The Tough Challenge

In 2011 I set myself a hard (impossible?) challenge that I never did complete - A tough Challenge!

I have fallen away from photography quite a bit since then but I want to get back into it. As I love nature I thought I could focus on this challenge again but this time broaden my horizon to all of Scottish Wildlife. I will not set a deadline on this but I will dedicate this blog to log my progress and hopefully give you an insight to Scotland at the same time.

I tried to obtain photos of many of the species on the list from the original challenge but I only managed to take photographs of the following:

~ Orkney Vole - at least I think it is a vole and not a rat
~ Puffin
~ Guillemot
~ Harbour {Common} Seal
~ Grey Seal
~ Porpoise
~ Razorbill
~ Gannet
~ Great Skua
~ Arctic Skua - though looking at some references I'm currently confused if it's an Arctic or Great
~ Lapwing
~ Eider Duck - Either the bottom photo is the Eider Ducks or the blog entry has disappeared
~ Red Deer - the blog entry for this seems to have disappeared!
~ Salmon - the blog entry for this seems to have disappeared!
~ Red Fox - the blog entry for this seems to have disappeared!

Missed opportunities:
~ Orca Whale (They were visible twice from the mainland on Orkney when I was unable to get to them and when I had went back to Scottish Mainland an Orca got stuck in Kirkwall Harbour)
~ Short Eared Owl (one actually flew alongside my for ages one evening but I never seen one whenever I went out to find them)
~ Mountain Hare (they were too far away for me to get them noticeably within the frame)
~ Red Squirrel (one ran across the road while I was a passenger in a car)
~ Golden Eagle (we couldn't find the route to their usual nesting spot on Arran but it was too rainy to take photos anyway)
~ Otter (there were always otters crossing the road and hanging around the harbour but I never got a photo of any)

I do have a photograph of the Primula Scotica that I took while I was staying in Orkney and of the Yew Tree in Fortingall even though they weren't part of my challenge at that time.   What luck!

Now, I shall pick up where I left off.....