PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS OF PREY ON A BUDGET.

The coastline of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia is a great place to watch birds -- particularly ducks, geese and waders. As winter approaches, large numbers migrate through the region on their way south to warmer climes -- and who can blame them? The hardiest find the many beaches and inlets of the region mild enough to overwinter, and unless temperatures drop to extremes they appear disinclined to expend their energy by moving further south, . In spring the birds will fly in the opposite direction, returning to their summer breeding grounds, and in doing so will cover enormous…

A Tale of Two Pretties – Gannets and Sandwich Terns.

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'. What the Dickens does that mean?... Well, it was 'the best of times' when I found myself on an Scottish island amongst thousands of nesting gannets totally indifferent to being photographed, allowing a wide angle lens to be placed almost under their beaks and in focus from here to 'almost' infinity - taking infinity to be that strange little 8 lying on its side at the far end of the focusing ring, otherwise known as a lemniscate. 'The worst of times' had already happened a month and a…

Hummingbirds – They’re Almost as ‘Big’ as Africa!

I was out in the garden yesterday trying to convince plants to grow when I was buzzed by a drone - an exceedingly stealthy one. I didn’t see it, but certainly I heard it, hovering behind my head before making off at speed. My wife sitting in a nearby lounger was able to make a more realistic observation - I was standing on the flight path of a rufous hummingbird, a creature weighing no more than a spoonful of sugar... it was attempting to visit a bee balm flower. Not quite a drone then, but even the most technically advanced…

Into the Woods – Wildlife Photography as a Surrealist Nightmare.

In Search of the Varied Thrush. The varied thrush is not a rare bird where I live on the Lower Mainland. B.C.. Usually it overwinters in lowland forest and scrubland, but with ever increasing urbanisation many of its natural habitats are disappearing. Worldwide, woodland birds are under pressure as our numbers continue to rise and many natural areas are given over to agriculture, industry and housing. Once, when a student, I went for a jog in Central London. Setting out from my hall of residence in South Kensington at 5.00 p.m. on a Friday afternoon I ran diagonally across Hyde…