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Danny shares his obsession with photographing the small birds that it’s all to easy to overlook or ignore here in the UK.

If you have followed me and my work over the years you will be aware of my obsession with photographing the small birds that can be found in the UK. The list is long but slowly and surely I am working my way through it. These two species here the Stonechat and Redstart were photographed in Dumfries and Galloway. I have been running a trip to this area in May for a couple of years now and I use Alan McFadyen’s wonderful sites for this trip. Over the course of the week, we work with Redstart and Pied Flycatchers in a deciduous woodland and then Stonechats, Whinchats and Meadow Pipits on a moorland site. Each year I concentrate on one species myself and then spend a few days before and after the trip itself working with them.

Last year I concentrated on Stonechats. It is a species I have photographed before, but my images were average, so I have wanted to get a better portfolio of this stunning little bird for a while. Alan feeds the birds during the breeding season to help them rear there young and to be honest these little birds need all the help they can get in today’s climate. He has various small pots dotted around the various locations and he tops them up each day with mealworms: a huge commitment in terms of the time needed to do this but these small birds certainly benefit from it.

A pair of Stonechats had decided to build their nest in a bank covered in deep heather and it was only a short distance from one of his feeding sites. At the beginning of my visit the pairs young chicks had just hatched so the activity was slow but as the week progressed the male was extremely busy feeding his growing family over the course of the week. It was the male that came most of the time, but the female would drop in from time to time too.

I would change the setting and the posts over the course of the week so I could get a varied portfolio. The shots were not so good when the sun was out and so I was pleased for cloudy/overcast conditions for most of the time that I was there. When you are feeding birds like this you can choose your position on where you want the birds to come and so then pick the right background which is so important for your final images.

It was not just the Stonechats that were visiting the feeding site, I was getting visits from Meadow Pipits and Whinchats too. Then I had a real bonus as I had a few fleeting visits from a Male Wheatear. The Wheatear is a very difficult bird to photograph and is usually very nervous and doesn’t allow a close approach, but this male had obviously found this free meal and was quite relaxed when visiting.

I really enjoyed my time working up in the hills with these charming little birds and was very pleased with my results. I spent a lot of time with Whinchats a couple of years ago, so it was nice to get images of these other species that share this habitat.

The beauty about this time of the year is the breeding season is in full swing and so we have two other beautiful species to work with as well. Two summer migrants Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers are back on territory and their breeding season is under way. I worked with Pied Flycatchers a couple of years ago and so this year I wanted to spend some time with the Redstarts.

This is a beautiful woodland bird, and both the male and female are very striking. Alan has put in so much work over the years, building nest boxes so these species can find somewhere to build their nests. That work has really paid off because the local population has vastly increased. These woodlands around where they breed are superb too as during May the forest floor is carpeted by a mass of Bluebells, which make a stunning background for your final images.

Timing is the key for all these species and when they are sitting on eggs the activity can be slow, but they still visit to grab the odd mealworm. When the adults have chicks to feed though the activity can be fantastic with so many visits throughout the day. I usually run the trip every year but had to take a break this year because I am running a different tour, but I have now planned dates for May 2025 and you can find all the details here: https://www.natures-images.co.uk/holiday/scottish-lowland-spring-birds-uk-2025/ 

I did a blog a couple of years ago on my images of Whinchats and Pied Flycatchers which you can find here and so combine the two it gives you an idea of the sort images you can achieve. https://dannygreenphotography.com/dumfries-and-galloway-a-secret-gem/

So, if you fancy a week of classic small bird photography then this is one for you for sure!