Hunting and loss of its woodland habitat led to the Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus to become extinct in the UK in the mid-18th century, however, birds were reintroduced from Sweden almost a century later. They are now restricted to pine forests in the north of Scotland, where they feed on berries and the shoots and buds of conifer trees. Male Capercaillies perform spectacular communal displays in spring, gathering in woodland clearings called ‘leks’ to parade around, fanning their magnificent tail feathers and making strange gulping and clicking sounds as they compete for the attention of females.
Mark Hamblin has worked as a freelance nature photographer since 1995, creating images for international photographic agencies; providing specialist guiding services and working on multi-media conservation projects.
Mark has published and collaborated on several books including Wild Peak, Wild Land - Images of nature from the Cairngorms, Tooth & Claw and 2020VISION. He was also a contributing photographer for the Wild Wonders of Europe project working on stories in Lithuania and The Netherlands.
Mark is a director of the social enterprise company, Wild Media Foundation, who produce communications material for a range of clients as well as working on their own projects. Their current project, SCOTLAND: The Big Picture amplifies the case for a wilder Scotland, and Mark is part of a team of photographers and videographers currently gathering material for a range of media products.
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