The PlotA 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,...

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Simply StarlingsStarlings 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...

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On the Rail TrailWater 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...

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Close Encounters of the Hare KindAs 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...

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A Few Along the WayWith 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...

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Delayed DepartureOne 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...

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