Wildlife Photographic Journals

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:06:00 +0000

Sandwiches and Dippers

I like to indulge in some photography during my lunch hour at work. It's always good just to get away from the office, stretch the legs and take in some fresh air. One such lunch hour favourite is the Dippers that inhabit a local stream. These lunch hour trips are always a bit of a rush around, and allowing for travel time, I end up with around 40 minutes to find the birds and try and get some photographs. My sandwich usually being eaten on the move.

Its always tricky lighting conditions in this stream that tumbles down through a woodland valley. Time is limited, as once the riparian trees burst into leaf, the stream will be plunged into deep shade, effectively ruling out any photography. So I decided to start my brief sessions with the Dippers earlier this year, as I have always previously tried for them around March. As the sun is still low in the sky, the light reaching the swirling water is limited at the moment but should improve rapidly over the coming weeks. I hope to try and make a more concerted effort with these fascinating birds this year and that numerous short sessions will help me build a better picture of their habits. To date I have managed two visits due to the continuing poor weather.

My first visit was encouraging as I managed to locate two birds which both seem to have fairly well defined territories along the stream, making location potentially easier for future sessions where time is so precious. The Dippers are relatively easy to find as the search area is restricted to the narrow corridor of the brook.

One of the birds unfortunately appears to have an infected foot. However, it does not seem to be affecting it too much at present and it has been a joy watching it plunging in to the shallow rapids to feed.

I was pleased to see on my second session that this easily recognisable bird had already seemed to pair up with a mate, in this early breeding species.

I left both of them at the end of last week checking out some potential sites to build a nest.

Despite the narrow search area and their incredibly bright white breast, they are surprisingly easy birds to walk straight past.

However, I have managed to find and photograph birds on both sessions which is encouraging and should be able to build a small library of photos from multiple visits. A Dipper a day keeps the doctor away :).

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:38:00 +0000

New Plot Visitors

In one of those rare moments of sunshine in one of the worst winters of weather I can remember for photography, I decided to make a visit to the new feeding station known as 'the Plot'. It has kept me busy keeping the variety of feeders constantly filled, as high numbers of birds have been visiting and eating their way through large quantities of seed, fat-balls and peanuts. On this particular morning it seemed fairly quiet in terms of numbers of birds arriving, the cause of which would be revealed later in the session.

The first birds returning to the feeders, after the minor disturbance of setting up the pop-up hide, were the Blue Tits as usual. Despite being a very common bird, which could be easily overlooked, when their plumage is in good condition they do look superb.

The tits were very quickly joined by a small flock of Goldfinch. This is one species that appears to have really benefited from the feed that people put out in their gardens, and what once was a fairly unusual sight is now common. The birds glowed in their beautiful colours in the early morning sun.

I decided to introduce a new perch taken from my garden which was already showing the first shoots of spring under the mild winter weather.

Another photograph taken later in the session, when one side of the photography area is plunged in to shade by a bush, giving dark backgrounds to the photos. I quite like these dark background photographs as they really show off the colours of the birds.

Next species to muscle in on the feeders were the larger Greenfinch. When these boisterous birds arrive all the other tends to be pushed out the way until they have had their fill.

A new species arrived in the shape of a small flock of Chaffinch. These birds don not tend to land so much on the perches but appear more content with picking up the fallen seed on the ground below the feeders. This is a male bird looking is great condition. It appears the birds are benefiting from their new food supply.

Joining in with the mopping up of seed from the ground was the arrival of six pheasants. A female bird peaking over from behind one of the logs.

Now you may be thinking that there was a lot of bird activity but compared to the numbers coming in to the feeders when I make my visits to refill, it was fairly quiet. The reason soon became apparent with a sudden burst of alarm calls from the scattering small song birds and rushing of air sound from above the hide resulted in a stunning male Sparrowhawk landing on the perch in front of me. As I was so close to perch to photograph the small birds, all I could fit into the frame was a head portrait. I managed to take about six photos before this predator with its highly tuned senses realised I was there and disappeared low and fast over the hedge. It was inevitable that so much bird activity would eventually attract a predator.

I am already looking forward to my next session at the Plot and to see what will turn up next.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:43:00 +0000

Plan B

Last weekend, I did have good intentions but they proved to be too optimistic. The idea was to rise early on Saturday and head to some pine forest to try and find some Crossbills. However, I was booked in for a rare Friday night out in Liverpool and eventually arrived home at 3am. I very rarely drink and so the few drinks really impacted on my well being the next day. Not only did I sleep through the alarm clock but woke feeling like an army of blacksmiths were trying to hammer their way out of the back of my head. Looking out the window there was a strong breeze blowing which instantly cancelled out the tree top hugging Crossbills. Given my very delicate hungover condition a more gentle pursuit was required, a Plan B. I eventually forced myself out the front door to look for some winter thrushes.

I made my way to reliable site, feeling and probably looking decidedly green, and located a flock of around 60 Fieldfare slowly making their way across a field. However, there was a chain-link fence between myself and the birds which made any photography impossible. Time to look elsewhere. My level of motivation was rapidly declining as the pounding in my head seemed to be increasing. What kept me going though the trauma was the rare view of the sun shining, in what has been the worst winter weather for photography that I can remember.

Eventually I found a low Firethorn bush with a few remaining berries and three species of feeding thrushes. I positioned myself so that a grey wall of a building behind the bush provided an unusual neutral back drop to allow the colours of the birds to shine in the low winter sun. First bird before my sore eyes was a Fieldfare that landed on top of the bush. This bird was a really beautifully marked individual of a species that seems to show quite a degree of variation.

Another berry disappears.

Usually when so few berries are remaining these isolated bushes are dominated by a lone Mistle Thrush which tends to chase all the other birds away from its personal larder. However, this bird seemed quite relaxed about the Fieldfare and Redwing busily depleting the dwindling food supply.

The bird I was most happy to see coming in to feed were the Redwing, which are always particularly shy and one of the most difficult to approach. One waiting in a tree next to the bush.

Several Redwing were coming in to feed at the same time.

Memories of the previous night, down in one.

The session was cut short by an increasing feeling that the best place for me that day would be back in bed to recover from my self-induced illness. I have already planned next weekend and this time I will be back on track and with a clear head will be resolutely sticking to my plan.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:41:00 +0000

Goodbye 2011

Happy New Year to you all. May your 2012 be filled with many wonderful wildlife encounters.

I was just backing up my images from 2011 when I came across a folder on the hard drive that had slipped under the processing radar. It was from a session last March where I spent an easy session at the Wildlife and Wetlands Centre at Martin Mere. I like to make a visit here in the Spring as you can often find numerous wild birds, especially Shelduck mixed in with the captive birds and at the time there are still plenty of Whooper Swan and wildfowl to photograph from the hides on the main lake.

The session started before I arrived as I came across a male pheasant in full spring display mode. The bird was puffed up and 'showing off' to another male that is just out of the photo.

Due to the light direction my first port of call at Martin Mere was the main hide which as usual had plenty of birds at close range to chose from. However, I must admit I do find it slightly frustrating as these permanent hides do not allow you to get the more attractive low angle and point of view. Therefore it always feels a little if you are photographing down upon the birds rather than getting down to their level which produces better images.

Large numbers of overwintering Whooper Swans were drifting around as usual, building up their energy reserves with the daily feed, before their long flight back to the breeding grounds in Iceland.

One of my favourite duck species, the Pintail, was present in large numbers. What these birds may lack in colour they certainly make up for through their attractive shape.

A female Pintail 'blowing bubbles' as it feeds in the shallows.

Amongst the Pintail were a few of the slightly more colourful Wigeon, that were announcing their presence with their characteristic whistling calls.

I left the main hide and took a wander around to see what else could be found. There was definitely a hint of Spring in the air during this March visit with Mallards busily mating. The female certainly seems to get the worse end of the deal during the process as she is pushed below the water.

After a good bit of searching around I finally managed to find a wild Pochard amongst the captive collections to end a relaxing session with the camera.

I have already been out with the camera this year despite the best attempts by the weather to thwart me and will show some of these photos in my next post.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:06:00 +0000

The Plot

A couple of months back I managed to secure the use of private site to set up a new bird feeding station for photography. This site is now known as 'The Plot' and is in an interesting location with a good potential to attract migrant birds. It has taken some work to get the site suitable for bird photography and I have shared the efforts of setting up and feeding with a couple of friends.

December has not been a good for my photography, mainly due to me feeling unwell with some lergy at the start of the month and my energy levels only returning to some normality this week. The weather and light have also been consistently poor, so even if I had been healthy enough to venture out, I don't many photographs would have been had.

A couple of days back a morning of rare sunlight was forecast and having returned to the world of the living, I finally got round to my first session at the Plot. Its is good to end the year with the start of a new project. Conditions were not ideal with a strong 30mph wind blowing in off the sea and the clouds racing across the sky causing very variable light conditions.

The wind was a nuisance as it was causing a lot of problems with my pegged down hide flapping around and causing unwanted noise. A sparrowhawk swooping through occasionally also didn't help put the birds at ease.

It is always interesting when you start photographing at a new feeding station, not only to see which birds are turning up, but also you start to get a feel for the subtleties of how the light changes across the the set up and influences the background colours. This is quite nicely demonstrated in the two Goldfinch photos above and below.

The main bird species arriving at the free food supply were a range of tit species and finches such as this Great Tit.

I was particularly happy to see good numbers of Greenfinch turning up which are beautiful birds.

A party of around ten Long-tailed tits were also doing the rounds and coming through en mass on an hourly cycle. A species that is always such fun to photograph and I look forward to more encounters with them over the coming months.

There were several other species visiting the Plot at the moment but they can wait to future sessions. The final species photographed during my brief session was a bold male Great spotted Woodpecker which seems to have taken a strong liking to one of the upright perches.

So that really brings this year to a close. 2011 has been an enjoyable year with around 110 bird and 5 mammal species photographed including quite a good number that I have not put in front of the camera previously. I have so many incredible memories but some highlights would include the Stone Curlew and Balearic Warblers of Mallorca in the Spring, the Whinchat and Corn Bunting in the Summer and Water Rails in the Autumn. I think my strongest memory will be spending the three hours following a group of hunting stoat which was such a unique and privileged experience.

What will 2012 bring? Well who can say but I already have quite a few plans including a week booked away oversea. I am looking forward to 2012 already and will end this post by wishing you all a very Happy, Healthy, Peaceful and Wildlife filled New Year.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:30:00 +0000

Simply Starlings

Starlings create one of nature's great spectacles as the swirling murmurations of birds come into roost at dusk. However, as an individual bird they tend to be a little overlooked which is a shame as they take on spectacular rainbow of metallic colours in the right light.

Seeing a large flock bathing, I recently took the opportunity to have a lie down and take some photos. Unfortunately a big bank of dark grey cloud swept in off the sea and quickly cut the session short as the light vanished. Its amazing how much fun can be had with the simple combination of a flock of starlings, a large puddle and some soft golden winter light.

Just before the light disappeared, I decided to try and photograph some birds in flight. This is not an easy task with Starlings as they are small and fast flying but I managed a couple but many headed to the trash as I clipped off bits of birds in the frame. If any one wants some partial images of flying starlings, I have plenty :)

Given that it Christmas Eve, I would like to take this moment to wish all my readers and those who have regularly supported me through this year and kindly taken the time to comment on my posts a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Wildlife filled 2012. Of course some do not celebrate Christmas and to those I send my seasonal greetings and best wishes.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:16:00 +0000

On the Rail Trail

Water rail are a species of which I have relatively few photographs and my entire collection have all been taken during occasional chance encounters. This mainly results from the low visibility of this water bird's with its habit of skulking in thick vegetation such as reed beds. The usual sightings of these birds are as a blur of grey, brown and red as they dash between the cover of clumps of reeds. They are often heard more than seen with their unusual pig like squeals emerging deep from within the vegetation.

I heard of a lake in Cheshire where a couple of birds were putting in a regular appearances in the open due to low water levels and this seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. Therefore I decided to drop my other photography plans and spend a couple of sessions trying to capture some images of these normally 'hidden' birds. This proved to be a good decision as the rails have now once more melted back into the reeds as the water level in the pond has risen due to recent rainfall.

I first came across the birds wandering across the exposed silts of the lake bed. Joining the birds in the mud gave me a nice low shooting angle.

Having not really had prolonged views of these small birds previously, I have never really appreciated what an attractive species they are. The red of the eye and bill, slate grey head and breast that then blends in to the chestnut back and black and white striped flank patterns and all finished off with a sharp white tail.

Their eyes can look quite comical when viewed head on especially when combined with that narrow body profile that helps them easily slip between emergent pond vegetation.

It was a glorious autumn day without a breath of wind and clear blue skies overhead and warm soft light. Some perfect reflections could be captured as the birds swam across the remaining water in the lake.

The pair of birds really were very confiding as they frequenty swam or foraged for food at close range in front of me, often requiring a change to a 300mm lens to fit them in frame.

This included repeatly walking across a log jutting out over the pond.

It was so refreshing to see these birds out in the open for a change.

I made further visits to the Water Rails before the water level rose and the birds disappeared. I will post some more photographs from the other sessions in the near future.

I suppose if there is a lesson to be learnt from this episode, it is that when a set of unusual circumstances i.e very low lake water levels, creates a unique photography opportunity then its time to concentrate your efforts as such moments are always rare and temporary.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:17:00 +0000

Close Encounters of the Hare Kind

As the end of the year approaches, I like to get all my photographs finished off and backed up so I can have a fresh start in the New Year. I have been working through the last of my hare images, taken earlier in the year. A reminder of warm gentle days as the hail swirls under gale force winds under black skies outside. For example a hare running through the fallen blossom of late spring.

Or feeding on the lush growth of mid-summer.

During my hare photography this year I have had some very close encounters with these shy animals. The most memorable of these moments was lying down for about 30 minutes one evening next to a female hare while she quietly grazed. There was no doubt that the hare knew I was there, but given my prolonged and careful approach, it had decided I presented no threat and carried on feeding. An intimate memorable moment spent with a special animal. Below is one of those photos from that moment.

I have encountered a couple of young hares along the way which are hilarious to watch on occasions with their rather uncoordinated antics.

This one get coming closer and closer, looking rather inquisitive, until all I could get in frame was a head photo.

Watching me, watching you, watching me.

Some early morning fur maintenance. As hares do not use burrows they spend a lot of time grooming their coat to keep it in good condition to repel all the weather throws at them.

Thought I was suffering from double vision for a moment from getting out of bed too early.

This one probably recognises me from a previous encounter.

So I will finish off my hares for this year with one giving me the 'eye'. Their is spring madness just waiting to be unleashed behind that eye.

I hope the selection of hare posts I have made during 2011 have given you as much pleasure as I have had in taking the photos. I take away many fond memories of having the priviledge of sharing moments of their world.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 09:40:00 +0000

A Few Along the Way

With my photography I do try and concentrate on sessions aimed at a particular species. Inevitably whilst waiting around or during my wanderings a few other species tend to appear in the viewfinder. Often you may just get one of two photos of these chance encounters and therefore as the year progresses I tend to end up with a small collection of bonus images that I can use for a compilation blog post which is exactly what this one will be.

I will start of with spring and whilst walking down to a small reed bed to try and photograph reed warbler, a male Blackcap poked out of a bush and launched in to its loud blackbird like warbling song. I quite liked bird partially obscured by vegetation in this image as this a good representation of a typical view.

I live on the road which has the tidal River Mersey at the bottom and whilst walking down the hill to look for some wading birds on the beach, I cut through the park where there are some very approachable Mistle Thrush. Fortunately the maintenance people leave some areas of longer grass to allow some interesting low angle photos to be taken

During a session looking for some hares I came across a large clump of thistle which the local Goldfinches were doing their best to strip of all it seeds.

Another bird encounter during my search from hares, a Jay in the process of taking on board an acorn to go and bury somewhere for the winter.

I occasionally visit a graveyard where there is usually a relatively 'friendly' female Kestrel. On this occasion there was no sign of 'Mavis' as she is fondly known, but I did manage to get a couple of images of a male bird in some late in the day light.

Perched on a gravestone

Hovering low looking for worms and voles.

I also keep an eye on one of the local duck ponds as sometimes something more unusal the the flocks of mallard will arrive. A Shelduck unexpectedly 'crash' landing.

I try and keep my camera by my side as often as possible for unexpected moments. While driving to work one morning, I spotted a young Black-tail Godwit feeding on the fields behind the local promenade. Well it would have been a crime to drive by with out taking a few photos. It is fortunate I always tend to leave early for my trip to the office in case of such events.

Obviously these are just a few of the 'extras' I have encountered during this year but each one has been a welcome and special moment.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 22:11:00 +0000

Delayed Departure

One of the interesting features of bird photography is that every year is different. I was only thinking the other day about some of the photographs I had taken this year in comparison to last. Some years I do not manage a single photograph of a particular species and the next I may end up with hundreds. This partly results from my approach of trying to concentrate on particular species but also from a few unpredictable encounters during each year with 'friendly' approachable birds. Northern Wheatear are a good example. Last year, photographs of this species were fairly few and far between but this year it has almost seemed like they are following me!

Having already had a good year with this species, another bird recently appeared in its autumn colours offering some great photography opportunities. This bird took up a prolonged temporary residence on the rocks of the local sea wall a couple of weeks back. A very late migrant that should already have been winging its way into Africa. The latest record for this species in my local area is November 21st and this was just beaten by the bird finally departing southward on the 23rd.

It made a pleasant change to be photographing this bird on some rocks, which provide a more 'natural' setting rather than amongst the grass or perched on the posts of the North Wirral coastal strip. During its stay the bird became quickly accustomed to the constant passing of people along the promenade and therefore very approachable for photography.

Where birds are in contact with large numbers of people, good photography opportunities can often develop.

Interestingly this wheatear, despite being on migration, had decided that the heap of boulders was its temporary home and became very territorial, chasing away any other birds that landed nearby. Meadow Pipits were the usual target of its aggression.

The beach in the background provided some nice complimentary coloured background to the bird and although the day was overcast there was still reasonably good and even light.What you cannot see on these low res images here is the feather detail and so you will have to believe me when I say you can see each feather filament in the high res versions.

There was one particular rock that I hoped the bird would use as this was the only one with a decent growth of yellow lichen. After a short wait the bird obliged.

Hopefully, the bird's late departure has not affected it chances of reaching its final destination. I wish it luck on its long journey. This is certainly the last wheatear I will see in 2011 and beside the photos, I am left with fond memories of all those special moments I have spent with these birds this year.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 08:53:00 +0000

Corvids in Flight

The crow family or corvids gets a bad press. Words often used to describe these beautiful, and 'intelligent' birds include evil, cunning, vicious, sinister and murderous which has not been helped by their general portrayal in newspapers, film and books. They have in my opinion been wrongly accused of the steep and recent decline in UK song birds with inappropriate calls for culling above and beyond their usual daily persecution. In my view the changes and losses in bird habitat and the domestic cat are probably the major influences in small bird decline. In 2006 it was estimated their were 10.3 million domestic cats in the UK which is a large population of efficient predators. Another study showed that cats bring home about 4 small birds a year. I think the resulting maths speaks for itself yet noone obviously calls for a cull of cats. Corvids will take eggs and chicks from nests but then again woodpeckers are more predatory than you may realise. The crow family and song birds and have lived in harmony for thousands of years and common sense would suggest that other factors are at play here in the recent sharp declines of the latter.

Over the last couple of years I have spent many happy hours in their company. They are fascinating birds and the closer views has given me a great appreciation of the subtle beauty of their true colours. From a photography point of view they provide good subjects and often look at their most spectacular when in flight. However, capturing flight images of these birds has proved both challenging yet personally rewarding.

For this post I will concentrate on three species and start off with the Jackdaw. These birds are superb aerial acrobats.

The moment of touch down.

The magpie is a particularly maligned species probably because we have greatest contact with these birds as they visit our parks and gardens. They are particularly tricky to photograph in flight as they tend to be quite erratic. A further challenge is achieving the correct camera exposure on a black and white bird in the good light required to freeze them in flight.

I find that photography of these birds flying is at its easiest just before the point of landing.

My favourite pose for this bird is the head on landing when all the feathers are at full spread to slow the bird on it final approach but in photography terms these images are the most difficult to achieve.

Of course what these images unfrotunately do not show is the the iridescent blues, green and purples that can be only be seen on a dorsal view of these bird.

I will finish this post with some Rook images. This is a particularly overlooked species by bird photographers but I cannot for a moment imagine why. These birds have been a long running subject that I have pursued during my lunch hour at work and I am sure will continue to be so. Some sandwiches, a camera and a flock of rooks is a great way to spend 60 minutes.

I love the purple and blue sheen of these birds when the light hits them at the right angle.

As with the Jackdaws, Rooks are incredibly agile in flight.

The wing shape of these birds, with the long feather 'fingers', is on a par with many raptors and creates some interesting flight poses.

Hopefully this post will have helped you view corvids in a more favourable light For those who wish to find more, can I suggest that you wander over to the excellent Corvid Journal which has a wealth of information on these birds. For those who already share my passion for corvids you may wish to go and check out and help support one of the organisations, such as Corvid Aid, who undertake such brilliant and dedicated work rehabilitating injured birds for release back in to the wild.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:18:00 +0000

Return to the Green Nemesis

Regular readers of my blog will by now realise that to date my photography of Green Woodpeckers has been a continued struggle. There are two main reasons for my lack of success which I attribute to these birds being generally fairly thin on the ground in the north-west, compared to the south of the UK, and also due to their very wary nature. Often if you at look at one sideways from a good distance you will see it departing in undulating flight to the nearest tree. I have achieved better results this year with the species than previously which I view as some progress. However, they are not a species I have been able to specifically target and any photographs have come from chance encounters at a particular site I visit regularly.

Back in August I came across the male bird during an early morning session, hunting around for its ant breakfast in the dew soaked grass. The bird was starting to go through moult so not looking at its pristine best but when it comes to this tricky species any photos are welcome.

My observations of these very wary woodpeckers has taught me two main points that now steer my approach. Firstly the male birds, those with the red 'moustache', seem to be relatively more approachable than the females. Secondly if you can find a bird that is preoccupied feeding then your chance of approaching close is raised slightly above zero.

The main set of photographs from this session came when the bird became distracted whilst looking for ants along the edge of a footpath.

A moment to hold my breath and hope the bird would not fly off as it suddenly became suspicious and adopted an alert posture having heard the camera shutter.

A sigh of relief from me as it then relaxed and continued feeding.

Regardless of how careful a wildlife photographer is in their approach there are always factors beyond your control that can put a bird to flight. In this case a passing Sparrowhawk saw the woodpecker fly up to the refuge of the shady side of a nearby tree.

The bird stayed in this position motionless for a full 5 minutes before deciding it was not about to become a raptor meal and flew across to a small tree where I got my final photograph of the session.

This was probably my most prolonged encounter to date. When our next meeting will occur is difficult to say but hopefully this experience will leave me slightly better prepared. On the other hand the most likely outcome is the woodpecker will have different ideas and I will see the flash of its yellow rump as it disappears into the trees once more with its characteristic laughing calls.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:03:00 +0000

Bunting Bonanza

This is a follow-on from my previous post recounting my search for the sadly declining Corn Bunting (see here for previous post). Having finally located some birds I decided to return to the second area I had discovered for another camera session with these wonderful songsters.

Often when you find some obliging birds its pays to return for further sessions. Through repeated visits you learn the character of a species which in turn helps refine your fieldcraft and approach. The phrase 'make hay while the sun shines' seems apt as I was amongst the mid-summer crops of an extensive area of agricultural land.

It did not take me long to home in on the characteristics jangling song in the early dawn light. I found a bird in full song about 100m away from where I had photographed one during my previous visit.

The bright but overcast conditions provided some excellent and very even lighting conditions. As before the bird was regularly flitting between a select number of song perches.

My favourite song perch was a clump of flowering thistle so I spent the majority of the visit concentrating on this area. The purple flowers providing an extra dash of colour to the photos.

Overall it was a very productive few hours in the early morning, with only a small sample of the images taken shown here. I will no doubt return to the crop fields again next summer, now I have located the birds, and hope to try and get some flight photographs. This will not be easy but I know it will definitely be fun and a pleasure to spend some more time in the close proximity to these charismatic farmland birds.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 08:01:00 +0000

Burning the Midnight Oil

It has been many years, apart from the sad sight of road kill, since I have seen a badger. Certainly I have never photographed these nocturnal mammals. So last week I decided to take myself off for a couple of days to a farm down south that has been set up for photography. The site has a number of hides overlooking a flood lit area frequented by well fed badgers that importantly are oblivious to camera flash.

I arrived fairly late with the shortening day length and so it was a bit of a dash around to get set-up for the first night. My experience of flash photography is very, very limited as I always prefer to use the light from the sky. Obviously this is not an option at night. For the first evening I decided to concentrate on an area of longer grass in front of one of the hides and set up three wireless flashes (kindly loaned to me) in an arc around an area baited with their favourite food, peanuts. A small trail of peanuts was then laid to draw the badgers to the area where I hoped to photograph them. All sounds good in theory and a few test photos looked good on the back of the camera although obviously missing the essential badger!

3 hours later and all was still quiet except for the night noises of owl, foxes, deer and rats moving and calling in the surrounding undergrowth. A further half hour passed before I caught my first sight of a huge male badger slowly making its way up the field. It picked up the peanut trail and slowly advanced until it was about a metre short of the 'target area' and stopped, looked at the small tripod supporting the flash, turned round and wandered back to the sett. This behaviour was repeatedly periodically over the next 3 hours, with up to four badgers present, which were wonderful to watch but with an end result of zero photos. I made my way to bed disappointed and frustrated, thinking about the necessary change of tactics required for the following final night.

The next evening I used a different hide and this time clamped the flashes to some small branches stuck in the ground to make them less obvious. Again peanuts were scattered in front of the arc of flashes and some trails of nuts to hopefully draw the badgers to my chosen spot. 2.5 hours passed with only barn owl briefly hunting across the field and the sounds of the night for company. The first badger finally appeared and once more homed in with its superb sense of smell on the the trail of nuts. Just as it reached the the 'target area', the batteries on all three flashes died in the space of about 30 seconds. I now had the badger in the perfect spot but no light....arrrgggh!. I had assumed having not taken any photos the previous night the batteries would be fine. Hard lesson learnt.

Once the badger had wandered off into the adjacent wood, I crept out of the hide and changed all the batteries on the flashes. Four badger-free hours later and I was starting to convince myself it was just not meant to be. Then the big male wandered out of the woods and directly across the field towards me. The photograph below is my first ever badger photo, and I can't but help wondering if its 'laughing' at me.

The badger came closer as it sniffed out and followed the peanut trail leading towards me.

It was not until the badger came across directly in front of me at close range that I appreciated its impressive size. I do not think this one will struggle through the winter given its accumulated fat reserves.

The big male disappeared down a sett entrance only to be replaced by the emergence of a another badger. Just as it wandered in to my' target area' and much to my disbelief the right hand flash died despite the new batteries, leaving just the two operational flashes to my left. Fortunately these carried on working and it was interesting to see how this small change of lighting has given a different feel to the photographs.

I eventually packed up at around 2am. A total of around 14 hours in a hide for a total of 30 photos was not as productive as I had anticipated. However, it was a still a wonderful and memorable experience and a good number of lessons were learnt for next time. I would like to thank Sandra and Richard for their hospitality and for my partner Dawn for putting up with my return in the early hours of the morning over the two nights.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:38:00 +0000

Gone for Grouse

'Gone for Grouse' was the message I left on the kitchen worktop for my patient better half, as I left the house with my friends for a day trying to photograph Red Grouse in North Yorkshire. A 5 a.m departure was necessary to try and arrive at our chosen area on the moors at first light. This was the same area I had travel through a few months earlier, during a journey northward. Then my efforts to try and photograph Red Grouse for the first time was beaten by dire conditions with gale force winds blowing cloud across the tops of the heather.

The first birds we came across as we drove up to the summit was a group of Red-legged Partridge perched on a dry stone bathing in early light.

A promising start but not the species we were seeking. Having reached the moorland plateau, it soon became apparent that large numbers of birds had avoided the shooting parties, as the dawn air was filled with the distinctive calls of grouse.

Red Grouse are subtly beautiful birds, when viewed at close quarters, with intricate patterns of black across their rust colour feather. The moorland and heather provide a naturally attractive settings.

I say 'naturally attractive' as it is easy to forget that this is a carefully managed habitat to maximise the numbers of grouse available for the waiting guns in the latter third of each year.

Cutting and burning of areas of heather creates a mosaic of vegetation at different stages of growth and a plentiful supply of food and cover for the birds. Reminders of this habitat intervention were evident as white-grey curls of smoke rose from a smouldering patch of heather in the distance.

A bird on a previous burnt area.

At the time of our visit the deep purple colour of the summer heather had faded to a pink- orange hue which still provided a colourful setting for the birds, especially when taken at a very low angle.

As usual I was on the lookout to try and photograph the birds in a wide range of different settings which include calling out from patches of long wispy grass or perched on fence posts.

One of my goals for the trip was to try and capture some flights photos. This is a tough challenge as they are extremely fast flying birds, hence their popularity as a game bird, can be erratic in their flight and normally fly away from a person. Despite several attempts I only managed to capture a couple of flight images.

This last image provides a good example of their speed in flight as it was taken with a camera shutter speed of 1/2000s yet still the wings are a whirring blur.

An enjoyable and productive time was had by all, and I eventually reached home at the end of a long day at 7 pm. However, I intend to return once more next spring and hopefully try for some more of those tricky flight photos.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:33:00 +0000

The Nearly Monochrome Zoo

Back in the summer, I took my better half's sister to Chester Zoo as she is very keen to learn about photography. I had already donated a camera to her, that I won as a competition prize, kitted her out with a 100-400mm lens and we were ready to go. The main purpose of this first trip was just to get her use to taking photographs and to think about framing the shot and getting around the obstacles present by the enclosures. Zoos are a great training ground for wildlife photography and I spent many happy hours in them when I first started. She really enjoyed the trip and on the next visit I intend to go a bit more in depth about the different camera settings.

When I got home I decided for a change that I would have some fun in Photoshop converting the images to black and white and also do some with selective desaturation. The latter is where you convert the image to black and white and then selectively bring back colour in parts of the image. This is a departure from my normal work in Photoshop as I usually do very little to my images beyond some minor adjustments and sharpening.

We started the visit with an easy large slow moving target, the Elephants. As usual they seemed to be enjoying themselves in the pool and waterfall. These are just straight black and white conversion. I must admit my experience of monochrome images is limited but I was once told the key is contrast.

The rest of the images in this post, except for the last, will now show selective desaturation. The effect on this first image is subtle as it has just changed the background colour on this Hornbill image from brown.

I like the use of this technique for birds that have bright eyes such as owls where only the colour of the eyes is retained. A Hawk Owl andthe strange looking Frogmouth.

For some images the technique produces a pleasing result. Flamingos with the water desaturated.

WARNING IMAGES BELOW SHOW GRAPHIC CONTENT OF CARNIVORES FEEDING

For others, such as this Giant Otter which had just killed a mallard that had flown by accident in to the enclosure, I am not so sure. I think this would have been a more pleasing image if the green water colour had been retained.

Chester Zoo have just acquired a pack of Painted Hunting Dogs and they were being fed as we arrived. Beautiful animals but you certainly would not want to be in the enclosure with them!

I will finish off this rather odd post with a full colour photo that has not been subject to any Photoshop treatment. Do not adjust your monitor :) While passing the bear enclosure the usual wild flock of jackdaws was milling around on the look out for any easy meals. Amongst the flock was a stunning looking leucistic bird. Natures own version of selective desaturation.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:48:00 +0000

Too Late for Terns

Each summer I like to have at least one good session with some of the local Common Terns. I have always been attracted to the streamline elegance of these 'swallows of the sea', particularly during their twisting acrobatic flight. This year the mental alarm clock kept ringing out that it was time to pay them visit. However, due to other commitments the trip ended up being continually postponed until way past the optimal mid-summer period. For wildlife photography timing is key, particularly with birds, and so my expectations for the session ahead were not very high as I slipped out of the house before sunrise.

I arrived in the hide with numerous terns circling overhead but none were landing on the odd assortment of perches close by. If I had managed my trip a couple of months earlier they would have be queued up with plenty of flight opportunities. I would pay for my delay. While waiting for a tern to put in an appearance I had a look around to see what else was on offer.

The ducks were waking in the first rays of sun. A female mallard warming up the flight muscles.

A Tufted Duck glided slowly by while a male was stretching its wings.

Still the only terns were circling around the lake or landing on their floating nesting pontoons. Looking out the side of the hide a Lapwing was close-by and moving with characteristic stop and go walk of a plover. The rainbow hue of the shoulder feathers gently glowed in the early sun.

Still no terns. Further along the bank I waited as a hyperactive Common Sandpiper approached the hide. These birds never stop moving and this one was rapidly feeding on small flies that had gather around the muddy debris along the lake margin.

The tern perches remained vacant. A strange looking duck approached across the water. It took me a little while to decide what it was, having not seen a young Shelduck previously.

The species list was growing but the tern photography was failing. Eventually one bird landed briefly.

A second tern then arrived with what looked to be a young whiting firmly clamped in its beak.

One final bird arrived and threw a characteristic tern shape while calling to the birds flying high overhead.

I will admit it was not the most productive tern photography session which was entirely my own fault for not making the time to visit a few weeks earlier. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable morning spent with a small variety of birds in front of the camera. As I often say, there is always next year :)

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 07:48:00 +0000

Code Red Corn Bunting

Wildlife photographers always have a wish list of species that they would like to put in front of the lens. For those who photograph birds the list is often headed by dramatic or colourful species such as kingfishers and owls. My personal list includes some species that are not immediately obvious but which I have always found myself drawn to. One such species, which is usually tucked away on the last page of bird identification books, is the Corn Bunting.

Why I have been so drawn to this large plain coloured bunting is difficult to say. Even the RSPB website describe it as 'nondescript' but I think I have always been fascinated by its unusual shaped beak and odd metallic song.

The Corn Bunting is one of the countryside species that have suffered from the effects of intensive agriculture. The loss of hedgerows, use of herbicides and insecticides that have diminished their natural food supply, more efficient farming methods leading to less spilt grains have all contributed to its precipitous decline. As such it is now classified as a threatened Red List species in the UK. Part of the problem appears to be caused by Corn Bunting behaviour as they tend to spend their entire life with close proximity to where they were reared. Therefore the birds do not tend to relocate to escape the pressures and find better habitat leading to their inevitable decline. Obviously steps are being taken through funding and grants to improve agricultural areas with reinstatement of hedgerows, set aside and the use of buffer strips around fields but is it too little and too late for the Corn Bunting? It would be a sad loss if the summer fields became silent to their unique song.

My first encounter with a Corn Bunting occurred earlier in the year, during my spring trip to Mallorca, and I decided then to make it a target species for this year. A small population exists locally and I headed out early one mid-summer morning to see if I could find some to photograph. They are quite easy birds to locate as their song is so distinct and has been described as metallic jangling keys. The first bird I came across was perched on a ripening crop of barley and just caught the rising sun before it disappeared in the cloud layer above.

I stayed with the bird a while but decided that the long wispy heads of the barley were making it difficult to get a clear photograph of the bird and I would move on to try and find another. My search took me to an area about 5 miles away where I had recalled a report of a flock during the previous winter. Once more I located a bird but this time in a much better setting and at point blank range.

The bird then burst in to song and it was strange to watch it producing this odd sound at such close range.

The bird would make occasion short flights during which it look quite peculiar with its dangling legs but would always return to the same song perch. A useful lesson learnt for the photographer. I moved on to scout around the area to try and find other birds, with a future return trip in mind, and found 2 other photographable birds.

Showing the unusual 'bunting' beak in close up. Perfectly adapted for rapidly manipulating and de-husking seeds.

The final bird was in full song amongst some weeds at the edge of a field.

This first session had been a promising start to my mini Corn Bunting mission with several birds located and some good general observations made on their behaviour. However, the results of my return visit will have to wait until another blog post.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:23:00 +0000

Plan W - The Final Session

As I left home, before the sun had risen, I decided that the session ahead would be my last with the pair of Whinchat. I had really savioured my time with them and I knew that there was little more photographically I could get from the situation.

I was greeted by the female, perched at close range, in the soft early light of an overcast morning. The birds were now fully accustomed to my presence and hardly showed a flicker on my arrival.

For this session I decided to concentrate my efforts on the male bird which had been slightly more elusive than the female during my previous two sessions.

However, he had become bolder with time and was now spending a good deal of time perched at close range in front of the lens.

During my sessions with the birds I had noticed that the male would often show the characteristic food begging actions of a juvenile bird with rapid fluttering of a wings. As if the female didn't have enough to do keeping her growing brood fed!

To finish off this series a couple more photos of the male perched in heather and on a mossy perch.

The three sessions with the Whinchats had been a memorable experience and it was such a pleasure to be in their company for an extended time at such close quarters. This was made all the more enjoyable by being surround by by the beauty and solitude of moorland habitat which is rapidly becoming a favourite place of mine to spend time with the camera.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:48:00 +0000

Bushy Birds

This post follows on from my previous one. During my visit to Bushy Park and whilst wandering around looking for the deer I came across a few birds to photograph. The first images provide a good link back to the last post as it shows some symbiosis between a red deer and jackdaws. Symbiosis is the mutually beneficial relationship between two different types of organisms. In this case the deer benefits from having skin parasites (such as ticks) removed, whilst the birds are gaining a easy snack. As you can see from the photos the female deer is very relaxed and oblivious to the birds foraging on her head.

I also took a few moments to take a few flight photographs of the Jackdaws, although decided to give up quite quickly as the birds were still going through moult and not looking at their best.

Another bird species which I always keep my eye out for when in the London parks is the Egyptian Goose. This species is generally restricted to the south-east corner of the UK and so not a species I can photography locally at home. These feral populations may not be native but they are a very attractive bird.

Up close and personal.

With the adult goose in the photograph above were two goslings. By sitting still and letting the birds make their way along the lake bank to my position I was soon getting full frame images of the youngsters.

How does the song go...'walk like an Egyptian'.

The other non-native birds I always keep a look out for are the Ringed Necked Parakeets. However, these colourful and noisy birds were sticking to the tops of trees during the session except for one bird which was perched on a old decaying trunk.

Grey herons are a species with a large 'circle of fear' and are not normally easily approached. For example, the herons on my local coast will often start walking away or take flight when a person gets within 75 metres. The 'circle of fear' for the urban park herons is significantly reduced through daily exposure to park visitors. I spotted a heron fishing in a small channel that ran along one side of the car park and which proved to be typically approachable.

After a while the bird stepped out of the channel and immediately was mobbed by two crows which caused the heron to raise its 'hackles' in defensive posture.

Hopefully from these last two blog posts you can see that the Royal London Parks, although not particularly challenging in terms of photography, can be very productive, good fun and ideal for a short visit.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 08:14:00 +0000

Capital Deer

I was visiting London during June and found time to spend a couple of hours with the camera in Bushy Park. These expansive parks on the outskirts of the capital are often very productive for wildlife photography and usually I will come away with a good selection of images of both the bird life and the herds of fallow and red deer.

The parks are ideally suited for a quick visit as the wildlife are accustomed to the large number of visitors and so generally more approachable. My session did not coincide with the best time of year, which is about now, when the deer are spectacular as they go through the motions of their annual rut. If you decide you want to go and watch or photograph the rutting deer, then some caution is necessary with the stags. These are large powerful animals with an overdose of testosterone coursing through their bodies which make them both less predictable and potentially dangerous. However, the rut is an event that is worth taking the effort to go and see. The sight of a large bellowing male stomping through the bracken in the early morning, before engaging in a head-on battle of strength with a rival stag, is a memorable sight. The parks look beautiful at this time of year as the bracken and trees change colour in the softer light of autumn.

During my visit the situation was much calmer with the deer gently grazing across the parkland wilderness. I started off the photography with some shots of Fallow Deer running. This herd shows a wide variety of colours from white spots on red, pure white and very dark brown.

At this time of year the bracken that forms large clumps across the park is high and allows for some photos of head and shoulders, when combined with a shallow depth of field, emerging from the mist of foliage.

I found this large Reed Deer stag moving through the bracken. This would be classed as a Royal Stag as it had twelve points to its antlers.

Whilst going through the images I decided for a change that I would convert some to black and white. Deer seem to be one of those species that always look good in monochrome. So below is a selection of photos of both Fallow and Red Deer.

At this time of year the antlers are covered in velvet which is shed in advance of the rut to create the jousting weapons for the clashes between rival males.

A younger stag giving me the stare. I think its probably these younger stags that present more danger to onlookers in the rutting period, as it was one such animal that showed some aggressive posturing towards me during an autumn visit. Needless to say I backed slowly away!

To finish off this post a Red Deer doe and huge stag amongst the bracken.

I hope this has inspired you to go and watch a rut this autumn if there are deer herds in your local area but please proceed with caution and as always respect the animals.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:54:00 +0000

Southbound for the Winter

I popped out the other day for a brief session along the local coast. It was one of those outings where I did not have a particular target species in my sights and so it was just a general walk around to see what could be encountered. On my local coast there are usually some birds around to photograph, particularly waders, as long as you make your visit at the right state of tide. Also given that its autumn you never know what southbound migrants you may stumble upon.

As I wandered along the concrete embankment that forms the sea defences, I bumped in to one of the local birdwatchers and we chatted for a while to see if he had come across any interesting birds recently. As we talked, a movement further along the wall caught my attention as a North Wheatear landed. A feathered cue that it was time for some photography :).

The birds were looking tidy in the warm colours of their fresh autumn plumage. However, I think I still prefer the colours of the spring birds, which really add a splash of much need colour to the still dormant landscape, when they first arrive locally in mid-March.

The attractive patterns created by the rear view of a male bird.

As the sun broke through the clouds four more birds arrived. The burnt orange colour of the birds glowed in the late afternoon sun as they temporarily paused on the southward journey to Africa.

The concrete sea defence structures appear to offer them a temporary substitute, and probably a reminder of their rocky upland habit that they had recently left. They would occasionally drop down to snatch another passing insect.

Given the birds seemed so relaxed, I decided to try and see if I could crawl up close to a bird that landed nearby on the concrete embankment. After a slow a careful commando crawl, much to the bemusement of the local passing walkers, I was up very close to the bird with a nice low shooting angle.

Whilst photographing this bird at close quarters, I noticed it had what appeared to be a small piece of 'mud' stuck to its lower bill. However, on examining the photos on my return home it turned out to be a small beetle, a stowaway on a free trip south.

Wishing these birds safe passage on their long arduous journey ahead. I would like to think that maybe our paths may cross again when they will be travelling back through the area next spring.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:02:00 +0000

Plan W - Session 2

This is a continuation from my previous Whinchat Post (which can be found here). I was really looking forward to this session as the majority of my first visit had been spent finding the birds. It was a grey and overcast as I left the house before dawn but the forecast looked promising and conditions were brightening just as I arrived on this upland moor. The site I had located was next to the road which allowed me to photograph from the comfort of the mobile Nissan hide. When I arrived both birds were away foraging so I waited until they both returned to their perches close to the nesting site before pulling in to position. This would allow them to see me slowly approach rather than finding a strange object near to the nest when they returned. They both, particularly the female, spent a few moments checking out the arrival of this strange new object in their landscape.

Having decided I did not seem to be presenting any threat, both birds then quickly continued with their feeding duties of a demanding brood. I never went to view the nest but assumed they were rapidly growing by the frequency of feeding. The breakfast menu for the day was the occasional fly and caterpillars.

In fact lots of caterpillars..

The female bird appeared to be doing the majority of the work foraging as the male was otherwise preoccupied defending the territory and their food supply from the numerous Meadow Pipits. This photo is of the male on lookout duty for invading Meadow Pipits. I took this photo as a wider angled shot to show the bird amongst the wonderful range of hues of moorland habitat. These birds certainly live in a beautifully coloured world.

The male bird would frequently take up position on a perch and as soon as a Meadow Pipit approached, would take flight to chase the pipit out of the area in twisting aerobatic flight through the low lying vegetation.

I will finish off this post with a few last photographs. If you read my last post on the Whinchats, you will recall I left a perch in position as I departed. Well the female was very happily using this regularly on her approaches to and departures from the nest.

There was a brief light rain shower during the session which added some extra moorland atmosphere to this photograph of the female.

I will finish this post with a photograph of the male bid perched on some heather, although unfortunately not in flower at that time of year. The orange colours of a male bird would really compliment the purple flowering heather if you think about the enhancing effect of matching opposites on a 'colour wheel'.

It was a very enjoyable session and before leaving for home, and while both birds were away foraging, I added another perch for my next session and left a little feed to help them along with their parenting duties.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 08:22:00 +0000

In Media

I thought it time to write a post on where myself and some of my images are currently appearing in various media. First up I was asked by BBC Countryfile to once again undertake the long-list judging for their annual photography competition. This took a slightly different format this year with 12 separate categories to be judged. It was a long day whittling the 55000 entries down to 3600 which was accompanied by continuous filming. This is being aired tomorrow evening (11th September) at 7:30pm on BBC1 and whether I appear on the show or end up on the cutting room floor remains to be seen :)

I have entered a couple of photography competitions this year and managed 12th place with a flying Jay in the British Birds Journal. Greater success was achieved in Bird Watching Magazine's Bird Photo of the Year competition where I won the Birds of Britain category. This image of a juvenile cuckoo is currently given a full page in the August 2011 issue.

I have also had some images recently published in a books on North Atlantic Seabirds and Puffins, an iphone bird i.d application and South Wales Wildlife Trust is using my infamous flying puffin image on the front of their new pamphlet.

Obviously I didn't want to write a post without showing a few photographs. On my wanderings across moorland areas earlier in the year I was fortunate to have a brief and first encounter with some Black Grouse. The thee birds were just coming to the end of their lekking period but were still half-heartedly going through the motions. This has certainly raised my interest in trying to get some more and better images of these fascinating birds. Hopefully this will be a little mission I can pursue next spring.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Steel) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 07:23:00 +0000

Chilled Hares

I love to photograph Brown Hares during the late summer. This is a quiet time of year for bird photography as many birds are going through their annual moult and not looking very photogenic and so the hares provide a good diversion to keep the camera busy.

During the late summer the hares are very relaxed, with the hormone fuelled madness of spring subsided, and they are busy feeding on the abundant vegetation to build themselves up for the winter ahead.

Those long hazy warm summer days of childhood no longer seem to exist, no doubt partly as a result of a changing climate and the main weather feature of August now seems to be rain....lots of rain! Even so there are still brief occasions when the sun shines and by keeping a close eye on the weather and my camera close to hand I try and make the most of the brief sunny spells either before or after work.

Despite having spent more hours than I would like to count in the company of hares it was not until the other day that I realised how long their eyelashes are. It's interesting how a slightly different perspective can reveal features that you have previously missed.

The other benefit of pursuing hares at this time of year is that there is a good chance of encountering leverets and young hares which always seem to have a degree of inquisitiveness about them. All part of the survival learning process.

For me this last photograph of this post sums up the summer hare and as the old song goes .... 'Summer time and the livin' is easy'.