I’m spending every spare couple of days I have this summer working with Puffins – one of my favourite birds – for a specific project I have on the go at the moment.
Alongside picking up some decent images I also thought this short video which I took on a wet grey evening on Skomer last weekend (remember the cold and wet?) was a bit of fun that really sums up the inquisitive personality of these characterful birds.
Hope you enjoy it!
Sometimes in this profession, which I am lucky enough to undertake, there are times where things are most definitely about the experience as much as the images. I always knew that my latest trip was going to be full of learning experiences, simply by the very nature of the fact that I was staying with the Punta Norte Orca Research team and the venue (and therefore photographic opportunity) was the only beach in the world where at the right time of the year these magnificent animals will deliberately strand themselves on the shore to hunt young Sealion pups: if you’re a regular wildlife watcher on television you’re bound to have seen some of the footage. I was hungry for insights into their behaviour, hunting strategies and simply how this seldom seen species behaves from the team here led by Juan Copello, one of the world’s leading Orca experts. What I hadn’t expected though was an additional learning experience (well more of a reminder really) of the need for patience – and most extraordinarily this too came from the Orcas. Staying with the research team the pattern for the day was pretty fixed – out at 7am prompt with lunch pack and camera gear in tow (along with plenty of warm clothing as the wind here can be particularly penetrating) to head to the light house from where the whole of the north facing beaches, to which we had access by dint of the fact that Juan’s family own them all, were in view to look out for the telltale dorsal fin or blown waterspouts to announce the presence of Orca. With radio contact to the ranger at small public viewing area round the corner (setup to overlook the beach rather than access it) we had full insight as to whether there were any signs of life.
Here was lesson number one in the art of patience. It has been a more challenging year for Orca activity than many – still plenty of activity but more sporadic and with long periods of nothing (I think it was over 20 consecutive days in the normally busiest month of March). But there is much more to this experience and opportunity than simply the mere presence of Orca. Tides need to be right (3 hours either side of high tide) there need to be Sealions and pups obviously but in key locations where the shape of the reef around the shoreline allows access for the Orcas, and the pups need to be actually in the water. In fact the ideal location is where 2 distinct groups are in close proximity meaning that when they are swimming they are crossing the beach as they move between them. And then there’s the wind. If it’s too strong, and particularly from the north, then the amount of wave noise reduces the effectiveness of the Orca’s echo location capabilities as well as reducing the amount of pups in the water too. Add in the photographers desire for perfect lighting and sun direction and you’ll see that a huge number of elements need to slot into place – and thus the need for patience! Once Orca were in the area (and we achieved this statistic every day) it was a question of choosing which area of beach to drive frantically down to and get carefully in position near to the appropriate Sealion group without disturbing them, and then waiting to see if we’d made the right call, and whether all the other elements necessary were going to fall in our favour.
These spells with the Sealions gave great photographic opportunities with the pups either busy and playful or joining the juveniles and mothers in learning the finer arts of sleeping. Their natural curiosity (and the benefit of the careful approach) meant that they would often wander up very close indeed occasionally boot sniffing to really suss us out!
For the first couple of days this was as good as it got photographically – Orca have an amazing ability to be both incredibly hard to find in the first place and lose in an instant it seems – although the arrival of the occasional Guanaco to our waiting location at the lighthouse, the regularly gliding Turkey Vultures, the last lingering Magellinic Penguin young from the huge 100,000+ colony here, the occasional scuttling by of a Hairy Armadillo and this rather cute family of tuco tuco’s certainly did there bit to ensure that a Patagonian portfolio was beginning to develop.
But while wind and tide were in our favour it remained a waiting game for the Orca and half way through the trip the first close-up opportunity came. Conditions were tricky for Saul and the yet to be named sub-adult male (a new arrival this season) as there was a fair bit of strong wave activity to hinder, and the light was incredibly difficult photographically, but the experience of sitting on the beach seeing their dorsal fins occasionally appear in the small bay between the reefs and their awareness of the opportunities that the pups were or weren’t offering them as potential prey was exhilarating. One successful hunt achieved (and shared with the 2 others waiting further offshore) and one unsuccessful as the conditions worsened and they were gone: breathless stuff, an amazing privilege to be so involved in but little to show photographically.
A perfect day followed in terms of the weather but only a distant Orca sighting, the wind went in completely the wrong direction the next during which a pair patrolled the entire coastline in front of us looking for an impromptu chance but decided the odds were clearly against them and moved on elsewhere – sealion pups are after all just one of their supermarket shelves to choose from! The last day came (with the worst weather forecast too as we retired the night before) but the signs were that anticipated storm was taking longer to arrive as we once again headed to the lighthouse for our 7am rendezvous. Conditions were indeed looking good, the diffused sun gradually moving into a better angle as the morning progressed and then a sighting! A well-drilled dash in the landrovers, a sprint then careful approach past the Sealions into position on the beach and then the undoubtedly high point of the week over the subsequent hour. 3 attacks from the female Antu, ironically though none successful as the pup escaped her clutches as she turned to get off the beach in this first sequence.
The following video footage, shot on a camera phone is the same attack as the still images and really adds to give a sense of just what is going on, how close and involved our location was, as well as just how everything unfolds in an instant.
Watching her patience as she waited as out of sight as her frame and need for air allowed for pups to be in an approachable spot to hunt was indeed the salutary reminder that this is the only approach necessary in the natural world as a participant or an observer. Are they the best images of this extraordinary behaviour – no way; that takes years to achieve with luck and all the other factors required falling into place. Am I pleased with them professionally and personally – absolutely. Will I be back – most definitely. And was this a trip where the experience and learning were as important as anything else – well for this photographer most definitely too.
My thanks too to Juan and the team – you have an amazing place which you know and are managing in the most appropriate and sustainable way and don’t let that change. Also thanks to Peter, Cliff, Dave, Mark and Tom who joined me on our trip – I hope (although I’m pretty certain of it) that your enjoyment of the experience and your resultant images matches mine.
Although the dramatic displays of the Northern Lights I shared in my last blog post were reason enough to head to the far north of Scandinavia this winter, truth be told they were always a potential bonus rather than the main reason for the visit.
As someone who has always been fascinated by the variety as well as individual characteristics of birds, there have always been certain species that I have long wanted to initially get the chance to see and also spend some time with photographically. Last summer it was the Harlequin Ducks in Iceland that ticked that particular box but the other equally colourful and unusual member of the European duck family needs a trip to the far northern fjords of Norway in the winter months to find, and that is the King Eider. Their heads are one of the most unusually shaped of any bird and the dramatic colours are instantly impactful too. In the winter months they gather in large rafts, along with their close relations Common and Stellar’s Eider, in the harbours where there is a touch more shelter and also food to be found around the piers in the form of sea-urchins.
This particular image was one of only a handful I managed propelling myself around the harbour in one of the more unusual hides I have had the pleasure (if that’s the right word in this instance) of using: trying to steer this using a battery powered silent motor and photograph using a 500mm on a tripod while the tide and wind are doing their bit to hinder rather than help was an interesting hour or so! Thanks for the picture of my struggles Nigel!
We were spending the day with a local fisherman who has become quite an entrepreneur in the field of duck photography opportunities, and along with this trial hide, he also had a floating pontoon in calmer waters which allowed for some equally low profile images of the Eiders and also Long-Tailed Duck: one of the few birds I actually think looks smarter in their winter plumage.
What a dramatic change that the presence of the lovely low winter sun can make when it appears too! This floating pontoon also offered the opportunity to add some interesting colours to the water by virtue of the harbour buildings around, and they certainly created some additional impact to the images.
So much so that even when we were checking out other harbours for signs of duck rafts I found myself drawn to using the colours and patterns to add something different to an otherwise everyday image of this Kittiwake.
Back to the ducks though, and our last act with them consisted of some time in the boat attempting flight shots – fortunately when the sun was out as fast shutter speeds really do help when you’re bouncing around as much as we were for these as well as the fact it really does bring the richness of their colours out!
The harbour towns revealed another photographic opportunity too in the form of newly arrived Kittiwakes re-establishing their nest sites for the forthcoming breeding season: a bizarre sight given the temperatures and the fact that it was only early March, but I guess prime spots on buildings like these are much sought after: they also leant themselves to a black and white interpretation.
Away from the coast the other arctic highlights we had come to spend some time with were some of the harder to find let alone photograph birds of these northern reaches of the boreal forest, and especially Pine Grosbeak, also newly returned to the area for the season to come after wintering further south in the country. Looking something like a large and chunky Crossbill I was genuinely surprised at just how big they actually were, but in that lovely arctic winter light the feeding station we had visited gave plenty of close-up opportunities for the equally colourful males and females.
As a reminder as to just how far north we were (and close to the Russian port of Murmansk) the other highlights of the time here were a rather windswept Siberian Jay and the incredibly quick and flighty Siberian Tit. These plump but speedy birds barely sat still for a milli-second it seemed so it took some considerable time and setting up to finally achieve a couple of images that we were all happy with: well worth it though,and we were only ever a few seconds walk from the warmth of coffee on almost permanent tap where we were staying too!
Add those magnificent Northern Light displays into the mix and you can see why I can’t wait for another visit here again next winter running Natures Images Arctic Winter trip!
In some ways it feels a bit surreal finally getting the chance to catch up on some of this winter’s photography while it’s 20+ degrees outside and it’s only March, but when the weather was colder and I was further north in recent months one of the genres of photography that I found myself becoming increasingly engaged in was night and low light work. Mind you with some of the settings and in particular Aurora Borealis opportunities I have just had it would be hard not too!
During the course of an excellent week in the Cairngorms in January we took full advantage of the fantastically clear conditions by engaging in some evening and dead of night photography.
Here you can see Nigel making the most of the clear conditions to capture an image that (had he turned his camera about 45 degrees to the right) might have looked something like this:
There are certain key elements to this type of night photography and if it’s clear pinpoints of stars that you are after as a rough guide on a 24-70mm lens you really don’t want an exposure of much more than 20 seconds or so. There is a precise calculation for this by the way but I’m all for simplicity of thinking! What this means is that you need to trust the high ISO capability of your SLR and shoot reasonably wide open in terms of aperture (this was around f4). You must trust your histogram too as your camera’s screen will make things look much brighter than they have really been recorded given it’s the only real light source out there! A really good tripod, mirror lockup and cable release (or self-timer) are also key.
The same steadiness of hand came into play when we tried out some low light shots of the ice formations on one of the nearby streams as well.
Here though it was a question of looking for the right sort of slow shutter speed to give the level of blur in the water that looked most appealing (this was around 30 seconds or so) and in order to emphasise the coldness of the shot and setting a cool white balance was set manually. I just loved some of the detail that could be found in the ice here!
Earlier this month I spent a week in Northern Finland and Norway and stayed in a location that has to be one of the best I’ve been to for opportunities to photograph that wonderful spectacle that is the Aurora borealis or Northern Lights. I was really pleased to have honed my approach to this type of photography already this winter as when the opportunities came (and boy did they come – we had 4 clear nights and some amazing displays) I wear able to slot into the groove and thinking straight away.
There has been a lot of media coverage and interest in this awesome phenomenon this year as it has been unusually visible in parts of Scotland too, but what makes northern Finland so special in my opinion is that not only is it so light pollution free but it’s weather systems are unaffected by maritime influence so the chances of the lights showing are increased. All of these images were only on level 3 in terms of potential intensity – it goes up to 9 or 10 I believe.
What all of this meant was plenty of opportunity to experiment with looking for big sweeping motions, deciding if landscape or portrait orientation worked best and also playing around with white balance as well.
All of the images bar this last one were taken on a relatively cool white balance, this one however on the warmer setting I tend to use for my wildlife work – I like the greener effect it gives to the lights themselves but am not so keen on what it does to the snow. It’s a matter of preference though so good to be on your game enough to try things out and when you have found a style and approach that’s working then it’s simply a question of standing back and revelling in what nature has to throw at you too.
Although it’s not the main purpose of the trip (I’m not sure how Northern Lights really can be as it’s so weather dependant) I will be staying at the same place again for 4 nights as part of the new Arctic Winter trip with Natures Images next March so if you fancy the potential to practice your night light photography…..
The trouble with going to Florida for bird photography at this time of the year isn’t the distance involved and certainly not the weather (even if like me you prefer colder climates to hotter ones). No it’s the fact that it’s long been a birdwatchers mecca and with good reason – there are birds everywhere and they are incredibly approachable by comparison with here in Europe – so when it comes to blogging about the last couple of weeks I’ve just spent there (1 week holiday 1 week running a Natures Images trip) it would be all to easy to simply roll off image after image of different species in an almost tick list manner.
Given that I have the luxury of being able to post across 3 different blogs though, I’ve decided to use that to my advantage and concentrate here (the first post) on how I always seek to get as much in depth coverage of species as I can when travelling as that’s what really motivates me. You can see more coverage of the trip here and also here .
There are two types of Pelican to be found in Florida at this time of year – the resident Brown Pelican and the winter residents the White Pelican. Behaviourally very different from each other the resident browns can be seen in a bewildering array of plumages from mature adults as above through juveniles and breeding adults (with a chocolate brown neck) as below.
The Brown Pelican is actually a common sight around the coast and associated lakes and lagoons across the state – every fisherman there (and there are many) knows them well as they regularly hang out at fishing piers and around boatyards in search of any throwaways. They may be highly visible now but back in the 1970′s they were in serious decline as the local equivalent to peregrines here in Britain being at the top of the food chain that suffered with heavy use of DDT and similar pesticides in the food chain. thirty or so years of conservation work and they are now recommended to come off the threatened species list here which is great news, as an evening spent sitting on a fishing pier watching them splash around like swans as the day drew to a close was particularly enjoyable.
Unlike their White relatives who fish as a group, herding their prey for a collective feeding frenzy, Brown Pelicans act as individuals, either diving from flight or skipping across shallow lagoons to grab at fish, holding them tight in their enormous pouches until they have manoeuvred them into place and drained the water out in order to swallow them down.
Occasionally though they attract the attention of the local Gull population when they have made a catch and some of them can be particularly keen to get part of the meal that’s on offer and take full advantage of the delay time that draining takes!
White Pelicans move up country and away from the coast to breed and certainly live a much more co-operative lifestyle – it was rare to see one on it’s own and if it was it was never to far away from others, and they help each other when it comes to herding fish all of which are caught from the water surface. As they enter the beginnings of the breeding season they also grow unusual plates on their upper mandibles, no doubt to show off their prowess.
Ever since I first became interested in US birds one species that I have always wanted to spend time with is the truly unique and quite extraordinary Black Skimmer. In past attempts both here in Florida and also in California I had always been unlucky and so it was with great relief and with many thanks to local photographer Michael Wolf who very kindly pointed me in the direction of his local late wintering resident group that I was finally able to spend some time with these fabulous birds.
It didn’t look particularly hopeful when we first arrived – the beach was heaving with people and was overlooked by huge buildings and I simply couldn’t believe they would be there. But Michael was true to his word and sure enough we found a group settled up on the sand and enjoying the afternoon sun just like the human visitors!
All they wanted to be doing for the afternoon was resting and the occasional beak stretch and preening exercise.
This extraordinary proximity to large numbers of people is one of Florida’s highlights, but sadly the birds are not always respected. Michael told frustrating tales of parents setting their phones on video and sending their children charging into the group to film them all taking off, and although illegal here people walking dogs who chase them around. Even while we were trying to take pictures people seemed quite oblivious to their presence (and ours) and simply walk right through them! Definitely some scope for a bit more local awareness methinks!
As the day came to a close the birds would head off individually or in small groups for a drink and a bathe, very occasionally dragging that characteristic lower mandible through the water (their feeding style – a nerve in it snaps it shut when it touches a fish or similar object) before eventually flying off en masse to their overnight roost.
Two magnificent species, real highlights of Florida in my opinion and certainly among the many highlights of a great trip. Look out for more on the Natures Images blog soon too!
Last week seems a long way away already, especially as this one has been a bit of a blur getting ready to head off to Florida for the next couple of weeks – camera very much in evidence and a Natures Images trip as part of the mix as well.
It’ll be quite a contrast to the cold but sunny conditions in the Cairngorms last week – I might have preferred a bit of snow, but if that’s not to happen then this is a very close second as it can be constantly grey and glum there for sure at this time of the year. It meant that temperatures rarely got above freezing giving us plenty of scenic and detail close-up opportunities with the ice to be found on Loch Morlich and the nearby streams.
It also gave some interesting opportunities for close ups of the local Mallards enjoying (if that’s the word for it) the cold too!
On the broader wildlife front, trips into the Northern cores of Cairngorm and around the ski areas elsewhere gave great opportunities for the hardy Ptarmigan and their more common relatives in the form of Red Grouse. You have to admire the way they both cope with these challenging conditions, particularly the hardy Ptarmigans who cope with the wind and the at times extraordinarily bleak conditions of these high peaks.
The additional highlights of the week was some quality time spent with local photographer Neil McIntyre who was helping us and our guests out with his Red Squirrel and Crested Tit feeding sites.
These are both species I’ve worked with before but these 2 setups were simply top class, and we were able to make full use of them in the glorious conditions too – all in all these were for me the highland highlights of the week for sure!
Guess it’ll all be a little different in Florida won’t it?
I’m just back from a few days on the Solway estuary, home in the winter months to large numbers of wintering wildfowl with particularly large numbers of Barnacle Geese and Whooper Swans.
Having spent an amazing evening with a Whooper Swan family and their cygnets in Iceland last summer I was keen to get some more close up time with these long-distance travellers and wasn’t to be disappointed.
You can see from this very simple profile image just how elegant they are but spend some time watching them after they’ve fed and they start to preen their feathers then their grace really comes on show.
Mixed in with all the preening and a huge amount of socialising there’s also time for what seems to me when watching it as if it’s just pure fun – and this comes in the form of a good splash and bathe!
Caerlaverock Wildfowl and wetlands Trust reserve provides a regular daily feed for any birds in the area which is particularly useful to them when any cold snaps come and food becomes harder to find in the frozen fields, just like that this last weekend when I was up there.
This provides an opportunity to look for another aspect of swan behaviour that is always a joy to see and listen too in the form of their incredibly powerful and noisy wing beats, which interspersed with the occasional honk to a nearby flight partner was very much in evidence as either feed time, dawn or dusk approached.
Interspersed with the visiting Whoopers and taking full advantage of the feeding and socialising on offer were good numbers of native Mute Swans and some time spent watching and photographing them was equally enjoyable and rewarding too.
Caerlaverock and the Solway are by no means unique in their gatherings of wintering wildfowl – any of the main WWT reserves can offer good numbers of close up opportunities with these wonderful wanderers. Add some stunning light and cold conditions to the mix like we’ve just enjoyed though and this reserve very soon becomes it’s own photographic version of Swan Lake – and with a rendition on ice at times too!
