverage in the natonal press, Scots magazing and now national radio. We'll continue to do our bit for Black Isle tourism and of couurse for our own fame and fortune, who knows where it'll end but I for one am very proud of what we have achieved.

If you'd like to buy a copy then click here and follow the links to Eilean Dubh. Don't forget to tell Russell that I sent you and demand a signed copy!

Happy days!!

James

Face for the radio...

2012-01-10T20:53:00.003Z

My quest for fame, fortune and world domination gathered pace yesterday as the result of a chance e-mail to BBC Radio Scotland’s Out of Doors programme in the hope that they might run a feature on The Black Isle and our wonderful book which covers all its bases. The show, which airs (I even have the industry buzz words) every weekend features everything to do with the great Scottish outdoors from Salmon fishing to hill walking, sheep farming and wildlife conservation.

I listen to the show occasionally and am always amazed by how well they ‘set a scene’ with sound and description to give you, the listener a mental picture of the subject. We have agreed to meet at Chanonry Point during my lunch hour and the reason for this choice of venue was simple as this is the place that inspired me to take up photography after watching the amazing Moray Firth dolphins. I guess the venue will also add some atmosphere with the sound of the wind and waves and we might even see some dolphins although that’s no good to you, the listener without a good description.

Chanonry is for me, a very special place. I have met some great people (and Tim Stenton) there and witnessed some amazing displays of dolphin acrobatics, which will never leave me. Without getting all soppy and ‘hippy-ish’ on you, Chanonry has something extra, a feeling, an atmosphere that's special, a real sense of ownership comes across when I go and this place holds special memories for me and many thousands of people like me who have spent time there with their friends and loved ones. I have a vision in my mind as a write of a special couple playing with their young daughter who was making sand (shingle) castles, back and forward she went collecting sand, water and more water, sand and even more shingle, she played happily for ages with her parents watching on with adoring eyes. It’s a lovely memory for me and I’m sure it will be the same for the little girl.

I'm able to share my other memories from that same day, as the dolphins never let us down. This is just one of many images captured in a bumper breaching bonanza.

Other Eilean Dubh news involves the possibility of displaying our travelling exhibition of images at Eden Court theatre in Inverness, I’ll keep you posted.

Happy days.

James

Is there anybody there?

2012-01-08T16:46:00.000Z

Hello, are you there? It’s been quite a while since I’ve blogged, too long in fact. Quite a lot has happened since I last looked at this with the main event being the sale of my cameras. I now feel like I’ve lost a limb and am really missing being out there in the field.

My plan was to save for a Canon 1D MK1V but that’s still to happen. I’ve also moved home which was a bit unexpected. I’m away from the things I hold dear such as Chanonry Point and the forests around Rosemarkie. It’s not the end of the world though as my new home is close to new opportunities and a trail of marten poop which seems endless.

I plan to buy a new camera soon but what that will be remains a mystery. As stated above, I’d love a 1D but I think it’ll be a 7D for now. I also hope to start camera trapping again soon, which means I’ll need another camera at the lower end of the SLR scale which I will feel slightly better about leaving in the forest for days on end.

I’m still involved in photography at Dingwall and Cromarty camera clubs and have done well in a few competitions with my nature shots. Hopefully 2012 will be a good year once I’m organised.

Eilean Dubh continues to do well with sales well over 1300 now. If you don’t have a copy then maybe now’s the time to change that?

This squirrel on a mossy tree root was the last photograph I took before the cameras were sold, I hope to have new images soon.

Happy Days

James

www.jamesamoore.co.uk

2011-08-27T10:10:00.000+01:00

Pine marten season turned out to be less that I'd hoped for despite lots of time and effort. My attentions have now turned to the local Red Squirrels and here are the first batch of images. More to follow over the autumn and winter.

Dolphins

2011-07-31T10:17:00.001+01:00

I'm just back from a week without my camera in sunny Derbyshire. It's a beautiful place with wonderful scenery but no dolphins.

These were taken the day before we headed south. If you're ever on The Black Isle then try a boat trip out of Cromarty with the wonderful Ecoventures.

Back to pine marten chasing now!

Happy days!!

James

Finally!!

2011-07-13T21:33:00.000+01:00

Finally, after many miles, dozens of eggs, a car stinking of road kill, several jars of honey and who knows how many hours, I finally saw her! Here she is in all here blurry best!

ISO 800, f.2.8 and a shutter speed of 1/40th but I don’t care, she is gorgeous! I was lying on the ground behind a tree when I saw her from the corner of my eye (the one that works). She heard me blink and was up on the hind legs in an instant and stayed there for about 30 seconds. She eventually moved along the fallen tree toward the bait and I managed one shot using the remote lead. She ran off with a strip of chicken and an egg in her mouth which allowed me time to sit up and get ready for a return. She came back about 5 minutes later and was still cautious, took another egg and off she went again.

When she returned for the third time the cupboard was bare but she seemed more settled with the noise I would’ve been making despite my best efforts of replicating the movements of a stealth bomber (without the engines).

I managed about 10 shots with 5 (maybe more) as sharp as a golf ball but do you know what? I don’t care. It’s been a hard slog so lets hope she keep coming, and with the kits too!!

Happy days!!

James

One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest!

2011-07-04T23:00:00.004+01:00

D’you know the scene in this classic movie where Randle P McMurphy decides to try and throw the huge sink through the window and escape downtown to watch the world series? Well only he ever thought he could manage it and the rest just laughed. Great moment in a great movie!

The point of this is that’s how I have started to feel about these bloody martens over the past few weeks. Did I honestly believe that I could really attract martens to a hide deep in a dull forest and create a situation where I and maybe others could photograph them? Of course I did and last nights camera trap images have renewed my belief that this can be done.

I’ve been getting the odd camera trap image at 8pm and 5am but nothing consistent. That’s still not changed but what has changed is this……

Yes I know, I’m amazed too. Three martens in the one camera trap image! This is pretty amazing for several reasons. The female (in the middle) has gained enough trust in the hide to bring her kits. The kits will soon venture out on their own and will come for the free meal as will mum. Terry Whittaker pointed out that mum looks thin and as you can see the kits are as big as she is. They will still be dependant on her for food and teaching them to hunt. Feeding two hungry martens is hard work and a small but easy meal is always welcome.

I only feed them small amounts, as the kits have to learn to hunt and fend for themselves. Its vital that any dependency on the food is kept to a minimum in case I get hit by a bus or the ECT gets the better of me! Only Bassman and I know where the hide is as I am keen to avoid a scene like a Saturday afternoon at Piccadilly Circus.

The plan from here is to try and win the confidence of mother marten to a stage where she will tolerate me in the hide. After that I will start taking limited bookings for some marten workshops. If you’re interested that please get in touch but be prepared to sign the official secrets act before travelling blindfolded to the hide.

Happy days!!!

James

Bloody pine martens!

2011-07-01T22:00:00.001+01:00

I have been asking myself where I got the bright idea to focus all my time and energy on bloody Pine martens! Why didn’t I go for something easier like Wildcat of maybe even the dormouse? I was spoiled last year with the help ofa very accomodating marten and Terry Whittaker and the results speak for themselves. This year has however has proved to be much more difficult and with the exception of some camera trap images, an infected tic bite and the resulting two week course of anti-biotic, I have nothing to show for my months of hard work. I know the martens have been coming in daylight but not when I'm around, I'm so offended, is it my aftershave?

I have been spending lots of time trying to develop photo opportunities for myself and to be honest this is becoming quite a drag. It’s no wonder that people pay good money to go on wildlife watching trips where they are all but guaranteed sightings and photo opportunities. I have done this too and paid to see and photograph Neil McIntyre’s tripod climbing, eat out of your hand squirrels. This was a great experience and I will do it again in the winter. Not just for the photos but also for the hints and tips Neil gives out. If only I could find something to practice on although Russell and MG’s cat was happy to pose for me today.

I will of course continue to try with the martens and I am 99.9% confident of getting more marvellous marten shots before the season is out. Who knows, maybe I will get you some too?

Happy days!!

James

2011-06-23T21:22:00.004+01:00

I may, or may not have mentioned that I have self-published a book in collaboration with Andrew Dowsett and Russell Turner? Anyway it’s been quite a process to be honest with much stress at times and delays caused by the rash decision of others.

Despite the ups and downs, the delays and the stress we hung in there and found a new printer who promised that he could deliver exactly what it said on the tin, and he did. One thousand new copies of Eilean Dubh, The Black Isle arrived today and they are stunning! The print quality is excellent, better than I could have imagined and my wonderful pine marten (page 112) pops right out of the page in stunning colour. Quite how the judges at The Scottish Nature Photography Awards never chose it as their winner is beyond me, I wish them well with their future careers (joking). The print quality of the first two orders was good, very good but the new batch has gone beyond that, I am delighted.

Andrew and Russell collected the books today and I hope they are as pleased as I am? They have both done amazing jobs in editing the images and this will make the book the success it deserves to be.

Click here to order a copy, priced £19:95 + P&P.

One is pleased.

Happy days!!

All quiet

2011-06-17T22:47:00.001+01:00

It's been a quiet week for me in terms of wildlife to be honest as I have been busy with other things, real things like work and stressing about work, the joys! The big news from today was that of the Humpback whale who visited the inner Moray Firth and Chanonry point today (Friday 17th June. The Daily Mail phoned me looking for images but as I never saw it I had othing to offer. I could have tried to give them this fluke image which was taken in 2009 off Gorda banks when I was on the most amazing whale watching holiday with Mark Carwardine.

Other news involves Eileah Dubh, The Black Isle which is the book I have co-authored with Andrew Dowsett and Russell Turner. Eilean Dubh takes you on a photographic tour of this wonderful part of the Scottish Highlands nd features everything from Pine Martens to the Northern lights. Anyway the news about the book is that the third print run will be with us next week and will be featured in the DC Thompson publication The Scot's magazine later in the year. The SM has a circulation of over 18000 readers per month so as you can imagine one is pleased!Contact me if you would like to buy a copy.

Happy Days!!

James

Nuts about nuts!

2011-06-11T21:24:00.002+01:00

I will start with last nights 7pm visitor who never showed up at 7pm tonight. A very healthy looking marten enticed to the camera trap by fresh hens eggs.

Today was all about nuts. I was up early and headed up the road to the hide and settled in with the intention of photographing the woodpecker who had been raiding the squirrel feeder. It seems I have been tricked as there happens to be two of them, cheeky little monkeys!

I am amazedat how clever they are as it seems they figured out how to raid the feeder by pecking really hard at the bottom of the perspex front to make it slide up and release nuts from the bottom, not bad eh? They are very pretty birds and I really enjoyed watching them come and go.

I also had a visit from this very cute red squirrel although I soon realised that the feeder was not in the best place for getting photographs when he came off it. I have moved it now and hope to get better shots tomorrow.

Other sighting from today include dolphin, seal and various other birds. A good day all round. I'll leave you with this woodpecker shot as it's my fave from today even though there's a bit or dodgy photoshoppery going on. Imagine a squirrel on the same mosst log? Watch this space.

Happy days!!

James

Today was all about dolphins and a 7pm bonus!

2011-06-10T21:36:00.004+01:00

Inspired by the sight of a fellow dolphin lover heading to Chanonry, I decided that I should pop down for a wee look. I am home alone this weekend (awww I hear you say? or maybe not)so this will give me the chance to get a much needed (and well deserved) photography fix.

There were plenty of dolphins around which was great and as you can see there was some action too. Lot's of fish chasing and a wee bit of breaching.

My evening consisted of a setting up the camera trap at the hide and a couple of hours at another possible marten spot although nothing happened with the latter. On my way back I decided that it would be best to stop by and feed the marten with the cat kill mice and birds that have been in the boot since Thursday. This turned out to be well worth it as the food was gone and the camera contained some nice shots (nice by camera trap standards anyway)of a female marten! This all happened at 7pm in between another twenty or so woodpecker shots.

More tomorrow and maybe even a shot of the woodpecker!

Happy days!!

James

Some of last years work

2011-06-09T22:27:00.000+01:00

Thought I would share some of last years martens with you. Hope you like them?

Happy days!!

James

Three out of forty five

2011-06-08T22:11:00.000+01:00

This rather blurry and unexciting pine marten shot is one of forty five images caputered on the camera trap on Monday evening. Sadly only three of the forty five were of the marten. The other forty two were of an over enthusiastic Woodpecker.

The exciting thing about this image is that it was taken at 8pm (sorry Andy) in good light.

I knew it would come together eventually!

Happy days!!

James

Playing safe.

2011-06-05T18:29:00.000+01:00

I have had little (well no) luck with dolphins or martens over the past few weeks so decided to play it safe this weekend for the sake of getting some therapeutic photographs. The camera trap has managed to get some blurry marten shots at 10:00pm last night and 3:45 this morning. The trap also caught a woodpecker about 7 times so I guess they like the sound of the camera. Squirrels have also made another appearance and this has got my mind working on something for the future.

Take this great tit out of the picture and add a red squirrel. I have the image in my head already. Not bad eh?

Other photography from the weekend includes these beautiful Red deer stags with velvet antlers. They look so healthy in this lovely light and were happy to pose (at a safe distance) in groups and for individual shots too.

The camera trap is out again tonight with fresh road kill as bait however it may move soon as I have heard two different stories about badgers in daylight at a spot that’s accessible and not too far from here.

Watch this space.

Happy days!

James

C’mon the reds!!!

2011-06-03T08:25:00.001+01:00

Black Isle Red

It seems that the little reds are getting their own back after the measly martens muscled in on their patch. The current martens were discovered when I had been focusing on Red Squirrels back in December/January. Melting snow revealed a pile of marten mess at the base of the feeder tree, which was good news for me but not so good for the little red.

Anyway yesterday’s trip to check the camera trap has revealed the revenge of the reds, as there is a rather blurry image of a cheeky red squirrel sniffing around the martens honey glazed nuts and eggs.

Revenge is sweet!!

Happy days!

James

Something different.

2011-06-01T20:54:00.001+01:00

One of last years martens from a hide.

Pine martens are not the easiest animals to find never mind photograph. They occur right across the Highlands of Scotland and as far south as Perth. The majority of sightings are chance encounters or by people who are lucky enough to have martens in their garden. Bassman is a good example of this and is blessed with regular visits by martens and their offspring and all from the comfort of his armchair. Check out his Blog and flickr pages for marten news as other interesting stories.

You can also pay to watch martens under artificial light at various locations in the Highlands and I guess this is a great chance to see this elusive little creature up close. I am trying to take this a step further and provide photographers with the chance to get up close and personal (well maybe not) with this marvellous mustelid and all in the comfort of their back garden.

Garden visitor.

In order to achieve this I have been feeding three sites on a near daily basis for the past 4 month, maybe longer. It’s an expensive task in terms of time and money as the site is quite far from home. I use a Trail Master camera trap monitor to keep track of the martens and this tells me when the martens arrive and even takes their photograph to prove it. I tend to use the TM without the camera as the weather has been rubbish and I am already too good at killing Canons. The trap has also managed to photograph crows, dogs and leaves blowing in the wind.

Camera trap marten

Pine martens have their young (kits) around mid March/early April and a littler is usually around 3 kits. The kits are born bald and blind and grown very fast. A male kit is the same size as mum after about 3 months and as you will imagine she has her work cut out to feed the family. This provides me/us with a great opportunity to get a look at them and maybe even photograph them. Due to the demands of feeding such a fast growing hungry family, mum has no option but to stretch her day from her normal nocturnal lifestyle and go searching for food in daylight hours. I have seen and photographed martens at all hours of the day but only after weeks/months of preparation.

I have set up a hide at one of the new feeding areas made from fallen trees and netting and although it’s hardly luxurious, it’s in keeping with the forest and has no visual impact on the surrounding area. The hide will rot away in time and is fit for its purpose. This weekend will see the first sessions in the hide and will hopefully provide us with some good marten sightings. Photos will be a bonus.

Keep an eye on this blog for weekly updates and check out my website for more marten images old and new.

Get in touch if you have any questions.

Happy days!

James

Counting Crows

2011-05-15T11:52:00.000+01:00

Thanks to the speedy service offered by AJ Johnston, I am camera trapping again. I have used the monitor to keep ‘an eye’ on marten movements whilst I was camera-less and these are as varied as always. Thursday nights reading filled me with hope and excitement as it showed an early visit followed by regular visits including some in daylight hours (9, 10 and 11am). When my camera arrived back I took it straight over to the feeding area and set it up in anticipation of many marvellous marten shots.

I was up early this morning togo and investigate and as before there were plenty of hits registered on the trail master. Joy I though, can’t wait to see these. When I got back I was delighted to see the back of a martens head followed by some other shots. There were over 20 marten shots followed by over 20 crafty crow shots. These explain the daytime hits…dam!!

As reported in a previous blog, I had some trouble with my Canon 40D and put this down to the KLM rugby team using my bag for passing practice. Discussion with AJ Johnstone suggests otherwise as they tell me that my camera failed due to a circuit board malfunction. The cause of this is unknown. It just happens apparently. The second most common fault in this model apparently. I will be writing a strongly worded letter to the department of 40D’s at the Canon Corporation this week to express my disgust at this. The other issue here if that the cost of the repair is less than my insurance excess, which I only got to cover my big lens!

Other news involves my first dolphin sighting of 2011. Past years have seen me down at Chanonry twice a day every day but married life and martens mean there is little time for my beloved dolphins at the moment. My visit was inspired by Ally Kemp who is getting some amazing images (as always) at Chanonry, well done Ally!

Happy days!!

James

Trigger happy again

2011-05-08T22:00:00.000+01:00

I managed an evening drive around the Black Isle tonight that was just great in the late evening sun. This is just what the Dr ordered after a day spent questioning where I am or want to be with my photography work.

Happy days!

James

Missing martens

2011-05-06T22:27:00.001+01:00

Work continues on trying to persuade my marvellous mustelids that turning up at my hide in decent daylight is in their best interests. They know it makes sense but just don’t seem ready to play. I did manage a marten sighting earlier in the week, which involved an emergency stop to save a life. Thankfully I managed it meaning no martens were harmed in the writing of this blog. Here is one of last year’s shots of my missing marten to keep you going.

I am growing increasingly frustrated by my lack of photography and really need to sort this out! Last weeks outing to photograph dippers drew a blank and this mornings Black Isle red squirrel hunt had the same result. I really need to photograph something that’s not called Ozi (our dog).

Other news involves The Bumper Book of Black Isle Snappery that is Eilean Dubh. Further delays and cock-ups by our local printer means the shelves lay empty in our very understanding retail outlets and waiting lists grow and wait longer for their order. This should hopefully be sorted by next Friday but he said that 3 weeks ago then produced 300 copies with print quality like your granny’s striped wallpaper. These now have pride of place in recycle land and have no doubt left a rather large and uncomfortable dent on the books of the printer.

Happy days!

James

Schoolboy error!

2011-05-02T21:18:00.000+01:00

Long tailed macaque, Bako. Borneo

After two weeks of carrying a bag full of camera kit around Borneo I decided to lighten the load on the flights and transfers home and put my 40D in my hold luggage. Wrap it in a towel I told myself. It’ll be fine I told myself. Was it fine?

I decided to reset the camera trap last night complete with the 40D. When it refused to switch on I blamed a flat battery pack so swapped them over to the spare set. Oh, that’s flat too, how odd and inconvenient!

The camera still refused to switch on after charging the batteries, which is most annoying! This can only be down to the careful handling of KLM’s finest who no doubt handled our bags like a rugby ball. Schoolboy error, oh shit!!

A quick call to my travel insurance provider was my next step as one of their many, many get out’s is not registering your claim within a nano-second of faultfinding. Their first get out was that as I have specific camera insurance with another company I would have to contact them. Their second was that putting the camera in the hold was not allowed under section 8, paragraph 1A of my policy and I was, in their opinion, screwed!

What I should have done was this.

Me-Hello Insurance company?

Nice lady- Hello, how can we help today?

Me- I’d like to make a claim please as my camera is broken on return from holiday.

Nice lady- Certainly Sir, I just need some details from you.

Me- No problem, fire away.

Nice lady- Can you explain what happened?

Me- Yes of course, I spilled red wine on it by mistake. Honest I never meant it and the carpet is ruined too. It also ruined my Rolex and I got such a fright I knocked over the plasma TV that landed on the Play Station and DVD player causing a house fire, which has destroyed everything including my boat, Range Rover and caravan..

Nice lady- No problem sir, that sounds likely, I will get a claim form out to you straight away. Until then book you and your family in to a posh hotel and live it up.

Happy days!!

James

Brilliant Borneo

2011-04-24T23:24:00.002+01:00

Arrived home today after two amazing weeks in brilliant Borneo. It would take a lifetime to see this amazing place in full but we managed a tiny peek in just two weeks. More to come soon.

Happy days!

James

Off to Borneo

2011-04-06T20:52:00.001+01:00

Well folks, this is goodbye, for now. I'm off to get married before heading to Borneo!

I will try and blog from there if possible otherwise it'll be late April, early May before you hear from me again.

Happy days!!

James

It’s been one heck of a week!

2011-04-02T08:59:00.002+01:00

Sales of the Bumper Book of Black Isle Snappery have gone through the roof. Sold out in fact! Our launch was a great success and along with pre orders and the support of local shops we have none left! As you can imagine this makes me very happy indeed. I probably look like I slept with a coat hanger in my mouth such is the size of the grin on my face but I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

The BBoBIS also made the front page of The Inverness Courier yesterday with my image of Jemimaville in winter taking pride of place there. Another press possibility comes after I was lucky enough to have some dolphin images in the Daily Mail a couple of years ago and maintained some contact with them in the hope of future publication. If all goes well this will happen very soon with Eilean Dubh gracing the pages of this national work of art. Did I say that with a straight face? Anyway one shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds one, should one? Keep watching for more news on that.

Pine marten continue to visit the feeding area although I have had little time for it this week. Fresh supplies were left last night to keep them going. Every little helps as they say in Tesco. *Other supermarkets with catchy slogans are available*.

Other news involves my impending marriage, which will take place in less than one week. A trip to Borneo is my reward, one is pleased!

Happy days!

James

Eilean Dubh

2011-03-30T21:50:00.002+01:00

Hi folks.

Just a short message tonight. Not managed to get up to the camera trap since Monday as I have been working on other things.

Eilean Dubh has its official launch tonight at the home of the best sticky toffee pudding on earth, Eilean Dubh Restaraunt in Fortrose. If you're in the area pop in to try it for yourself and tell Anne that James sent you.

As for the launch,it went very well, we are all delighted.

Happy days

James

One is egg-static

2011-03-27T14:07:00.000+01:00

The re-introduction of eggs had an instant impact on the martens as you can see above. Lot’s of hits in the trap and a few photos too, which is excellent. One of the shots (which is out of focus) shows the marten sitting in a squirrel like pose with its front paws in its mouth. Another interesting event from last nigh was the capture and killing (by the marten) of a wood pigeon. The feathers are just behind the trap area although there is no carcase to be seen.

I plan to move the trap soon to a site a few miles away with the hope of capturing badgers. I will continue to feed the current martens with the assistance of Bassman who came along this morning for a look at the set up. Bassman has also suggested another camera trapping project to ‘catch’ the mouse that eats the cats’ dinner every night. That’s one for the future along with the collection of martens he has in his garden every night on the week.

That’s all for now folks.

Happy Days.

James

Where the streets have no game!

2011-03-26T14:41:00.003Z

So my plan to entice the marten to the roe deer with jam and honey jus never really worked. Discussion with my camera trapping guru and font of much knowledge Terry Whittaker suggests a view that martens are not big carrion eaters although they most certainly had a nibble at the deer. Further thought on this has taken me back to basics if only to try and prove or disprove this theory. The intention was to put pheasant, eggs and honey back on the menu tonight with an early morning visit to the camera trap to check the results. This plan has changed slightly as I was unable to find any road kill on the loop from Rosemarkie through Fortrose, Avoch, Killen, Cromarty and back to Rosemarkie. As the title suggests, the streets have no game. Get it?

Some of you are waiting for an update on marten workshops. As you can see I am still working on the hard part of the operation as without martens, I am nothing. Work on the hide continues and I have taken on an apprentice (unpaid of course) to help with the build. The apprentice helped a little bit until boredom set in (after 20 minutes) and he decided to return to his caveman instincts and make ancient tools from branches with a not so ancient saw. All that’s missing is a nicely shaped piece of slate to act as a multi function head to “chop and spear things”.

I hope to convince Bassman that visits to the hide to keep the feeding going whilst I’m in Borneo are in his best interests. Unlimited hide vouchers will be payment for his toil. I might even buy him and MG a beer! Come on Bassman, think of the poor starving little martens?

Eilean Dubh continues to fly off the shelves at various outlets in Cromarty, Dingwall and Fortrose. The waiting list is growing by the minute so get your name on it now or you’ll be disappointed.

There is no music quiz today as I used up all my thought on the catchy blog title. Streets have no game? U2? Get it? Game as in bird as in pheasant?

Happy days!

James

Oh Deer

2011-03-25T17:24:00.004Z

Perhaps I was a little premature when I said the PM (no not David-diesel isn’t over £1:40 a litre in my constituency-so why should I care Thatcher-Clegg-Cameron,) had located the road kill roe deer. There were 9 hits on the trap today but no marten photographs. There were no dogs either so I guess that’s a bonus?

In an attempt to change all this the offer of a free meal now looks like this. Fresh road kill roe deer (well it was fresh on Tuesday) served with a jam and honey jus and a bed of peanuts. How can the martens possibly resist? I will go back tomorrow with my trainee marten enthusiast Bassman to see if this fine dining offering has done the trick. Failing that I will head off in search of road kill pheasant.

Other news from today involves Eilean Dubh (again) and what is fast becoming a saga. Buy, sell, don’t buy or don’t sell. We have a great problem in that the first batch is selling out faster than Jamie Oliver could even have hoped for. The other side of this is that our printer doesn’t share our urgency in getting more on the shelf. Three weeks he said, maybe 4. Is he drawing them?

The issue is that I will be in Borneo by then enjoying my honeymoon and looking at Orang-utans. Yes I know, it’s a good issue to have and yes I will shut up and stop moaning about it.

I guess I will just have to trust my fellow authors to hold the fort, steer the ship or whatever you want to call it? No doubt I will come back to a new cover or pictures of flowers or something equally ridiculous but such is life, as long as they’re happy!

Other news involves the first of 2 press releases featuring Eilean Dubh. The Ross-Shire Journal went first and featured an image of the authors that you can cut out and use to keep the bairns away from the fire. Click here to view the article.

So there you have it and as Bugs Bunny once said, that’s all folks. It’s really not that easy to sit here and write a page of mindless drivel every day although I seem to be managing it so far.

Today’s music quiz is this…

Who had a humungous smash hit with the TUNE that is tinsel town in the rain?

First to guess correctly gets a prize (maybe).

Happy days!!

James

Writing to reach you!

2011-03-24T13:52:00.005Z

So not one of my vast readership are willing to guess at who sang one of the three. The answer will remain with me forever. It’s either that or I am blogging to myself, MG and Bassman, who knows?

Anyway today’s update comes courtesy of an unexpected day off work caused by the unpredictability of teenage behaviour. I am just back from retrieving the memory card and changing the flash batteries and was delighted to see 40 hits on the Trailmaster monitor most of which were in daylight hours. Great I thought, the martens quickly located the roe deer in its new location, which of course they did.

A quick review of the images revealed the real facts behind the information on the TM. A big fat Labrador, a scruffy looking and oversized Jack-Russell type thing and a big black hairy hound had also discovered the roe deer. Should I laugh or cry, you decide?

I guess this is one of the issues with camera trapping as so called experts like Terry Whittaker (Hi Terry) have come across the same issue. The nice man from the water board features on Terry’s blog as does the friendly neighbourhood pooch. I can only dream of replicating the results Terry gets but I certainly enjoy trying!

Other news from today involves Eilean Dubh and future production. The first batch is heading for sell out which is excellent. What’s not so excellent is the lack of progress in replenishing the stocks! The promise of further supplies as part of a deal with the local printers turned out to be a bit on a damp squib so the search for the ideal printing solution begins again.

Today's music question is who had a smash hit single with writing to reach you?

Happy days!

James

One of the three

2011-03-22T21:41:00.002Z

Today is one of those days where I have very little to blog about, well in terms of wildlife anyway. This is where the blog fell down last time so I am making myself write to you to keep it going.

I was pleased to see that the road kill roe deer done the trick with the martens last night as two visited again. The above pic is "one of the three", that is two martens and one deer. For 10 points, who sang one of the three and what album is it on? First person to comment below with the right answer gets the points and maybe even a prize....wwwoooooooo!!

Other news from today is that the bumper book of Black Isle snappery that is Eilean Dubh has reached sales of well over 100!! Wooooooooo again I hear you say? This is great news but we need to be careful not to sell out before the launch!

If you have still to order/buy a copy then what are you waiting for? Click here to place your order and remember to say that James sent you.

If you're starting to get fed up with the same marten shots over and over again then worry ye not, I have moved the camera trap and the roe deer. This will hopefully attract Buzzard and maybe even Red Kite as it's a wee bit more open. No doubt I will get 100's of crow photos but such is life.

One last thing is to say hello to MG who is my newest reader.

So that's all for today folks.

More mindless drivel tomorrow.

Happy Days.

James

A messy job

2011-03-21T21:49:00.000Z

One of last night diners.

The misfortune of pheasants is the good fortune of martens and is also good for other species. (I should add that my typing isn’t the best so if I ever post that I have fed a road kill peasant to the martens then please take it as a typo!)

I have seen Red kites on the road picking up road kill and had to stop to let them to fly off. I have also seen Red kites, crows and gulls that were not so lucky. This is the same for foxes, Buzzard and of course martens so I do what I can to help them along by picking up the road kill when I see it.

If the road kill is too messed up I simply throw it away from the roadside and this will hopefully keep the death rate down. Tonight’s marten offering came after Bassman99 had spotted a road kill roe deer on the road from Rosemarkie to Newhall. The poor thing must have been hit last night and it seemed the right thing to go and collect it and either pull it off the road or gift it to my martens.

After a quick examination I decided that the deer was OK to transport to the martens and carefully popped it in to a plastic box and in to the car. I know this sounds pretty horrid and to be honest it was. I will spare you further details.

So the martens get another free meal tonight and this should keep them going for quite a while. The deer is also likely to attract other scavengers such as Buzzard so keep reading for updates.

Happy days!

James

Books, road kill and martens.

2011-03-20T14:20:00.000Z

Yesterday proved to be a busy day and started with the first outing of Eilean Dubh and a visit to the Culbokie farmers market. We were lucky enough to sell 13 books with an additional sale to the local butcher on the way home. Initial feedback was very good although you can’t please everyone.

I spent some of the afternoon looking for road kill and did not have to travel far to find an unlucky pheasant on the edge of Fortrose. I then headed up to set the camera trap and see what had been around the night before.

There are images on flickr from a slightly different location of 2 martens but more recent shots suggest that only one was coming. This all changed last night with the introduction of a gourmet meal of fresh pheasant followed by nuts and honey and two martens were caught on camera with one even smudging the lens.

This all happened between 8 and 9pm which is great although there were other visits through the night. Hopefully these early visits will continue in to the lighter evenings. The problem for me is a lack of knowledge about the use flash but I’ll work on that.

The trap is set again with more road kill so lets hops for another visit tonight.

Happy days!

James

The hard work is paying off!

2011-03-18T20:48:00.003Z

I don’t know enough about flash photography to capture images that are ‘useable’ but the image above is proof that ghostly martens are coming for the free food in daylight hours! This is excellent news and makes the additional miles and getting stuck in the snow twice well worth it!

Watch this space!!

Oh just another thought. I have written more blog entries today that I had in the past 3 months!!

Happy days!
James

Finally!!

2011-03-18T15:36:00.004Z

After a year in the making and a short delay the "Bumper book of Black Isle Snappery" is finally in the shops!!

Andrew, Russell and myself collected 200 perfectly bound copies of the book from Dingwall printers today and quicky got some copies to local outlets.

You can buy a copy direct from myself or at the outlets listed below.

www.russellturner.org

Fortrose Post Office

Cromarty Post Office

The Emporium Cromarty

Frank Nicols garden centre Dingwall.

Keep an eye on this as the list will grow day by day. We have arragbed an official launch at Eilean Dubh restaraunt in Fortrose on March 30th from 3:30 until 7:30.

Happy days!!

James

Back with a whimper

2011-03-18T08:50:00.002Z

After a long break from blogging and to coincide with this years Pine marten work I have decided to resurrect my badly kept blog. I did try doing this on my website but as it was never up to date I decided against it. I first started the blog after meeting up with Terry Whittaker to look at some Pine marten work on The Black Isle.

The marten work was amazingly successful but the blog never really kept up. Whilst I failed miserably at blogging Terry went on to bigger and better things winning various awards and recognition for his charity work, knitting and pretty much everything else he looked at, I wish you well in everything you do WHITTAKER!!!

So the idea is to try again with updates and news about the marten workshops I hope to start this summer. I am currently building a hide made from fallen trees and other bits and pieces left in the forest. It will be cold and damp but if it gets me close enough to photograph the martens then it’s my own version of a mansion house!

In a blatant attempt to be as witty as Russell Turner’s blog I will also thrown in the odd wee story about other areas of interest such as my attempts to win photographic acclaim at Cromarty and Dingwall camera clubs and other photographic competitions. I will also copy Terry Whittaker’s blog by adding cool links to amazing stories about wildlife and other wildlife photography.

The result of this over the top and public plagiarism will be the best blog in blog land and have a readership as big as the Beano (happy 60th birthday Dennis).

So there you have it, back with a whimper. Weekly updates are the idea so come back soon.

Happy days!

James