Osprey and Raptors Workshop

Osprey and Raptors Workshop

2nd – 3rd – 4th August 2019

The Raptor part of the workshop is on Saturday 3rd 11:00 – 4:00pm

Total cost of the full three days for Ospreys and Raptors – £195 per day

Nine Spaces available

A 50% none refundable deposit is required to secure the booking.  By paying the deposit you are agreeing to our terms and conditions

Ospreys

The Osprey has a stronghold in the Scottish Highlands and the area around Aviemore holds good numbers. The birds can be seen fishing in the local lochs and rivers nearby. he site.

The site Aviemore ospreys continually out performs other osprey sites in the area in terms of dive each morning. This year saw 32 dives during my workshop in July. There are two hides on the site, the original hide which gives mainly side on shots and the new hide which gives head-on shots. Everyone will have the opportunities to use both hides

July is the peak time for ospreys to fish as their young start to fledge and leave the nest.

The site is in the centre of Aviemore the exact meeting place will be given when booking.

The photography loch site is a very short walk to the hide overlooking the small loch where the ospreys feed on the stocked fish. The strike rate last summer was 6 -10 strikes per morning giving great opportunities to get images of this great event.

This is difficult photography and I recommend that all photographer do three days for the ospreys to be sure of getting the images you are looking for. The light can vary in the early morning, the weather can vary and the time of day the ospreys come to fish can vary

Raptors.

In addition to the Osprey workshop we will be photographing a collection of falconry birds on the Sunday afternoon at 12:00 – 4:00. The raptors will be golden eagle, goshawk, peregrine falcon, Ural owl, bald eagle, Tawney owl spectacled owl. The birds may change due to condition and breeding status.

The selection of birds is left to John the Falconer, he will not bring birds in poor condition and birds that are not well.

We have a private flying area within a pine wooded for the raptor part of the workshop the only people present are the photographers, the gates will be locked behind us and the birds are able to fly freely.

Workshop Timing

The workshop corresponds with the young Ospreys fledgling, this changes each year depending on mainly the weather. This is the best time for photographers to get images of the adult female teaching her young to dive for fish and some young fledged later that others and need much persuasion to leave the nest by the adult birds. They will coax the young off the nest by taking food to a nearby tree and calling the young, persuading them to leave the nest.

Included. The number of sessions booked in the loch-side hide in the early morning. Tuition on all mornings.

Not included. Accommodation, food, transport to and from Aviemore, equipment, insurance.

Equipment.

Lenses useful for the workshop are 300mm – 600mm prime lenses, 100-300mm, 100-400mm, 200-400mm zoom lenses. bean bag, tripod, spare cards, and batteries. It can be quite cold so a small flask of something hot would be useful.

Itinerary

Each day meet at 04:15am on each morning in the car park near to the hide and make our way down to the hide to photograph the ospreys at around 08:30am the osprey photography will end, and the rest of the day is free.

If you would like a print or use of any of the pictures on my site or would like to commission a piece of work please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to discuss your requirements.