Escape With The Camera
Lockdown, and I didn’t get the chance to get out with the camera very much mainly due to being under travel rules. I did get a little trip locally to Heybridge and photograph the beach huts. I needed the weather conditions right, a bit overcast and misty with a spring tide.
My first good chance to capture some wildlife was 75yds away from my house. A family of foxes had started to show and I wasn’t going to miss out.
A good friend of mine had located a family of badgers and invited me to photograph them one evening. It was an amazing sight even a fox showed up.
I had seen and heard a lot of cuckoos since they arrived back from Africa, but I only had previous photos of them. So when a mate mentioned about going to see Colin the Cuckoo I jumped at the chance.
Colin was a resident at Thursley Common and I had in the past photographed him. After a 2hr plus drive we arrived at Thursley, I was shocked at how baron it was. During lockdown, it caught fire destroying all the habitat and boardwalks. We were hoping to photograph the dragonflies as well, but that looked like a nonstarter.
Once we had walked to the field where Colin turns up, we set up and waited with another few photographers. Gradually as time passed and lots of banter it looked like he wasn’t going to show. We did get a beautiful Redstart show up and display for us.
After a quick bite to eat, we had a look around the pond and I spotted a Downey Emerald and managed to grab a flight shot.
Downey Emerald
I have also had a trip to Somerset to visit some friends and to attend their local festival. They had been let down with a photographer I step in to help. I was well out of my comfort zone but managed to pull it off and even got in the local Gazette.
While there I got to visit the local rivers and see lots of dragonflies and damsels. Here are some Male and Female Demoiselles, I think I got the best Demoiselles ever but you can judge that.
Bye for now