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Target British bird species: |
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I am targeting 3 areas (new species not seen, species
seen and no photo, and species seen where my current
photos need improvement) |
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New species
yet to see:
Just to
many to mention
but:
Bearded Tit,
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and a wild Snowy Owl definitely feature on my wanted
list. (as they probably do with many other people).
Then there is the "mega rare" stuff |
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Seen but no pictures or need better pictures: |
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I have a lot of pictures not on this site as they are
just not good enough. I need to see the birds
again and get improved pictures before they go online these include:
Bittern,
Stone Curlew, Crested Tit, Little Auk, etc.
Most of my Diver pictures are rubbish although like
many people I know a good spots to view them, but they are often at
a distance to far for good photography. |
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Scottish specialities |
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Many of the Scottish specialities: Capercaillie, Golden
Eagle, Black throated Diver, etc. I have seen and
got great photos of Golden eagles in Norway, but
there is very little hope of any Scottish photos
unless I strike very lucky.
I am planning a visit to Norway to target Cappers
and Black grouse as a longer term project.
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Some
other species are very colourful, well known, reasonably common,
and camera shy these include: Kingfisher, Eagles, and a better Barn Owl
pictures. |
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Closer to
home:
I would like a better picture of a Drake Smew.
I live near quite a large number of potential species
Hobby is a species that I must seriously target them
in 2009.
Then there is the Raptor's:
Hen Harrier, Merlin, etc. |
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Other Wildlife Targets
There are just so many places to go, so much to see,
not enough time or money, etc.
But my top photographic wish list would include:
Antarctica and the Penguins
European Owls such as:
Snowy Owl, Ural, Eagle & Great Grey Owl
Polar Bear, Walrus, Little Auk and the Artic
Mainland European Continental birds such as Rollers,
Bee-eaters, Storks, Eagles, Lesser Kestrel, Cranes,
Bustards, etc. |
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Perhaps I need to play the National Lottery more
The wildlife targets list will just grow along with
some of the mega trips such as 3 months in
Antarctica doing all the nearby islands such as
Falklands, south Georgia, etc. This is only funded
by a large lotto win or similar.
Then there is a longer prime lens, and a more camera
kit. |
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British Mammal Photography
I am
always on the look out for British Mammals in their
natural habitat to photograph.
But other than "easy to see" species such as Squirrels,
most
mammals are much much harder to
photograph than either Birds, Butterflies, or Flowers.
Obviously I
would like to see a wide range of different species and then get
reasonable pictures of all the different species within each
family.
For example I have
seen all 6 of the British Deer species but have yet to get good
pictures of all of them. Indeed I have yet to get any
Muntjack pictures.
Target species:
It's difficult to target Mammal pictures without spending vast
amounts of time in a hide or known spot. Therefore I
currently don't target individual mammal species in the same way
that I target birds and butterflies.
In my
travels I hope to get some better pictures of all sorts of
things
But many of the smaller mammal pictures need improvement such as Stoats
and Weasels and these are very hard to target.
One area
that given more time I could target are marine mammals, I do
intend to target Whales, Dolphins some time but am currently
concentrating on other wildlife.
When I am at
some of the marine mammal , locations around our coast, it can
be reasonably easy to see these and I obviously keep a look out.
However seeing marine mammals and being close and quick enough
for half reasonable pictures is a completely different matter.
One of the pictures right is of a Minke Whale at Neist
Point on Skye, the same day as we saw Basing
Shark and Otters but I only have pictures of the
Minke Whale and this is only a "fin shot".
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Never mind the target species
Back to reality
Where do I go to take my photos?
A brief list
of sites within driving distance of my home would include:
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Attenborough reserve
South Nottinghamshire:
good for Geese, Ducks,
and occasional bittern in the winter months.
Pitsford Reservoir, Northamptonshire:
good for
Grebes, Hobby, Ducks, etc.
North Norfolk Coast
great for lots of species
including waders, Owls, and a good chance of the
occasional rarity
Brandon marsh NR, Coventry
good for
Kingfishers
Dovedale and Lathkill Dale in Derbyshire
is good for
Dippers,
Wagtails, etc. |
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Park Hall CP, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire
is good for Owls.
Indeed I like anywhere with Owls |
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Any of the Wildfowl and Wetland sites are
generally also
worth a visit. |
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Again I will add another page with more detail when
time allows
Some of my ideas for Butterfly
photography: (more coming soon)
Twywell CP, Northamptonshire (easy to get to as very close to the A14
road)
is good for:
Dingy Skipper,
Green Hairstreak,
Grizzled Skipper,
Marbled White,
and many other butterflies. Moths
include:
Six-spot Burnet
Glapthorn Cow Pasture in Northamptonshire
great for
Black Hairstreak -
but they have a very short flight period each June.
Fermyn
Woods, in
Northamptonshire
is excellent for many species including
White Admiral,
Purple Emperor,
indeed it is possible to reasonably see over
a dozen different species in an afternoon at this
site given suitable weather conditions.
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Garden Wildlife
As
with many people my
garden is a good source for both viewing wildlife and
for
taking pictures. |
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As
with many people my
garden is a good source for both viewing wildlife and
for
taking pictures |
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Photos from my Leicestershire garden |
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I need to spend more time concentrating on some
of the common bird species that visit my garden |
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One extreme to the other
Living and Breeding
in Britain !!! |
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The unexpected living and Breeding
in Britain Several
species of bird live and bred in Britain in varying numbers.
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Common Crane which has bred recently as a result of
introduction programme. Presumably it may have eventually
arrived naturally from mainland Europe. I believe there is
also a bit of a breeding programme in Suffolk.
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Ring-necked Parakeet which has been living in Britain for many years
and have now reached quite high numbers.
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There is a breeding programme for Great Bustard's on
Salisbury Plain.
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Indeed many
people are against introduction programmes for certain species (such
as Eagle Owl) but there have been many high profile introduction
programmes in recent years such as White-tailed Eagle and Red Kite
that have been very successful. Indeed many of our game birds
were originally introductions as well as species such as
Little Owl.
But white tailed Eagles in Norfolk doesn't seem
quite right.... |
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