It’s been a while since I’ve posted a blogpost, so thought I’d write this one up today as the first of several regular blogposts over the coming weeks, showcasing lots great recent encounters. This weeks post is on photographing Eurasian Stonechats over the past year at a local site where several pairs nest as well as spend the winter in good numbers.

I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph this species in a variety of different conditions. The image above and a few others in this post were from a single session, where there was light rain and the male Stonechat was very active, landing on perches close by. As the Stonechat searched for prey and perched over it’s territory it presented the opportunity for a few nice shots. The lush surrounding vegetation and overcast light is a great combination.

We had a couple days of snowfall earlier this year and I managed to locate a few Stonechats in amazing winter conditions. This Stonechat above was very cooperative, it regularly perched up on the low willow tree branches which were only a metre or so off the ground. The falling snow and reflecting bright glow from the snow covered ground made a really nice winter scene. Below are some more images from the Stonechats during the nesting season.