Wildlife Gallery
Here you will find my Natural History Images. These range from Birds, animals, insects, pond life & flora. Many of these images have been accepted into photographic salons & won awards. The natural world is my favourite subject, i just love birds especially the birds of Prey.
Two more visits to this superb reserve, with time spent in the Woodland Hide. This time i took some lard & peanut mixture to push into holes and cracks on trees regularly used to lure down the Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and sure enough with in half an hour a Male came down and took his time! The other star of the day was what i think to be a Willow Tit, who was tucking into the sunflower seed. Once again the Redpolls were shy and the Sparrowhawk was playing else where.......Maybe next time!!
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My First tripout in 2012, was an all day visit to the Woodland Hide at Whitacre Heath. My son Wills joined me along with Mates Andy Gamble & Stuart Leche. We were blessed with superb light all day and we saw our first RedPoll as had 4 superb flypasts by a Sparrowhawk. Were still waiting for a chance to photograph a S'Hawk........Im reallt pleased with my best shots from the day, and as you can your not short of Blue & Great Tit shots!
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This was my first visit to the SSSI Whitacre Heath Reserve. It's managed by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.The site is and Ex gravel working situated in the Tame Valley right in the Northern tip of Warkwickshire, It lies on the floodplain of the adjoining River Tame. Whitacre Heath is a complex medley of shallow pools, wetland, woodland and grassland and has over 150 recorded Bird species. I spent just 90mins in the woodland hide and managed to grab some right nice images. I hope to return for a proper days photting during the Christmas break.
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A day on my beloved North Norfolk Coastline with Mates Andy Gamble & Stuart Leche on my 39th birthday! The day started with Sunrise over Herringfleet Drainage Mill (see the landscape gallery for the images) where we all witnessed our first sight of a Woodcock that Andy disturbed on the woodland floor as we walked from the car to the mill and the huge V formations of Pink Footed Geese flying along the coast to their feeding grounds in the early dawn glow. We then we moved North to the car park at Salthouse where we expected to find the Snow Buntings but instead we came across a super flock of Turnstones who were oblivious to us and even walked between us. We continued our search for the Snow Buntings a mile up the coast at Cley Eye, and eventually found some small flocks. They were very flighty but we believe come Jan / Feb when food is scarce they will be more approachable as they get fed by twitchers & photters in the car parks. So a new date has been set to try again!! We had some cracking light in the morning as can be seen in the images. This area of our country is awe inspiring, I always leave wanting to come back for more.
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A first for me where I had the opportunity to photograph several species of Owls at Night under flash lit conditions. Once again I headed over to the Welsh border near Welshpool with my trusty steeds Neil Neville & Andy Gamble and as usual we had a right crack right till the end of the session......They are certainly days to remember! Species included Little Owl, Tawny & Barn, plus a few runpasts with the Great Grey. The weather was very cold and included some wintery showers. The light at this time of the year is just amazing...I cant wait for my next outing.....Enjoy.
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A day out in Shropshire in a hide photographing typical woodland bird species. With the unusually warm temps we struggled with few visits to the table, but when the little chaps turned up we managed some lovely shots......My fav being the Woodpecker & Greenfinch shots, it was also another chance to play with my 500 F4 lens.....Practice makes perfect! The light levels were low for most of the day which made it tricky but it was workable....All in all a good day out with Andy & Neil and Mark Sisson.....The best laugh of the day was during a quiet spell when we decided to put out a chocolate HobNob, and alomost immediately had Goldfinch & Pheasant come in!!!! Was this a fluke or have we found a new wepaon?? Only time will tell!
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A super day in the Leicestershire countryside, near Shedshed with Professional Wildlife Photographer Danny Green. The theme for the day was based around a selection of 4 UK species of raptors. We started with a 27 year old Buzzard!! Then a 3 year Old Female Golden Eagle, a very young Male Peregrine & finished off with a Barn Owl who's age i cant remember...We were blessed with stonking light all day and came away with some cracking shots...Once again, i was jioned by great mate and super Kingfisher photter Neil Neville who had driven up from Ealing that morning.....This was my first proper outing with my Nikon 500mm F4 P lens, and im happy to say it didnt let me down.....
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A Short visit with Andy & Rick as we made our way to the North Norfolk Railway for a Night shoot.....This was the chance i'd been waiting for to try my new toy out, a Nikon 500mm F4 P Lens....It was a pleasant learning curve which i hope to improve during the Autumn & Winter...We did get some Sun near the end but it was a pretty dull which pulled down the shutter speeds, but 640th/Sec seemed to bring Ok results...
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Once common in parts of the English mainland its last stornghold is on the Isle of Wight....A sun loving butterfly that fly on rough grassy slopes near the sea. They glide low overthe vegetation, visiting yellow flowers that grow on chalk, such as vetches & trefoils....Attempts have been made to reintroduce them back to the mainland, so far without success to my knowledge.....
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Taking full advantage of the superb weather during the weekend of the 7-9thApril, i made my annual trek over to Pensthorpe in Norfolk. My main objective was to get some better shots of the Bearded Reedlings & Turtle Doves....Take alook yourself and see what you think! Im pretty happy with one or two that should are exhibition standard.....Enjoy!
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Another day spent with Mark Sisson, but this time reptiles were on the menu for the shutters....Highlight for me was the chance to get close and personal with a pair of Adders that were still coming round from hibernation.They warmed up quickly in the warm Spring sunshine and gave us a few hiss's. Our Reptile expert for the day was Paul Hobson, his knowledge of our subjects was vast and their welfare always came first during the day....Other species included Grass Snake, Sloworm, Common Lizards, Common Toad & European Tree Frog. Once again several more shots were ticked off my wishlist. I hope you enjoy them.
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A superb day in Mid Wales with "Natures Images" Co-owner Mark Sisson on a birds of prey day. We were blessed with warm Spring sun all day and spent time with some terrific birds, the Goshawk & Long Eared Owl were simply stunning.....Others included Barn,Tawny,Little & Great Grey Owls, and a Female Merlin. All in all a cracking day and one i hope to repeat in 2012.
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Scrag Copse is a 10 acre wood located in West Sussex. It sits directly under the final approach to Gatwick airport from the West. Owned by David Plummer (see his web link in my contacts page) he runs a series of woodland bird photographic courses form several hides set around a complex of baited perch's. Amongst the species you can expect to find are Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch & Goldfinch....David's experience is vast and his knowledge of bird behaviour really can make the difference to your results. Our day was ultra gloomy, but we did get some milky light to aid the shutter speed mid afternoon.....So please excuse the High ISO noise! I took away some Ok images but i really found the limitations of my lens & tripod. I anticipate a new direction to my bird photography in 2011, a new tripod with a Gimble head and to chop in my Sigma and start hiring Nikons prime 500mm F4 when i need it...........Cant wait for my next visit!
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A session shooting 2 Butterflies that have eluded me for years, well 2010 has finally struck them off my hit list. The camberwell's were a pleasure to shoot, but the Large Tortoishells were a nightmare to get in one place for more than 10secs.....Any how im pretty pleased with the end results. I hope you enjoy them....! I plan to enter some of these into Salons during the second half of the year.
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A lovely day out in the Hampshire countryside with Wild Arena shooting a selection of native Owls and a Buzzard. The shoot took up the afternoon taking turns with each Owl in various locations. It was quite a challeng due to harshness of the bright sun and warm temps. What you see is the best of a fairly average set, but i still throughly enjoyed the experience. The day was also spent in the good company of fellow photter Andy Gamble.
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If you have ever visited a reedbed in Norfolk, you stood a reasonable chance of hearing the Bell-like "Ching-Ching-Ching" of a flock of Bearded Reedlings as they move through the reedbed- Did you see them?? No, well don't worry you just need to pay Pensthorpe a visit near Fakenham in Norfolk where they have a large walk in aviary. There you can watch around 20 of these superb birds going about their daily business oblivious to the people who walk through....they behave as if you are invisible. For a bird photographer this is the closest you will ever get to these flighty birds, but you must be prepared to spend some time observing them and watch where they perch. Ive been going to Pensthorpe for over 10years and hadn't got any real decent pictures, but my visit during 2010 was to focus on these alone. Im pretty happy with the results but i wanted the classic shot of the male high in the reeds with a clear view and tidy backdrop and a catch light in his eye. Yep you guessed it i never got it! Oh well i guess another visit must be on the cards...
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My first Butterfly species of 2010 was the beautiful but delicate Marsh Fritillary now a very rare species located in small pockets of habitat along the west coast of Scotland, Wales and a few areas in SW England, it has declined by over 60-70% in the last 20 years due to drainage of wet meadowlands & the ploughing of downlands. Its not a active fligher like the larger Fritillaries and may never stray from the meadow which it feeds in. Its marking can vary greatly from area to area.
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A day that i'd been promising myself for many a year....A day at the Red Kite feeding station in Mid Wales @ Grigin farm. The day was spent in the company of fellow photter and good friend Andy Gamble. The forecast for the day had been blue sky from Lunchtime in Wales, in reality that happened late afternoon between 3-4pm. To say i was getting a little annoyed is a understatment!! These birds look nothing until you get the light, then they become one of the most beautiful things you will ever photograph. We both ended the day knackered but thrilled with what we had captured....Feeding starts around 2pm and continues till the offal has gone, Buzzards & Crows also attend the feast. Chris (the farmer) was proudly telling us of the stray Black Kite that has also took a liking to the daily party! The twitchers have been going crazy over the very rare visitor from the Continent. All in all a cracking day spent in good comapany. It's a very difficult skill to master, birds in flight but im pretty happy with the results......
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Insects can provide a wonderful array of subjects to the photographer. Butterflies are superb for their vast array of colours & shapes. Many can be found in our gardens but the rare species involve some serious tracking down and even trips over to Europe are required to see many species that were once common in the UK 100years ago like the Black Veined Whites for example. To take good insects shots you will need a macro Lens capable of 1:1 reproduction a good flash, mounted to the side and a Good SLR, preferably Digital so you can erase shots that are no good and carry on in the knowledge you have got the desired image.
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A collection of images taken of creatures that ive in & around water. Many of these images have won awards. The Common Toads mating won several Silver & Gold medals in the UK & aboard.
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Various images from 35mm slides taken on my old Nikon D90xPro with kodachrome 64 or 200 asa. They have been scanned in on my Nikon coolscan then enhanced in photoshop by just correcting the white balance and boosting the contrast a little.
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A Fantastic Centre in East Sussex, where you can get close and personal with some of our most difficult animals & Birds to photograph. This was an organised photographic day where the centre was closed to the public to allow us the chance to get natural shots as possible. Watching the fox's was a delight, and the stoats were amazing. The only dissapointment was the no show of the Adders due to the cold cloudy conditions....Oh well best go again then!
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Pensthorpe Water park is a wildlife photographers heaven, Its the only place i know of where you come into close contact with native waders and other birds within 2 large walk in avairies. Of special interest are the Avocets, Godwits & Ruffs, the stock has changed over the last 10 years which makes each annual visit as exciting as the previous...You never know what might be there. This year has seen the introduction of a little Grebe & the Curlews are becoming easier to shoot. The complex also has several large lakes (old gravel pits) and many paths to explore the nature reserve. Theres plenty of hides for the twichers to with cranes & spoonbills seen on a regular basis.
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An afternoon visit to North Meadow with the family to catch up with a good friend allowed us spend an hour photographing these unusual flowers. Nothing of real brilliance but worth adding to the website.
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