I am trying to build a portfolio of classic Scottish species so took a trip back to Trossachs Osprey Hide. This time I was keen to develop my photography skills further so booked to do this with Paul McDougall. Paul talked us through the best settings for the camera and shared about the Ospreys we were likely to see and the relative fishing techniques they would use.
It was a slow start to the day, with not much to see, but this provided a great opportunity to catch up with Paul and talk through some techniques.
A juvenile Robin kept coming along the front of the hide and provided the first subject of the day. Note the changing moult from juvenile to adult.
Next up we were delighted to see a Male Kingfisher. First it was in a blackberry bush on the other side of the pool, where it was impossible to separate from the background. Then it flew in front of the hide and briefly landed on a nearby perch which provided the opportunity for some great Kingfisher shots.
Still buzzing from the Kingfisher, Paul called that an Osprey was landing in a nearby tree. This was a blue ringed bird, which was a male from a nest near Argaty. As it sat in the tree Paul encouraged me to do some zoom bursts. Setting the camera to 1/8 second, I focused on the bird and then took a shot while rapidly zooming in and out.
This Osprey was a dominant male and typically flew and landed in the same tree. It would wait until it saw a fish and then take off from the tree and go straight into a dive. Before long we had our first dive of the morning. Here are several photos from the sequence I took.
It was now lunch time and another lull in activity meant I moved my focus to some lovely Mallard ducklings that offered a cute subject. I first focused on a lone bird…
…and then took photos of a larger group.
Before long we had another Osprey dive. This was a different bird with a silver ring. It arrived with little notice and quickly dived in a part of the pool behind some reeds. Then it circled around before flying off.
Not long after we had a third dive, the bird coming in from right to left.
All in all an enjoyable day photographing Osprey, with the bonus of Kingfisher. For the diving Osprey I was photographing at F7.1 with a shutter speed of 1/1600 and auto ISO with 2 1/3 of underexposure.
WildScot Photography 
what a great photograph. Thank you, Love, nia
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Exciting sequences! The fish look huge, were they trout? The kingfisher is such a beautiful bird, almost tropical in its colouring. Of course, I think the duckling shots are adorable. 🙂
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Ah thanks, yes the fish were Rainbow Trout. It was a great day
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