In search of the corncrake - a bird conspicuous with its call but almost invisible in 'appearance'

 

A bird in decline, but corncrakes are holding their own on Iona

ALTHOUGH they are easy to hear, corncrakes are notoriously difficult to see. 

Plaudits, then, to Grimsby naturalist Mike Pickwell who managed to capture superb photographs of a bird calling while on a holiday that took him and wife Heather to Iona, Mull and the Treshnish Isles.

Crex crex was probably the star species of an excellent illustrated talk he gave at Grimsby Town Hall to the local branch of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.

Mike's local patch is the Scartho area of Grimsby where he has thorough knowledge of the songbirds, butterflies and wildflowers.

But, at least judging by last night's presentation,  you get the feeling his heart is in the Hebrides, and he is looking forward to a visit to Harris later in the year.                                               

As he pointed out,  the Scottish islands play host to "lots of weather" which works to his advantage when it comes to taking stunning landscape photographs, many of which featured in his talk. 

In just over an hour, he also managed to provide many fascinating insights not just about the flora and and fauna of the islands, but also (especially with Iona) about their geology and history.

* Mike's excellent  blog is at:

https://mikesnaturalmusings.blogspot.com

                                        

Iona - one of the jewels off Scotland's west coast