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social media are, to some extent, staged, and many
involve raptors and owls. You can pay to visit a
private hide where the owner has developed a
relationship with the local wildlife.
I spent several hours in Buckinghamshire waiting
patiently for a wild, but tame, little owl to swoop
down from a neighbouring oak tree to snack on
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photographing birds on a garden feeder – is simply
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That being said, I did take great pleasure in
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photographers carefully snap them from his
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WATER BIRDS
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I would grow frustrated by the limited species I
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common buzzards, ravens and, if I was particularly
Above: Choughs,
Pembrokeshire. Utilize
the foregrounds and
backgrounds that
nature – and
sometimes man –
provides, to improve
your results.Right: Puffin, Skomer
Island. Coastal
locations present you
w ith p l e n t y of c h a n c e s
to capture shots of
birds, like the ever-
charming puffin.lucky, a distant sparrowhawk? What about reed
buntings, merlin and warblers of every variety?Make use of nature reser ves
I didn’t hit upon the answer until I started
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you r l ist or photog raph ra re bi rds up close, t he
nearer you are to water the more prosperous you’re
l i kely to be w it h you r sight i ngs. It’s no su r pr ise,
therefore, that many of this country’s nature
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wetlands and or are on the coast.
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suddenly and scattering waterfowl as it lunged – at
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harrier. Instead I had to wait for my trip to the Fens,
themselves fed plentifully by water, and a magical
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and wetland. Predators, whether harrier, falcon or
hawk, feed on the water birds themselves.Coastal hotspots
If you’re looking for spectacle, you can do worse
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perform or pose in sometimes staggering displays.
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of sand eels, I travelled by land and sea to theIf you want to add species to your list
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the nearer you are to water the more
prosperous you’re likely to be
Obeying the law
FOLLOW THE RULES AT ALL TIMES
Some birds are afforded protections under the law.
Photographers and birdwatchers should prioritize
the welfare of any species, but it is an offence, be
it intentionally or recklessly, to disturb ‘Schedule 1’
species at, on or near an ‘active’ nest. Spreading the
word about the beauty of our natural environment is a
good thing: disrupting it in the process is a bad thing.A b ove: K in g fi s h e r, H e r t fo r d s h ire. N eve r p u t w il d life a t ri s k.BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY