The Best Wildlife Moments from 2024
How do you choose your best wildlife moments from 2024 when there are so many.
What a year 2024 was. Anyone who has followed me for a while will know that I have been on and off full and part time with my photography over the past 20 years. But in August 2023 I was made redundant from my Full Time Job after 6 years with the company. After a lot of soul searching and an incredible amount of self-doubt, I decided to give it a go and go full time again. So from January 2024 I started to focus on developing a program of workshops throughout Scotland. After an extremely tough 3 months at the beginning of the year, things started to pick up and I added more workshops across Scotland and through the support and encouragement of many people within the industry and the use of their hides I have now built a business where I am just living my dream.
I have photographed Red Kites, Red Squirrels, Seals, Otters, Puffins, Ospreys, Eagles, Badgers, Dolphins, Bears and many more. It really was an incredible year.
Every day I am either out taking photographs, working on the business or holding workshops and meeting so many amazing people.
Thank you to everyone for all of your support and standing by me to help me believe in myself and achieve my dream.
The Best Wildlife Moments from 2024
So without any further delay – The following are my Top 15 Photography Moments from 2024 in descending order.
Number 15 – Mountain Hares. Glenshee
I photographed Mountain Hares for the first time at the beginning of this year. I worked with Bob Smith and although the hike up to the mountains was incredibly tough and I really struggled, It was an incredible experience seeing these animals in the snow and photographing them in the incredibly harsh environment that they live in.
The reason why this made it in to the Top 15 is one because it is a lot of fun and two it is physically challenging. Finding the hares is tough and then getting close to them without disturbing them is extremely difficult. This being said I actually have found myself since my first trip to see them focusing more on showing the hares in their environment and the harsh world that they live in rather than getting as close as I can.
Number 14 – White Tailed Eagles. Ardnamurchan
I guided several trips for Naturetrek to Ardnamurchan in 2024 and the White Tailed Eagle was always one of the species that clients wanted to see. I had seen and photographed these Eagles before on Mull with the brilliant Mull charters Boat Trip but I had always wanted to try and achieve a different image of the Eagles perched on the rocks with the mountain environment as the background. This image was taken on a boat trip. Ardnamurchan is a visually stunning area to photograph and there are so many eagles around the area and although tough to get close to them, the opportunity photographically is incredible.
Number 13 – Grey Wagtail. Lanarkshire
In February when I was very quiet with the business, I started to spend a lot of time on my local river. I had identified this as being a good location for Dippers which I spent many happy hours with, but I also found that the river was a great location for the Grey Wagtail. A stunning bird that I had not really photographed before. Over many weeks of exploration I found where the wagtails were nesting and found a location near the nest where they would come and feed regularly, so I set myself up there almost laying in the river underneath some trees and just waited for the wagtails to come, which they did. This particular area was incredible in terms of light and the pops of sunlight shining through the trees just lit the rocks and the bird.
Number 12 – Barnacle Geese. Islay
At the beginning of November I visited the beautiful Island of Islay. It is a location that I had always wanted to visit. The arrival of the Barnacle Geese is one of the many nature spectacles on Islay. From late September thousands of Geese arrive from Greenland and congregate on the tidal mudflats at the head of Loch Gruinart and Loch Indaal. These are also their main roosting sites. After a while they disperse across Islay for the winter seeking feed on pastures and stubbles. I had always wanted to photograph the geese and see this amazing spectacle. I only had a short visit to Islay and the first 3 days the weather was terrible with really low cloud and bad light. But on the last morning the sun rise was incredible and the geese were bathed in golden light. I had an idea of the images that I wanted to create and this last morning I was able to capture one of the images that I wanted – Barnacle Geese silhouetted against the sunrise.
Number 11 – Red Squirrels. Argaty Red Kites
Argaty became a regular workshop location from May and I was fortunate enough to hold workshops there every month. At Argaty the woodland hide for the Red Squirrels on the right day with sunlight shining through the trees gives you the opportunity to capture some truly stunning images of the squirrels. In this hide on a day when the weather is like this I always look for the opportunity to photograph the squirrels using the highlights of the sun to spotlight the Red Squirrel with the Shadows and darkness in the background. This image was taken with the sun shining and lighting the tree and I was just lucky that the squirrel paused on the side of the tree in the lit area for a brief moment. I have really enjoyed holding workshops here and helping clients capture character in portraits of the squirrels using the beautiful dappled light.
Number 10 – Puffins. Isle of May
I visited the Isle of May for the first time at the end of July. In the past I had only photographed puffins on the Isle of Lunga. But I wanted to look at an easier to reach location for 1 day workshops next year. Although when I visited it was at the end of the season, there were still quite a few puffins and they were constantly bringing in fish. I had always wanted to capture an image of a puffin in flight with a beak full of fish but against a non-sky background. This particular image was taken as the puffin flew past where I was sitting with the cliffs in the background.
Number 9 – Beavers. Blairgowrie
I have photographed the beavers in Blairgowrie a few times and again worked with Bob Smith on this particular workshop. The beavers on this particular trip were tough to find and it took quite a while to be in a position to be able to capture some images. This particular workshop we saw a very small beaver kit no more than 3 months old and although I was able to get some nice images of the kit, It was this particular image that I loved. Again using the sun lighting a particular area of the water and spotlighting the beaver as it fed in this area. I also like the leaf in front of the beaver. Incredible animals and I can’t wait to spend more time with them next year.
Number 8 – Red Kites. Argaty
Back to Argaty for the 8th place. I really loved spending time there last year and photographing the kites over the various different seasons. But no matter the season what is always the case is how impressive these birds are. As I have held monthly workshops there I have built up quite a portfolio of different images and I always ensure that my clients have the right settings to capture these birds in flight, but once you can capture images of them flying and diving I encourage everyone to study the backgrounds and look for where different images can be captured. Those that have been on my workshops will know I am obsessed with this gap in the trees and for me it really does provide an interesting contrast of light and dark if you can get the shot of the Kite as it fly’s in front of the gap.
Number 7 – Ospreys. Trossachs
I started visiting the Trossachs Osprey Hide near Callendar in June and loved visiting just for the share variety of wildlife, not only did you get the stunning Ospreys but also Kingfishers and Otters. The Ospreys though were the stars and I managed to capture some very different Osprey images. I held workshops there and it was always a special moment when clients achieved images of the Ospreys diving in to the water or exiting with a fish. This particular image the Osprey had caught a fish, but dropped it and dived back in to the water to try to retrieve it and I caught this as it exited from the water again.
Number 6 – Badgers. Kirkcudbright
I have spent a lot of time at Scottish Photography Hides at the brilliant hides owned by Alan McFadyen. To be honest any of his hides could have made it in to the top 10 but I have picked the daytime badger hide. This hide is incredible, located at the set in a forest clearing. I photographed at this hide a few times and ran workshops there. On many occasions there were 15 badgers right in front of the hide but it was the light that I loved in this hide, similar to some of my other highlights of 2024 I just love the dappled light shining through the trees and lighting the badgers. I got several images using this light source, but this was my favourite with the badger just stepping out of the shadows in to the sunlight.
Number 5 – Dippers. Lanarkshire
Back to my local river for the 5th place and the Dippers, these little birds at the beginning of the year when I wasn’t very busy really kept me going. I would sit by the river and often start to worry that things would not work and that I may not be good enough to do this and then this incredible bird would appear and I would immediately forget about everything and just watch and photograph the Dippers. Over time they became quite trusting of me and I could often sit by the river and they would come within a few metres of me. I spent many days and happy hours with these birds. I knew where they were nesting and was so keen to get the newly fledged chicks being fed as they left the nest, this would have finished telling the story, but unfortunately I was away at this moment they fledged and therefore missed it. But that being said I has some amazing moments with them and this particular image was taken on a nice sunny winter day and the light was beautiful.
Number 4 – Pine Marten and Fox. Keith
I took this image from a hide on a workshop that I was holding. The Pine Martens on the first day of the workshop were incredible. From 12:30pm through to 7:00pm It was constant Pine Marten activity with several Pine Martens visiting the hide and all being seen and photographed in daylight. It really is a brilliant hide and was a great experience. The Fox was a welcome visitor and one we had been advised about as fairly regular. With this image I was photographing the Fox and had got some lovely images of it in nice light and then the fox turned and looked to the right and started to walk off, I tracked the fox as it started to run and then it suddenly stopped and then the male Pine Marten jumped at the fox. I didn’t even see the Pine Marten and it was a lucky image in respect that I didn’t have any idea it was going to happen.
Quite a unique interaction between 2 amazing animals and therefore one of my favourite images and moments of 2024.
Number 3 – Otter. Isle of Mull
I have been fortunate enough to see and photograph otters many times. But I had always had an idea for a shot that I wanted to try and achieve. I wanted to try a slow shutter speed with the otter perfectly sharp but the background of the waves crashing against the rocks blurred and showing the power of the sea and the harsh environment that the otter lives in. I had attempted this before but the otter moved and therefore wasn’t sharp. On this particular day in June the weather was awful, stormy sea, rain and wind. But it was perfect for this kind of image. I photographed this image at 1/8s and It is one of my favourite Otter images that I have taken.
Number 2 – Brown Bear. Finland
I have been fortunate enough to visit Finland many times and photograph these amazing animals, this image is quite unique. It was taken from a hide this year in June on my Finland Summer Wildlife Photography Tour at Boreal Wildlife Centre. It had been quite a quiet evening in the hide with no bears and we were all getting a little tired and were thinking it may be time to get some sleep, but then the sky started to change colour and the sun started to set and then around an hour later it rose again. This is why this image is quite unique. In Finland in Summer it doesn’t get dark and therefore there is rarely a sunset or sunrise, but on this occasion the sky changed colour and it was stunning. So we all started to photograph the sunset. I prayed that a bear would appear and already had in my mind the type of image I wanted, then the bear appeared and continued to walk to the exact place I wanted it to be and it enabled me the opportunity to capture this image of the bear at sunset. Very rarely does the subject and light come together at the exact time and this is probably my favourite bear image that I have taken.
Number 1 – Swans. Glasgow
This may be a strange choice as my number 1 for 2024. But I have good reason for picking the swans. At the start of 2024 when I was thinking about workshops I wanted to offer, I kept coming back to a beginners workshop photographing common species but in a different way. So I used Hogganfield Loch in Glasgow as a location and started to put together the workshop contents. In the early part of the year when I wasn’t very busy I spent hours up there practicing my own photography, It is where I learnt to shoot for shadows, use exposure compensation in a different way and where I finally managed to master all of the different settings on the Nikon Z9. Photographically this location and this species made me a better photographer. It also gave me the confidence to keep going when I felt like giving up and getting another job. But also it became the foundation of my business and fast forward 12 months I have held 25+ workshops there and met some incredible people who started as clients and have become friends. These people that supported me early on were a large part of why I managed to succeed last year and their encouragement and feedback gave me the focus and determination I needed. Over the time I spent there I really began to appreciate swans in a different way and not only are they beautiful majestic birds, but they have so much character and photographing them over 2024 really was my top wildlife moment and I have taken some of my best images there.
This is why the Swans are my number 1 wildlife photography highlight for 2024.
With tours to Kenya, Finland, Zambia, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka in 2025 it is set up to be a very busy and different year. But despite me putting more of a focus on tours I have plenty of Scottish Wildlife and workshops in the calendar throughout the year, and all of my highlights of 2024 will feature as workshops in 2025. So if you feel like sharing some of my best moments with me on a workshop or feel like creating some new moments with me on a tour then get in touch.
Thank you again to everyone for your support in 2024 and If you are discovering me as a photographer or my website for the first time then get in touch.
Massive thanks to the following people and businesses for all of your support and encouragement this year:
Alan McFadyen. Scottish Photography Hides: Scottish Photography Hides – Scottish Photography Hides
Jacqui Kelly. Pine Marten: Pine Marten – Cairngorm Wildlife Photography and Tours
Lynn Bowser. Argaty: Argaty Red Kites – Argaty Red Kites
Bob Smith. About Me – Nature Nuts
Natalie Underwood. Trossachs Osprey Hide