A Ton of Food - and a Ton of Birds

The last couple of months have been fantastic at my feeding station. The cold weather kept the birds coming in and it was particularly busy. Up to 5 species of tit came to feed, with the marsh tit a fleeting but welcome visitor. I've been through numerous perches: hazel catkins, alder, lichen covered branches, logs, and stumps - all to provide interesting perches for the birds. The good activity also provided excellent opportunities for those who came on my bird photography courses to photograph the birds.

Light levels sometimes made life difficult, but although difficult to obtain a truly sharp image, the resulting detail and colour remind me just how useful this lighting is - I would shoot in this light all the time... if it were possible! Fast moving birds just don't really allow this..
This year was particularly good for woodpeckers. Both male and female quickly took to my 'woodpecker feeder' and it was rare not to see one during a session in the hide. They can become wonderfully comfortable once they get used to the food, and are completely used to the camera shutter. At times they simply clamp themselves onto the food and clear the lot. It's such a privilege to watch these birds at such close quarters... On every woodland bird photography workshop I ran, everybody managed to get a shot of this colourful and vibrant bird.
As always, I strive to capture something a little different, whether it's unusual behaviour or a creative setting and backdrop. With this in mind I used a fallen sweet chestnut (kept in the freezer) and filled the inside with fat ball mixture in order to add some shape and colour. The resulting images are perhaps a little too set up, but experimenting is always worth a try, and it allows you to make those extra tweaks and changes that eventually might just lead to that 'perfect shot'..

Next year I hope to run the same nature photography course at the same location.

Long Tailed Tit image Highly Commended

My image of a long tailed tit braving a snow storm was recently highly commended in the 'International Garden Photographer of the Year' competition. Thousands of entries came from all over the world for this prestigious competition. It is particularly satisfying to see a common British species make it this far. The image is without doubt one of my favourites from last year, and it goes to show that making that extra effort can make all the difference, whether it be lighting, composition or weather conditions...

Click on the link below to see my image along with the other commended photos.

www.igpoty.com/competition03/gallery_LifeGarden_6.asp?parent=gallery

More Birds from the Cold Snap

Taken over the last few days of snowfall...

Photographing birds in the snow is great fun, but actually shooting whilst snow is falling can be a real challenge. In order to protect my camera, I used a home-made sleeve on my lens, with a waterproof cover over the top. Even so, it can be tricky to keep everything dry. These shots were taken on a beanbag using a tree stump as support. The difficult part is getting sharp images: some were taken at ISO 200 but at times the light levels were so low that I had to push up to ISO 400, which I try to avoid. Still -sharpness should always be the foremost consideration. Shutter speeds were often around 1/250 although I have found it possible to get sharp images even down at 1/60 - but it reduces your hit rate a lot.. The beauty of many of these pictures was the blanket of snow acting as a giant reflector and bouncing light back to illuminate the underside of the birds. The other tip is - take a lot of pictures..! In just a couple of hours I shot over 150 images.. this is not unusual..!

Winter Jays

The last few days have been simply glorious, with one of the coldest December weeks we've had in years... must be all that global warming I presume..? Heavy snowfall is one of the things I live for, and when the forecast comes, I make sure that I'm ready. From thermals to hats and gloves, and making sure batteries are charged... there's plenty things to get in order, and then there's the question of: "what do I photograph?" In answer to that question, I decided to endulge myself in pure wildlife photography. So it was back to the park to capture some more birds, and hopefully get some classic jays amidst snowflakes. These shots were taken on the first day of snowfall over 3 or 4 hours. Yes, I was cold by the end of it - but the pictures more than make up for numb fingers and toes. Enjoy...!

Clockwork Kingfishers

Location is the key for so many wildlife shots, and these kingfisher images are certainly proof of that. My friend who works at my local RSPB reserve had told be about a pair of kingfishers that were regularly fishing from the beck - often along the same short stretch, providing incredibly close views. I was more than delighted when my first morning provided a number of kingfisher sightings at fairly close range, but not quite close enough to photograph. My second visit was similar, but you can't fail to be overjoyed at watching these birds - and the fact that they were so regular made it even more amazing. The kingfisher was never away for more than about 15 minutes, and every time it was back to one of the same perches... you could almost set your watch by them..!It was third time lucky for these pictures, when one beautiful frosty morning, this female kingfisher decided to perch on just about the only clear branch close enough to photograph. I saw her heading for the perch and was ready. The next few seconds were manic as I fired off exposures, bracketing and re-composing to make sure I didn't end up with the miss of the year!! She stood still... posed, turned around, posed again and then finally flew off. A stunning experience - whether with or without a camera.!

New Year Frosts

This seems like proper winter. I can't believe the temperatures are continuing to stay so low - o.k. it means turning the heating up, but in terms of photography it just doesn't get much better than thick frosts and snow... well, not for me anyway. The previous night was forecast to be ridiculously cold - possibly down to minus ten in some areas. Needless to say, I was up and out early...

Taking the usual road through Wharfedale, my eye was taken by a large bird flying behing an oak tree... A buzzard perhaps, I thought. Only when I cleared the next bend did I get a decent view - and then I realised that big bird of prey was a red kite, amazingly joined by two more as they floated at tree height, no doubt waiting to return to a dead pheasant that lay in the road; it's definitely cold! My photogenic destination today was Littondale - a spot above Litton by the footpath, with beautiful views looking back down along the valley. The scene was perfect. Thick frost coated the ground... the distant hills showed a dusting of snow... and a wonderful combination of light and shadow playing on the hillsides. A walk further on and the snow was thicker; providing a classic image of gate, stone wall and distant hill tops from a high vantage point. A good morning's work, and even though it didn't feel terribly cold... it was still time for a hot lunch.

My afternoon was rewarding too. Reached from Storiths, there is a cracking viewpoint to photograph Bolton Priory, and during the afternoon it becomes almost backlit. The surrounding trees are great too, with lovely side-lighting striking the green winter branches. I was happy with my exposures, and the gravestones surrounding the priory added an interesting dimension, as they gave a contrast of frost-free in the sunshine, and cold white in the shadows. It was now 3.00pm and the sun already near the horizon. Time to think about returning home.



How many more of these winter days to come I wonder? Roll on February....