Photography Blog

I’ve now had the Nikon D4 for just over a week and in that short time I’ve used the camera photographing my own work and also on one to ones, and I have to say the camera has performed very well.  Having had the Nikon D3s now for two years, it was always going to be a hard act to follow. The improved ISO and added megapixels are nice, but what’s even better is the improved ergonomics, controls, speed, autofocus, metering, illuminated buttons, processing -EXPEED 3, and video capabilities with the full HD-SLR which are all improved from the D3S.

The overall shape of the camera has not changed much from the D3s, however, the controls and ergonomics are a bit different. The Nikon D4 now provides better control when the camera is used in the portrait orientation which is great if you shoot in this orientation a lot like me. The joystick and auto focus control is closer and easier to manage now when held vertically, with the D3s you had to really reach over with your thumb to get to the joystick. The Nikon D4 is about 5% lighter than the previous D3s and placed alongside each other this difference is clear to see.

Nikon has improved the auto focus system drastically. It can now operate in much lower light; this is a huge advantage, especially for wildlife and where I am depending on my auto focus system in low-light situations to capture what I’m witnessing. The D4’s auto focus has faster accuracy over the D3s from my first findings, performing brilliantly in poor or testing light.  The image below of two Canada Geese taking off in the first rays off dawn light demonstrates this perfectly in very testing light conditions.

Clean, smooth and quick is how I’d best describe the auto focusing on the D4. The buffer is very big too compared to the D3S and starts to fill up while shooting in 14 bit Tiffs around 90-100 images when auto focus is engaged. But when using the new Sony XQD memory cards they fill back up very quickly and your able to carry on shooting. I have never been one to blast and hope for the best. I prefer to let a couple of shots go, recompose and see, always watching what the camera noise does to the subject, as I hate making the wildlife jump and scaring it into next week.  The quiet mode as in the D3S has been retained on the D4 and seems more improved.

The D4 has two slots, one for the XQD card and one for the Compact Flash which is something I don’t like. For me they should have chosen two XQD cards as I believe this card from what you read is the future. Having two card readers is a pain, once your home you have to use two card readers to download your images which could have been averted by just picking one card for the camera only. Downloading is quick and I use Nikon software all the way- Nikon transfer, View NX then I do my processing in Nikon Capture NX2. All of which have a new version to accommodate the D4.

From my first images at higher ISO’s there does seem a more improved image from the D4, more so at the higher ranges. I don’t really push the ISO past 4000 alot of the time as I want to try and retain as much quality in the image as possible. But even at 4000 the performance of the D4 is better than the D3S at the same time there’s not a massive difference and I wouldn’t be selling my D3S as that camera has not missed a heart beat in over two years and has earned its brilliant reputation. The two images below from my Great Crested Grebes project were taken with my D3S clearly showing the quality of this camera.

The following images of Red Grouse were taken at high ISO’s, the sun’s light had started to warm the moors here, making conditions for auto focus tricky normally but here again the D4’s AF system locked on in tough and challenging light.

The D4 all round is a vast improvement on the D3S camera, it wont make you a better photographer though but what it will do is give you more options in various testing conditions that you may find yourself among while shooting wildlife. I am still learning about this brilliant camera as in just over a week does not do the camera justice. From what I have seen on the back of the camera and later on my large screen the improvements are good, very good. The auto focusing is one of its biggest pluses from the D3S and I cannot praise Nikon enough for the improvement they’ve done here. The video is good quality and I will be doing a separate blog post on that soon.

I am still learning about the D4 each time I take it out, but from these early stages all I can say is its “just brilliant”. The Internet will be a wash with reviews about this camera by more qualified people than myself all calming many different things. All I can say is make your own mind up like I have, the camera is a marked improvement on the D3S I know I have shot with the aforementioned camera for two years and still do.  This post is not meant to be a whats right or wrong, its just about how this camera has worked for me on the ground, in the theatre of wildlife a place I live and breath.

Thank you to my clients over the last week or so who have seen me test out my new camera, really nice to meet you all. Steven from Ipswich sent me some lovely words below that can be seen on my testimonials page –

“Hi Craig I would just like to thank you for my two days one to one with you, it was fantastic on both days and I did really enjoy all of it. I love the way you had so much respect for the wildlife and how you put all this into your photography skills in which you was so kind to pass on to me. It has give me a better insight into the way I need to work , approach and take the final shot simply just by watching and listening to what was around me, like when you told me about the geese were going to take off before they even beat their wings, brilliant. Once again a big thanks and I would highly recommend anyone for your one to one it was agreat pleasure. Regards Steven”

Before I go I would like to thank Adam from my press agent for getting my Owl images out into the papers over the last week. Many months of hard work were put into these images, capturing moments I’ll never forget. Barn Owls flying towards me, Short-eared Owls flying feet away from where I was hidden, diving for food right in front of me, all just amazing moments.  You can see the story and how much work and the lengths I went to here in the Daily Mail and also here in the Sun. I also made the Telegraph newspaper all the same week so again many thanks Adam as it’s always very nice when you see your work in print.

Also in April’s issue of Nikon’s N Photo magazine my Dartford Warbler image made their “In pictures :Inspirational Nikon photography from around the world” section. Click here to see the article and see one of my favourite photos of a male Dartford Warbler singing in the morning light, stunning birds.

Its an amazing time of year now with Spring well and truly awoken and the start of British Summer time at the weekend. Make sure you enjoy her beauty and capture it with your cameras, good luck.

Spotlight Sumatra see’s me going to the island of Sumatra alone in mid September for two weeks, staying with the locals in something called home stay. A small but comfortably home within the jungle landscapes. Alongside my guides and helpers for this trip we will venture into the jungles for up to three, four days at a time even longer if we are lucky, to track and photograph these Orangutans. Jungle life will be basic but great, a sort of rough camping but off the floor as you never sleep on the jungle floor for your own safety.

I am hoping to capture some amazing images of Orangutans that SOS can use to sell promote and help raise the plight of this great ape that maybe the first great ape to become extinct should continued trends contuie in the destruction of their forest homes.  There will be more news of this amazing expedition that will take me deep into the jungles of Sumatra in due cause.

I have donated a Limited edition Barn Owl print which can be seen above along with a one to one wildlife photography day with myself to help rise some money towards Sumatran Orangutan Societies Jungle VIP auction.  Joining the list of celebrities taking part in the auction, hoping to raise as much money as possible to help this charity in saving this great ape.

Thank you to all that have helped so far and many thanks to the lucky winner who won my one to one and signed print which can be seen here on ebay. The auction carries on until March 31st with new stuff being added all the time. To keep up to date on the latest items please visit the website of SOS here many thanks.

I will be posting more news over the coming months on my blog as interest in this expedition grows. Where the sole aim of this trip is to highlight the plight of this most beautiful of apes and our closests living relative. I will be showing you the kit I’m taking, clothing and equipment. Doing live updates for SOS’s blog and my own,  hopefully transporting you to this rarely visited part of the world which will be amazing, the trip cannot come quicker enough. I look forward to taking you all there on this amazing journey to Sumatra.

I’ve just spent a great weekend leading my two day Beauty Of Wildlife workshop in conjunction with Calumet photographic, Manchester. My aim of these wildlife workshops I run throughout the year is to offer some fantastic practical one and two day seminars in some great locations where you will learn many tips and techniques, most of which I use in my own work as a wildlife photographer.

You can then put these into practise within your own work which will improve your photography, at the same time learning more about the wildlife that you see and capture with your camera. I enjoy sharing my vast accumulated experience of the natural world, at the same time I’m very passionate about helping each of my clients hone his or her photographic vision.

On the first day I went through  a mixture of talks, slideshow presentations and photographic tips and advice all geared into inspiring everyone within their own photography while at the same time helping them understand more about their settings, cameras and most of all fieldcraft. This was all rounded off with a cup of tea and biscuits. After which I went through each client’s camera showing how to get the best from each make and model in readiness for the second day out on the moors.

The group was a great mix of people, from all over the UK at varying levels of competencies and were really good company. We met at 5am on the second day, in the pitch black of the morning. I had gone through some key elements to wildlife photography the previous day in my presentation to the group. One of those elements was ‘light’. Find it, work with, and create your image alongside what light you have.  The weather was really kind to the group with a beautiful spring day which started with an amazing sunrise.

The group had a very nice surprise very early on during the day in the form of a couple of Mountain hares still in their winter coats. They stuck out very well against the heather which made them amazedly jumpy to approach I had touched on in the previous day’s presentations the importance of fieldcraft and your approach to wildlife so it was good to see everyone putting this into good use. The hares were very jumpy though due to their winter coats so were very hard to capture photographic wise.

Out in the wild, working with wild animals those tips could make all the difference to a well composed image so I made sure everyone had a better understanding of the key elements in order so they’d really benefit from their time with me. All the information and advice we discussed was contained in a handout I’d prepared for each client as seen above, this would help once the group had gone home to use as a reference guide.

After lunch the group were free to explore for themselves, put into practice skills and tips I embedded throughout those two days and it was really good to see them all going about their own work and capturing some lovely images with strong composition, good use of natural light and above all listening and watching wildlife to build a picture of whats happening around you.

Photographing wildlife in ‘the wild’ is the only real and true way of learning about behavior and fieldcraft, so it was very important for me to show the group on the second day how I work and go about getting the images that I achieve, while working with subjects that are free to come and go as they please and have fear for humans. Where you have to work the land and the environment to try and obtain an image, straight from the wild so to speak. The key to my photography is fieldcraft first and foremost, photography for me came much later in life.

On all my workshops, photo tours I have and do always stress the need to understand nature more and be able to work with her, alongside her in order to become part of their landscape and habitat without disturbing wildlife. The result is a better understanding of the wildlife and more importantly a greatly respect for the subjects around us all key ingredients in making better wildlife photographs in my eyes. My next wildlife workshops with Calumet can be viewed here

A big thank you to all the clients for your time and efforts during the two days. I really hope you got a lot from the days and learned something new. You were all great on the second day and looking back now you can see through the images you captured why the early start was so important to capturing lovely images of wildlife.

I recently judged the -New Beginnings Spring postcard competition 2012 where the first prize was a chance to see your image in print – over 50,000 times and also on Calumets invitation postcard for their customers for the Spring Open Days in our stores next month. Calumet had a phenomenal amount of entries for the competition. It was a tough decision for me to choose a winner, with so many outstanding images to choose from.

There was an excellent standard across the whole group where many could have won the first place. I chose this image because from the first moment I opened the image up it popping out of the screen at me with its beautiful and vibrate colours, clever use of depth of field and really nice out of focus areas giving the image a real soft and delicate appearance. The colours and the flower symbolize new life and the coming of spring for me, a wonderful image.

Congratulations to the winner Nigel Burkitt who’s winning image can be seen here and will represent Calumets Spring Open Days that can been seen by clicking on this link. The image can be seen above alongside the dates. I will be attending the Manchester and London stores to do a couple of wildlife talks and presentions during those days so hope you can come along.

The onset of spring cannot be denied now, with the warming temperatures, lighter evenings and the morning dawns becoming earlier. Spring is almost up on us, though there may be many false dawns before the days of frost and grey fog are behind us. Over the last week at many of the places I have visited alone and with clients there has been a real air of spring, with birds singing their hearts out, making the dawn corus truly deafening.

Spring is the best time for me, with nature coming into its own from months of dormant inactivity, where as each day passes changes are ever present, a truly beautiful time and one I encourage everyone to just sit somewhere and listen, watch as nature is unfolding.

Birds sing to attract a mate, showing off their pristine plumage where nothing is out of place or left to chance. Lighter morning and evenings add more opportunities for things to grow, bringing everything to life that lives. For me there is no better time to watch and photograph wildlife from wetlands, reed beds, lakes to rivers this time of year will provide marvelous wildlife watching opportunities where you will see different behaviors in wildlife not seen most of the year. The key time for me is when the clock goes back in a few weeks and we gain more light in the mornings and evenings, from this point on it only gets better in my eyes.

Spring is seen as a time of growth, renewal, of new life a wonderful time of year within nature’s calendar. The axis of the earth during Spring is increasing its tilt toward the sun and the length of daylight rapidly increases along with the temperatures the result being new life, growth and longer days.. Animals and birds begin breeding, building homes in readiness for their young.

Catching the season moving from winter into spring is a beautiful time of year.  It’s a complete paradise to be among its beauty at this special time of year, witnessing the countryside awaken from its dormant winter state. The words spring and springtime bring thoughts of life, birth and regrowth to our countryside. A special time for wildlife, where all species are looking their best.  The odd frosty night and cold morning thrown in to confuse and disorient the wildlife is always on the cards but one of the mildest winter s we’ve had is behind us all now I feel.

So make the most of this amazing time and get out into nature as much as you can over the next couple of months and you won’t be disappointed. Thank you to my clients who’ve attended my one to one wildlife photography days over the last couple of weeks. Where I have taken them to some of my favorite places around the UK witnessing the wildlife and also this wonderful change in the seasons, good luck to you all.

I make no secret on my website of my great passion and love for owls, they are so beautiful to watch as they go about their lives. From the days when I was made to wear my knitted woolly hat that my mum had made for me, before I ventured out.  Owls have always fascinated me.  I cannot put into words why I love this species of bird so much, I’ve grown up with them, consider them an integral part of my life.

Over the last four months there has been a great number of Short-eared Owls around the country, giving many people close encounters into their normally secret moorland lifestyles during the breeding season. Where there are Short-eared Owls you will often find Barn Owls sharing the same area and also many other raptors, none more so than at the Dee Estuary.

I have visited this area for many years and if you get lucky on your visit you can be treated to a bounty of raptors. The best days are at high tides where alot if not most of this reed bed and marshland can be covered with the approaching sea water. You can have some wonderful views of all these birds, but I have also been many times and seen very little. When things come together though its one of the best places to see all of these raptors in one given area.

In March’s issue of the Bird Watching magazine there are several pages of my images and wording describing this powerful event in nature’s calendar, one that often leaves me shocked and upset at the things I witness, but at the same time I realise this is Mother Nature at her best and worst all rolled into one.

If you would like to read the article then click here, and my thoughts are expressed in the text and through the images printed in one of my favourite magazines.  I hope you enjoy the article. Thank you to the guys at the Bird Watching magazine for doing such a great job on the article and layout.

What a difference a few weeks makes and always be careful what you wish for. In my last blog I was only just saying how mild it was for this time of year and how wildlife has almost started making a home in readiness to rear their young. Cold temperatures and snow with freezing fog and frost all mixed in over the last several days, giving nature the worst kind of wake up call.  You must never take anything for granted more so nature as this just may come back and bite you when you least expect it.

Grabbing my camera on one such day I captured a few images of the birds from my local park , looking for a different angle in which to capture the bird’s spirit.

Once the roads had cleared a little I did manage to visit the Peak District with Paul my client where we were hoping to see Red Grouse.  The snow was also a wonderful bonus, as it had fallen covering the whole area in a beautiful blanket of snow. Thank you Paul for being a great sport in such testing conditions when walking up to where the grouse were.

I have just spent a couple of days in Norfolk photographing a much loved event in nature’s calendar, the Spring Tides. I’ve written so much about these days and had articles published showing my images. It was nice to be back and witness this event over the last couple of days having not been to Norfolk since November due to work commitments. Little did I know what was waiting for me in Norfolk, as I set off for this event from my Staffordshire home in the early hours of the morning, with the weather changing constantly as I passed through the different counties on route to Nelsons County, Norfolk.

You park up and get dressed ready for any event the weather may throw at you.  Snettisham and the surrounding areas are open and very bleak where great care must be exercised in poor weather. Once in place depending on the tide times your normally greeted with a fanfare of calls, sometimes if your timings are spot on the sky can be awash with actively too as flocks seem to wiz by you, feet above your head, drowning you in a vast chorus of noise and calls as they whistle past.  It’s a truly remarkable feeling and one you just never tire of witnessing in whatever weather or conditions.

A mixture of different light conditions and weather gave me a chance to play around with compositions and shutter speeds, giving a different effect and feel to my images. The slow shutter speed images are something I have always loved to do when photographing wildlife.  I like to refer to this practise that I am so fond of within my work as capturing the animals but in slow motion. Freezing a moment in time, giving the image a sense of movement in the absence of any sound is what I hope to achieve by using this technique.

I mentioned their sound and if you could hear the noise generated by these birds during these spring tides it would mesmerize you, it’s so uplifting to hear.  A bird adding a different key or note, I always like to try and listen then listen again to hear those individual bird calls because if you view the flock as a whole it’s hard to make out which birds are there and which aren’t.

This part of Norfolk is always bleak and remote offering you a great platform in which to view this amazing spectacle. Different days offer different images for me, where I am always trying to capture something different, learning from the past visits here. On the whole it was a good few days with many lovely images, once the peace returns and the tide begins to retreat the waders start their return back to the mudflats. When it gets to this point there’s always the queue to leave and I go back to my transport for a warm drink and often to dry off.

There are several areas in Norfolk I have regularly visited over the years to watch and hopefully photograph Barn Owls, and I was lucky enough during my recent time there to have seen two pairs at two of the four locations I know of. The others maybe there but the weather may have played a part in them staying in rather than venturing out. Again as previously mentioned I am always looking to push my own photography when I am alone and not with clients. Seeing something different and then trying to capture that idea with my camera.

This is one of the main parts of photography that always excites me, as my arty streak in me comes out and working alongside your cameras abilities you can often capture something different. With the few sightings I witnessed of the Barn Owls I tried different compositions, manual focusing, and extreme positioning of the subject in the corners of my viewfinder, creating lots of blank and open spaces to the front of the main subject.

Norfolk’s also a great place to for Brown Hares and I came across a few during my time there, wonderful mammals to spend time with and watch.

Many different images from the various different weather conditions that I’ve endured and as I write this blog there are still areas of the country where snow is around, but in the coming week the temperatures are set to rise so maybe nature has seen the last of winter now but I don’t want to speak to soon as before. On a serious note I do hope wildlife hasn’t suffered to much during the recent cold spell and fingers crossed spring is just around the corner.

Tigers around the world need help, they are crucially endangered, with their numbers in the wild at a dangerous level. Upon first seeing these animals in the wild it reddened me speechless because of their amazing beauty. They cannot just be left to die out with just a few remaining in zoos and parks. A world devoid of wild Tigers would be a very sad place indeed.

Through 3 limited edition prints I raise money to help these beautiful animals, where 50% of the profits from the sale of these images goes directly to 21^st Century Tiger. They spend every penny on saving this most beautiful of animals we have roaming the earth at present.  In several weeks I return to India once more hoping to share my passion for these animals with my clients booked onto my Tigers of India photo tour. Each one has a dream of seeing these animals and along with the brilliant guides I work with there I hope to show and help each person capture some wonderful images of this amazing animal.

I am donating one of my 2010 Year of the Tiger images as the first prize in a photography competition for another UK Tiger charity called TIGERS4EVER.org. It hopes to raise awareness of the plight of the Tiger in the wild. The print is only 1 of 100 ever printed and will be the first prize in this competition. Calumet UK  are very kindly supporting Tigers4Ever’s 11-16 age category photographic competition also with a 1st prize of £100 Calumet gift vouchers.

If you are interested in entering and helping this charity where all monies raises through this competition goes towards helping Tigers then please click on this link http://www.tigers4ever.org/ many thanks and the best of luck.

There is a real air of spring around at the moment among the UK countryside, with the odd spell of frost or even snow on the higher grounds, just to add to the confusion for nature. 2011 was one of the warmest years on record with lengthy periods of warm weather each month right up until the end of the year. In with the New Year and again those mild, warm temperatures seem to be still with us with little promise of the cold spells we’ve had in previous years.

On the ground nature is confused, the sudden warming temperatures for this time of year is playing a cruel game with nature, one minute warm the next an overnight frost. You can see and hear the birds singing to attract a mate, defending their territories with great cause. Dippers displaying and starting to gather nesting material, the countryside really feels like it should be much later than it really is due to the influence of the warmer weather.

Mother Nature is powerful though and animals and plants will overcome and survive.  I believe as nothings is as powerful as nature. While being among wildlife you get the impression that you’ve missed something or they have, what I mean is by watching the behaviours of the wildlife its seems that winter has been by-passed and were heading straight into the season of spring. I really hope that the cold spells of weather that nature has endured in 2010 and 2011 wont now come along and catch the wildlife out as that would be one of the cruelest lessons in which to learn from.  However, I fear that this could happen quite soon.

As each year passes and we hear that a warming record has been broken, or nearly broken again, it provides further evidence that unfortunately we are not just seeing a natural cycle of global warming, but instead humans are having an effect on the climate. I am not qualified on paper to start debating what is right or wrong I just know on the ground among wildlife things are changing and I do hope nature won’t be caught in between these warming temperatures and strange happening among the seasons.

Over the last three months though there has been one bird that seems to be doing really well within the warming temperatures and that is the beautiful Short-eared Owl that seems to have invaded many areas of the UK feeding on the bountiful supply of rodents. The internet is awash with brilliant images showing this often rarely seen owl outside of the breeding season. Recently I have spent back to back days there trying to capture different angles and images of these stunning owls.

Over that time the owls are late risers and rarely come out before the early afternoon but I go there at dawn and wait as you never know what may happen, as the site has other birds of prey. Fortune often rewards me and I was lucky enough to see a lone Shot-eared owl hunting in the morning light. I’d located an area in which these ground dwelling birds roost overnight and then just suddenly appear in the afternoon. I set my gear up overlooking this area, not to close to disturb them, placing my converter on my long lens as I waited.

Often the periods of waiting were greater than the time I’d see them but for me it’s just the enjoyment of being around wildlife.  That’s enough for me anything else is always a bonus. I often say I could sell all my camera equipment tomorrow and still be happy sitting and watching with my binoculars.

I have witnessed them diving for prey, perched in the morning light, and hunting in the pouring rain, which is very rare to see.  This is a costly exercise for owls as they don’t do well in rain. As I witnessed this it does pull on my heart strings as you just know that owl is hungry and gathering enough food to stay alive.  It was tough viewing this.

I also have had some lovely encounters with a pair of Barn Owls that have lived in this area for some time now. They appear when they want to and unlike some Barn Owls I photograph in Norfolk they are rarely seen in the day. They don’t have any routine here and this Barn Owl came out as the sun was setting and gave the whole area a lovely warming glow and feel, which is a welcome relief if you have been there since before dawn. You have to use fieldcraft skills and patience when photographing owls as they sometimes fly past you, and in this case straight at me.  Another amazing encounter as the sun was setting.  I am really lucky to see and witness this.

Their hearing is one of the best in the animal kingdom so great care when you start to shoot is needed otherwise they will bank off from where they hear that noise, in this case the camera shutter, so hold your nerve and wait and then press when you’re happy.  I’ve seen some wonderful behaviour in both the Short-eared owls and this pair of Barn Owls recently that I have tried to capture within these images.

After the success of my previous wildlife workshops with Calumet Photographic I have several others now lined up on their seminars page. Two dates for the amazing Spring/Summer Tides in Norfolk covering this event which has captivated me for many years and Sping Time on the Moors in the Peak District. For those that live in and around the capital, London, I will be doing a two day Beauty of Wildlife workshop at Calumets Drummond Street branch on April 14th and 15th. These workshops are open to all skill levels and backgrounds within wildlife photography.

The workshops are designed to give you the best opportunities to take the best images from your day in the field whatever nature throws up. To ensure that everyone’s needs are met the workshops are limited to 8 participants. You’ll be in good company, sharing your ideas, images and love of photography amongst the beauty of wildlife.

You’ll take your photography to the next level and in the process you’ll immerse yourself in your photography and I will be right there giving you a personal photography lesson. For more details click here to be taken to Calumets seminars page, then either click on the Drummond Street branch in London or the Manchester branch to see the full list of wildlife workshops that I am doing in conjunction Calumet Photographic.

Many thanks and I look forward to seeing you.

During the last several days I have been busy working in my office, the great outdoors, as I call it, amongst nature which is a place I find great peace in, capturing more magical moments. With a couple of one to ones in the Peak District, and a visit to the SWPP conference alongside PhotoTraining4U who had a stand there, my other free time has been put to good use watching and looking at the several subjects I am hoping to photograph this year.  It’s always enjoyable at the same time very time consuming setting up your own work from scratch.  But when it works and you see the subject(s) and capture them going about their lives it’s the best feeling you can possibly have as wildlife photographer.

I have been lucky enough over this time to have had some wonderful close encounters once again with different wildlife, the Short eared Owls are still very much around, hunting in the late afternoon sunlight.  They normally stay at sea level until around late February to early March, but with the warmer temperatures they may just disappear at anytime. They are also very nomadic out of the breeding season and once a food source has dried up in the area that they are staying in they just leave without warning and find another vole rich habitat in which to spend their winter months before returning to their spring breeding grounds.

A Kestrel hovering right above me in the first rays of dawn light was one such magical moment. I got into place just before dawn, hid myself away along a natural gully and waited, as the sun’s rays began to warm me I heard Magpies and Crows calling which can give you your first clue wildlife is around. In most cases they call when there’s a bird of prey around hoping their calls and mobbing behavior will somehow move that bird on. I watched this Kestrel, hunt, then back track on itself, covering the ground in a sweeping motion, doubling back on himself to cover every inch.

He carried on coming forward, searching in vain the grasses and reeds below him, those same reeds that were sheltering me. He then hovered right about me, and in the still of the morning I could just make out his faint wing beats as I watched and captured that moment with my camera. We made eye contact, watching each other which always has a deep impact on me, a powerful feeling I cannot explain. Those briefest of moments are captured here with these images shot with my 1.4 converter on. He stayed for around 15-20 seconds then went. He’d heard me and as I am writing this blog I can see him looking down at me, remembering that moment as though it was seconds ago, that’s the power of nature.

Barn Owls are without doubt though one if not my favourite UK birds, and I have enjoyed lovely moments too over the last several days with these beautiful owls. Only recently I have read with great interest a report on how they hunt. Having been fascinated with this bird from childhood I’ve learned a lot about them and their feather structures having taken them home with great interest having found them on the ground. The way in which they hunt or quarter and their heart shaped faces have always amazed me, the heart-shaped face works in a similar way to humans outer ear , collecting and directing sound toward the inner ears which helps this amazing hunter do what it does best, slightly glide over land hunting in almost pure silence.

The report has found that each of a Barn Owls ears is a slightly different size and shape, and one is higher on the bird’s head than the other. The owls can analyse the differences in the sound received by each ear to automatically calculate the exact position of that sound-source. Which means that they can detect prey below them in pure darkness and hunt with great effectiveness and stealth. In most parts Barn Owls hunt in the dark so visual information is not possible, so their hearing really is their lifeline. Flying in silence helps them listen for movement, prey that’s moving.

Most if not all of the owls plumage is covered in a dense covering of feathers, those feathers produce more lift with each beat due to their shape and design, having a high curvature. This design allows the air to pass through and they offer little turbulence, reducing friction noise between the feathers. The end result is one of the most prolific hunters within the natural world. And the report suggests in time the structure of the Barn Owls wing may provide a guide for the design of quieter and more efficient airfoils for the aviation industry. Proving yet again that so many designs of man-made products are derived from the wonderful world of Mother Nature.

Barn Owls are amazing and they are just so wonderful to watch and photograph, the following slide show shows images taken over the last three years, from several different sites, showing these amazing birds of prey hunting and flying on the wing, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did putting these images together.

Thank you to my two clients, Mike and John for your company on your one to ones within the beautiful Peak District. I will continue working on my subjects and fingers crossed I’ll have some wonderful images to post on my blog in the coming months.